Faculty Profiles

Erik A. Anderson, Associate Professor. Dr. Anderson received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in philosophy from the University of Connecticut. His research interests are in social and political philosophy and the philosophy of religion. His publications include "The Paradox of Public Secularism: A Critical Assessment of Robert Audi's Religious Commitment and Secular Reason," Faith and Philosophy (2006) and "Public Reason, State Neutrality, and the Recognition of Religious Differences under the Establishment Clause," in Civility and Its Discontents: Essays on Civic Virtue, Toleration, and Cultural Fragmentation (University of Kansas Press, 2004). At Furman he teaches courses in introduction to philosophy, logic, philosophy of law, social and political philosophy, and philosophy of religion.

Office: Furman Hall 125B
Office phone: (864) 294-3278
Email: erik.anderson@furman.edu

Tom Buford, Professor Emeritus. Dr. Buford received his B.D. degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in philosophy from Boston University. His research interests are in metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of education. He is the author of a number of books and articles including Personal Philosophy, the Art of Living (1984), In Search of a Calling (1995), and Personalism Revisited (2002). At Furman he teaches courses in introduction to philosophy, philosophy of religion, and logic.

Office: Furman Hall 225
Office phone: (864) 294-3139
Email: tom.buford@furman.edu

James C. Edwards, Professor. Dr. Edwards received his M.A. in philosophy from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests are in Wittgenstein, bioethics, philosophy of religion, and contemporary continental philosophy. His publications include Ethics Without Philosophy: Wittgenstein and the Moral Life (1982), The Authority of Language: Heidegger, Wittgenstein, and the Threat of Philosophical Nihilism (1990), and The Plain Sense of Things: The Fate of Religion in an Age of Normal Nihilism (1997). He is currently at work on a book titled Reason, Ritual, and Belief: Wittgenstein on Religion. At Furman he teaches courses in introduction to philosophy, ancient philosophy, ethics, continental philosophy, and 20th century philosophy.

Office: Furman Hall 125H
Office phone: (864) 294-3142
Email: jim.edwards@furman.edu

M. Carmela Epright, Associate Professor. Dr. Epright received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in philosophy and an M.A. in applied ethics from Loyola University, Chicago. She is a practicing bioethics consultant. Her research interests are in clinical bioethics, ethics, feminist philosophy, and social and political philosophy. Her publications include "Bioethics and Justice: Economics, Care, and Conflict," in Ethical Humanism, Bioethics, and Justice (forthcoming) and "Honoring Feminism's Past, Envisioning an Embodied Future," in "Feminism and The Body," a Special Edition of Philosophy in the Contemporary World, 11 (1) (2003). At Furman she teaches courses in introduction to philosophy, ethics, medical ethics, and feminist theory.

Office: Furman Hall 125D
Office phone: (864) 294-2288
Email: carmela.epright@furman.edu

David I. Gandolfo, Assistant Professor. Dr. Gandolfo received his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Loyola University Chicago, and his M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University.  His research interests include globalization, international justice, and Latin American philosophy.  He teaches courses in these areas as well as in African philosophy.  His publications include: "Ignacio Ellacuría: Liberation Struggles and the Question of Non-Violence,@ Journal for the Study of Peace and Conflict (2004).  Recent presentations include: “American Liberation Philosophy: Reforming the Center by Taking Account of Critiques from the Margins,” North American Society for Social Philosophy (NASSP); “Human Responsibility and the Moral Status of the Invisible Hand,” Conference on Value Inquiry; “Neo-liberation for Neoliberalism,” Latin American Studies Association; “Terrorism, Colonialism, Democracy, and Supranational Regimes,” NASSP; and “The Role of the University in Effecting Social Change,” University of Detroit Mercy.

Office: Furman Hall 125A
Office phone: (864) 294-3238
Email: david.gandolfo@furman.edu

Matthew Kenney, Visiting Professor. Dr. Kenney received his BA from Sewanee and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. He specializes in Ancient Greek philosophy, with an emphasis on Plato. His scholarship is generally oriented by a concern for what it means to be human. At present, he is
pursuing three specific projects. The medium for each is the Platonic dialogues. First, he is examining the Apolline quality of Socratic philosophy (and recently completed a paper entitled "Philosophy as Plague, Philosophy as Cure: On the Apolline Quality of Socratic Philosophy"). Second, he is developing an interpretative strategy for the dialogues that endeavors to "disengage" Plato and enable the reader to think differently (a term borrowed from Foucault). Third, he is considering the place of erotic desire in the philosophic life, and is working on a paper entitled "Suffering Injustice and the Extra-Rational Foundation of the Socratic Life." At Furman, Dr. Kenney is teaching introductory Philosophy. Further details about Dr. Kenney's courses and scholarship may be found at his website: http://facweb.furman.edu/~mkenney.

Office: Furman Hall 123A
Office phone: (864) 294-2389
Email: matthew.kenney@furman.edu
Webpage: http://Facweb.furman.edu/~mkenney

David Edward Shaner, Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Gordon Poteat University Chair in Philosophy and Asian Studies. Dr. Shaner received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Hawaii specializing in Japanese Buddhist philosophy. He is the founding editor of the Philosophy and Biology book series with the State University of New York Press (33 volumes published to date). He is the author of The Bodymind Experience in Japanese Buddhism (SUNY, 1985), Science and Comparative Philosophy [with Shigenori Nagatomo and YUASA Yasuo] (E. J. Brill, 1989) and two new books (forthcoming) on personal development and organization development. At Furman, he teaches courses in introduction to philosophy, Japanese philosophy, comparative philosophy, and the philosophy of science.

Office: Furman Hall 125G
Office phone: (864) 294-3141
Email: david.shaner@furman.edu

Mark Stone, Associate Professor. Dr. Stone received his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University. His research interests are in modern philosophy and the philosophy of Descartes. At Furman he teaches courses in introduction to philosophy, environmental ethics, American philosophy, and the history of philosophy.

Office: Furman Hall 125E
Office phone: (864) 294-3344
Email: mark.stone@furman.edu

Sarah Worth, Associate Professor. Dr. Worth received her M.A. in philosophy from the University of Louisville and her Ph.D. in philosophy from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her research interests are in aesthetics and the philosophy of literature and narrative. She is the author of a number of articles including "Narrative Understanding and Understanding Narrative," Contemporary Aesthetics 2 (2004) and "Fictional Spaces," Philosophical Forum 35 (4) (Winter 2004). At Furman she teaches courses in introduction to philosophy, ancient philosophy, aesthetics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of literature.

Office: Furman Hall 125F
Office phone: (864) 294-3140
Email: sarah.worth@furman.edu