What is Philosophy?

Faculty

James McLachlan, Professor and Department Head

Education

• University of Toronto, Religious Studies, (Philosophy of Religion, Western Religious Thought, History of Christianity), Ph. D. 1989
• Pennsylvania State University, Philosophy (Committee for Advanced Research in Phenomenology, Summer session in Phenomenology)
• Indiana University, European History, M.A. 1981
• Université de Paris/Sorbonne, Philosophy 1979
• Brigham Young University, History/Philosophy, B.A. 1980

Biography and Interests

I grew up in Utah just outside of Salt Lake City in Taylorsville. We had a very small seven-acre farm that sat next to other small farms where my uncles lived. I dreamed of being a farmer but the work was too hard and I had no aptitude for it. I decided I would be an Historian and received both at BA and MA in European History. What ruined the possibility forever of my becoming an historian was serving a Mormon mission in France between 1974 - 1976 and then studying philosophy in Paris in 1979 while I taught history to a study abroad group. In France I became interested in philosophy and religion, especially questions of the existence of suffering in a world supposedly created by a powerful, wise, and compassionate God. This pretty much stayed with me and sent me veering over to Religious Studies and Philosophy of Religion at the University of Toronto between 1981- 85. I received my PhD in 1989 for a dissertation titled The Desire to be God: Freedom and the Other in Sartre and Berdyaev which became a book in 1992. My first “real” job was a one-year stint in philosophy at Brigham Young in 88-89. I came to Western to teach both philosophy and religion in 1989 and, except for a year scholarly leave at Claremont School of Theology in 2000-01, have been here ever since.

Daryl Hale, Associate Professor

Education

• Vanderbilt University, Philosophy, Ph.D, 1992
• University of Rochester, Philosophy
• Calvin College, Philosophy, BA, 1976
• Oakland City College, BS, Religious Studies, 1973

Biography and Interests

I received a BS degree in Religious Studies in 1973 from Oakland City College in southern Indiana, where I studied some of the great theologians, such as Bonhoeffer, Tillich, and Bultmann. Then I had the grand privilege of laboring for 2 years as a tomato farmer with my grandfather in southern Indiana. After I had saved enough money from farming and factory work, I returned to school for 1 year, and obtained a BA in Philosophy in 1976 from Calvin College, where I had the great fortune of studying Kant with Nicholas Wolterstorff, Modern Philosophy with Pete DeVos, and Contemporary Philosophy with Ed Wierenga, all of whom remain my mentors in practicing and teaching philosophy.

Then I returned to southern Indiana and continued farming with my grandfather for 4 more years, learning much about soil, crops, and human flourishing (again supplemented by other 'paying jobs' so I could continue 'winning the lottery' as a farmer). During this time, I also became like a third son to my uncle, who was a tool-and-die machinist as well as farmer, from whom I learned much about mechanical work and humility in teaching one's craft. Heeding his wise counsel, I decided to try graduate school, first going to U. of Rochester, where I had the great privilege of meeting Lewis White Beck (that great American Kant scholar), Colin Murray Turbayne (witty Berkeley scholar), and Ed Wierenga (Philosophy of Religion), but I decided that UR did not have exactly the mix that I needed.

So in 1981 I moved to Vanderbilt University where I was made at home by a number of great scholar-teachers -- Henry Teloh, who passed on his love for the early Socratic dialogues, suffered through my learning Greek, and generously gave me numerous carpenterial opportunities on his old house; Jeff Tlumak, who dared in a postmodern culture support my passion for Early Modernism, and especially Kant; Michael Hodges, who helped me feign transcendence in Wittgenstein; John Post, who taught me the analytic rigor of non-reductive physicalism; Charles Scott, who allowed me some momentary glimmers into the denseness of Heidegger and Foucault, but through the practical lens of a 'Death and Dying' class; and last but not least, John Lachs, who remains a true believer in my meagre philosophical talents and is still one of the finest examples of a teacher I have been privileged to experience. Overall, the Vanderbilt philosophy experience was just what I needed -- a grand community of passionate scholars and outstanding teachers who were committed to undergraduate and graduate flourishing. One outstanding experience during this period was the presence of Alastair MacIntyre -- his intellectual acuity, impressive defense of Plato & Aristotle, high standards for philosophical argumentation, concerns for students as well as fellow faculty, and exemplary pattern of originality and philosophical insight gently formed faculty and students into a well-rounded community.

