Richard Foley
Assistant Professor
Education: Ph.D. in philosophy from Northwestern
Interests: Ancient philosophy, David Hume
Contact: foleyri@missouri.edu
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I happily joined the classics faculty at Missouri in 2007, after serving as an associate professor of philosophy at Eastern Illinois University. I earned my B.A. from Yale (1992) and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Northwestern (2001). My teaching ranges widely across many areas of ancient philosophy, including the presocratic philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, and ancient skeptics. I also enjoy teaching in the Honors College Humanities Sequence.
My primary research interests center on two leading figures in the history of philosophy: Plato and David Hume. My work on Plato involves a “constructivist” approach to Plato’s dialogues—I seek to construct a conception of virtue from Socrates’ elliptical and often skeptical comments. Socrates’ exemplary life is thus governed by a tacit theory of human excellence. My work in this area includes:
“The Order Question: Climbing the Ladder of Love in Plato’s Symposium,” forthcoming in Ancient Philosophy.
“The Better Part of Valor: The Role of Wisdom in Plato’s Laches,” History of Philosophy Quarterly 26 (2009) 213-233.
“Plato’s Undividable Line: Contradiction and Method in Republic VI,” The Journal of the History of Philosophy 46 (2008) 1-23, winner of the JHP’s annual award for best contribution to the articles section.
I also work on the Enlightenment, primarily on the design argument and David Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. For one explanation for why people might believe the design argument despite its significant failings, see my “Unnatural Religion: Indoctrination and Philo’s Reversal in Hume’s Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion,” Hume Studies 32 (2006) 83-112.
Department of Classical Studies | College of Arts and Science | University of Missouri
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Last modified: Friday, 28-Aug-2009 11:18:06 CDT