Our Annual faculty Distinguished Award Winner this year is Dr. Kristopher G. Phillips!
Kristopher G. Phillips is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Southern Utah University. Originally from Michigan, he earned his Bachelors in philosophy in 2003 from Central Michigan University, a Masters in philosophy in 2007 from Western Michigan University and his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Iowa in 2014. He joined the faculty here in 2014. He is a trained modernist, with research interests in Descartes, Margaret Cavendish, Mary Shepherd, the philosophy of education, and pre-college philosophy. He is the co-founder of the Utah and Iowa Lyceum pre-college philosophy programs, and currently serves as Associate Editor for the journal Precollege Philosophy and Public Practice.
Abstract:
The philosophical scholarship on Enlightenment Europe largely focuses on the role of scientific reasoning. As a consequence, scholars bind philosophy and science tightly together and emphasize the way rationality led to the development of modern science. However, this story leaves out a great deal that is important in Enlightenment views of reason. Margaret Cavendish provides an example of a thinker who was not only engaged in the scientific enterprises of her day, but included disciplines we today categorize as ‘humanities.’ Her philosophical work opens a window into how enlightenment thinkers conceived of the role and limits of reason. Contrary to the traditional interpretation, I argue that ‘reason’ was broader in scope — developments in science were paralleled by advances in the music, art, literature, medicine, philosophy, etc.. Cavendish provides us an opportunity to re-evaluate the narrowly scientific conception of reason during the 17th and 18th centuries as well as our current outlook on education.
Reflection
On January 28, 2021, A.P.E.X. Events was proud to again host the annual Distinguished Faculty Lecture and its winning speaker this year was Associate Professor of Philosophy, Dr. Kristopher G. Phillips. Originally from Michigan, he earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy in 2003 from Central Michigan University, a master's degree in philosophy in 2007 from Western Michigan University, and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Iowa in 2014. He joined the faculty at SUU in 2014. He is a trained modernist, with research interests in Descartes, Margaret Cavendish, Mary Shepherd, the philosophy of education, and pre-college philosophy. He is the co-founder of the Utah and Iowa Lyceum pre-college philosophy programs, and currently serves as associate editor for the journal Precollege Philosophy and Public Practice. Dr. Phillips’ presentation was titled, “Reason in Enlightenment Europe: What Margaret Cavendish can Teach us about Higher Education Today,” focusing on philosophical scholarship and scientific reasoning in Enlightenment Europe.
After being introduced by SUU’s Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dr. Jean Boreen, Dr. Phillips began his presentation through an analysis of the educational focus of universities across the nation, saying in the last century or so, universities have “shifted their focus from a traditional liberal arts curriculum to an increasingly ‘practical’ or vocational form of education.” Using SUU’s own mission statement as an example, Phillips goes into how schools and universities have put increasing focus towards education in STEM fields because of the job demand in those particular industries, but at the expense of the arts and humanities education. He explains how the philosophy of Margaret Cavendish (along with connections to Rene Decartes’ rationalism and education today) provides a great example of the importance of teaching both the sciences and the humanities for the sake of a well-rounded education and satisfiable life.
Phillips concludes his presentation by saying, “We do not need merely technically proficient workers to fill the needs of our consumer economy; rather, we need professionals. We need to cultivate in our students the love of reason in its broadest scope and encourage our students to commit to living according to the highest standards of moral virtue. I argue that we see the next STEM push as an opportunity to re-emphasize our commitment to all of the core values of higher education: personal growth, civic responsibility, and professional excellence. when we consider ‘professional excellence,’ we must build into that concept a healthy understanding of, and respect for, the stable virtues cultivated through humanistic study in addition to technical training.”
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