I came to Western's Philosophy program in 1992. I greatly enjoy teaching all the History of Philosophy courses (Ancient Philosophy, Medieval & Reformation Theology, and Early Modern Philosophy), where I aspire to inspire students in appreciating the great masters of argument in the philosophical and theological traditions of Westerrn thought. I also designed a new Early Christianity course that provides a historical survey of early Christian thought up through Augustine.

I continue to do carpentry as a summer profession and some weekends during the academic year. I also volunteer in directing carpentry projects for elderly Appalachian residents, such as wheelchair ramps, and working for the local Habitat for Humanity group.

John Whitmire, Assistant Professor

Education

• B.A., Philosophy, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
• M.A., Philosophy, Villanova University, Villanova, PA
• Ph.D., Philosophy, Villanova University, Villanova, PA

I came to philosophy by way of literature. As an undergraduate at Wake Forest University, I found that philosophy courses gave me a wonderful set of tools to deal with the sorts of questions raised in my literature classes: largely existential issues about the place of humankind in the world, and the nature of our relationships with each other and with the divine. I was incredibly fortunate to study with a wonderful philosophical mentor at Wake, Charles Lewis – who taught me that philosophy is not necessarily as much about answers as it is about learning to live with the questions – as well as with a number of internationally distinguished teacher-scholars of classical and modern literature: Maya Angelou, Allen Mandelbaum (Dante), Doyle Fosso (Shakespeare), Rob Ulery (Virgil and Ovid), Jim Powell (Greek tragedy), Ralph Wood (Tolkien and C.S. Lewis), and many more.

My love of literature, together with Charles Lewis’ legendary “Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche” course, led me to gravitate towards the study of 19th and 20th century European “continental” philosophy in graduate school. At Villanova University, I was privileged to work with several world-renowned scholars, including Dennis Schmidt, Tom Busch, Walter Brogan, Sally Scholz, and John Carvalho, from whom I learned the nuances of reading Plato, Hegel, Marx, Heidegger, Sartre, Gadamer, Foucault, and others. My interest in the relationship of philosophy to religion was also further stimulated at this time by a three-week mini-course that Jean-Luc Marion taught as a visiting lecturer at Villanova. The culmination of my studies in the history of philosophy and the continental philosophical tradition, however, was working with John D. Caputo, my dissertation director and one of the world’s foremost continental philosophers. From him I learned the genuine meaning of accepting one’s responsibility for the Other.

My experiences with these exceptional teachers and persons enabled me, after an extended detour through New Zealand on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship (2003), to return to an area of the world I love dearly. I grew up here in Western North Carolina as a sixth-generation+ native on both my mother and father’s sides of the family, so it was wonderful for me to be able to return home. I began teaching courses in philosophy and religious studies (and their relation to literature) at Western Carolina University in the fall semester of 2005, and look forward to many years here helping to foster the love of wisdom in my own students.

Christopher Hoyt, Assistant Professor

• B.A., Philosophy, Boston University
• Ph.D., Philosophy, University of Illinois, Chicago.

My destiny as a philosopher was first apparent in sixth grade, when I suddenly realized that the world might look entirely different to you than it does to me. What we both call "blue" might look to you like what I call "red." Who knows? This worried me for weeks, and so I asked my older brother how to solve the puzzle. "Don't worry, we see things pretty much the same," he said. He's now a lawyer.

I owe the subsequent deepening of my philosophical thoughts primarily to Wittgenstein, along with some excellent teachers, friends, and colleagues. For my doctoral dissertation, I wrote a Wittgensteinian reading of the history of psychology (say that ten times fast!), and the topics I dealt with therein still fascinate me. However, since arriving at Western, I have been researching and writing about Wittgenstein's philosophy of culture and religion.

Dr Harold E. Littleton Jr., Adjunct Professor

Hal teaches Western Religious Traditions and Origins of Early Christian Traditions. He did his graduate work at Vanderbilt University and has taught at Meredith College, UNC-Chapel Hill, AB Tech, and Mars Hill College. He is married with two daughters, four grandchildren and enjoys hiking, reading, and fly fishing. Watch out for his crimson Miata!