faculty_and_staff


Sharon S. Wiese
Department Secretary
Office: Tower 716
Phone: 888-2320
E-mail: wieses@canisius.edu
Office Hours: Mon-Thurs: 7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.; Fri: 7:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Full-time Professors
 
Dr. George Boger

Chair of Department of Philosophy
Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D. University of Buffalo

Office: Tower 710
Phone: 888-2339
E-mail: boger@canisius.edu

Areas of specialization:
  • Ancient Philosophy — natural law foundation of Plato’s & Aristotle’s moral & political philosophy, Protagoras, Hippocratic epistemology & early natural science
  • 19th Century Philosophy & Marxism
  • Logic & History of Logic — Aristotle’s ancient logic and philosophy of logic
Interests:
  • Environmental ethics & social justice
  • Dialectical logic & epistemology - Hegelian logic & its materialist interpretation
  • The notion of paradox & paradox in ancient philosophy
  • Informal logic & fallacy theory — a formal foundation for fallacy theory
  • The clash of two value systems — maximizing market utility vs. realizing personhood
Sample publications:
  • “Humanist principles underlying argumentation philosophy”. 2006. Informal Logic 26:2, pp 149-174.
  • “Subordinating truth — is acceptability acceptable?” 2005. Argumentation 19:187-238
  • “Aristotle's Underlying Logic”. 2004. In Handbook of the History of Logic v 1, D. Gabbay & J. Woods (eds.) Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp101-246.
  • “Aristotle on moral and social inequality”. 2000. In Political Equality and Justice in Aristotle and the Problems of Contemporary Society, D. N. Koutras (ed), Athens: Society for Aristotelian Studies, pp47-73.
  • “The Logical Sense of ‘paradoxon’ in Aristotle’s Sophistical Refutations”. 1993. Ancient Philosophy 13:1, pp 55-78.
 
Vincent Cooke, S.J.

President of Canisius College
Ph.D. University of Wisconsin

E-mail: cookevm@canisius.edu

Areas of specialization:
  • Kant
  • Wittgenstein
 
Dr. Marianne Djuth

Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D. University of Toronto (Canada)

Office: HO 001D
Phone: 888-2322
E-mail: djuth@canisius.edu

Areas of specialization:
  • Augustine
  • Medieval Philosophy
  • Philosophy of Religion
Dr. Bethany Dunn

Visiting Assistant Professor
Ph.D. University of Memphis

Office: Tower 701
Phone: 888-2609
E-mail: dunn3@canisius.edu

Areas of specialization:
  • Social and Political Philosophy
  • Contemporary Continental Philosophy
 
Dr. Michael Forest

Associate Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D. Marquette University

Office: Tower 707
Phone: 888-2328
E-mail: forestm@canisius.edu

Dr Forest is a native of Detroit and was graduated from fellow Jesuit institutions The University of Detroit (B.A.) and Marquette University (Ph.D.). His scholarly interests are in the North American philosophical tradition, especially the theories of knowledge and cognition in Charles Peirce and Bernard Lonergan.

Dr Forest usually teaches multiple sections of the introductory course each semester. He also teaches the upper level AS 5 courses American Philosophy and Philosophy of Art & Beauty every year. He has also recently taught courses on Lonergan's Insight for the Philosophy programs and for the Honors Program.

Recent writings include the articles "Peirce and Semiotic Foundationalism" for Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society, and "Lonergan and the Classical American Tradition" for Method: The Journal of Lonergan Studies.
Dr. Devonya Havis

Assistant Professor
Ph.D. Boston College

Office: Tower 707
Phone: 888-2605
E-mail: havisd@canisius.edu

Areas of specialization:
  • Philosophy of Race
  • African American Philosophy
  • Continental Philosophy
 
Dr. John Kelly

Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D. Catholic University of America

Office: Tower 708
Phone: 888-2324
E-mail: kellyj@canisius.edu

Dr. Kelly has been a member of the philosophy faculty at Canisius since 1966. A native of Buffalo, Dr. Kelly graduated from St. Joseph Collegiate Institute and received his undergraduate education at the University of Toronto. He earned his advanced degrees in the School of Philosophy, the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Kelly’s major academic interest is in metaphysics and ethics. His publications have focused on ancient Greek philosophy, the philosophy of medicine, and social political philosophy, with special emphasis on modern catholic social thought. He has presented numerous papers in the United States and at many international conferences in England at both the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford.

Sample publications:
  • “Virtue Based Ethics: A Unifying Moral Framework for the Physician-Patient Relationship,” in S. M. Natale and Mark Fenton (eds.), The Developing Professional: Maintaining Values in Practical Training, (Lanham, MD, New York, and London: University Press of America, 1997), 49-74
  • The “Institutional” Responsibility of Medical Practitioners in a Market Economy,” in S. M. Natale (ed.), Corporate Structures, Business, and the Management of Values, Chapter 14, (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1998), 209-237
  • The Subjectivity of Society and Vocational Relevance, in S. M. Natale (ed.), New Wine in Old Bottles, Chapter 15, (New York: University Press of America, 2000), 201-216
  • “Solidarity and Subsidiarity: Organizing Principles for Corporate Leadership in the New Global Economy,” Journal of Business Ethics, 52: 283-295, 2004, (The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers)
  • “The Changeable and Unchangeable Dimensions of the Common Good Tradition: Substantive Principles for the Transformation of the Labor Union Movement,” in S. M. Natale (ed.), The Fate of Empires: Education in a Consilient World, Chapter 19 (New York: Global Scholarly Publications, 2005), 279-307
Dr. George Lavere

Professor Emeritus
Ph.D. Laval University (Canada)

Areas of specialization:
  • Augustine
  • Ethics
  • Political Philosophy
 
Dr. Tanya Loughead

Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium)

Office: Tower 715
Phone: 888-2329
E-mail: tanya.loughead@canisius.edu

Areas of specialization:
  • Contemporary Continental Philosophy
  • Philosophy of Literature
  • Postmodernism
  • Phenomenology
She earned her Master’s and Doctorate in Belgium at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Recent papers delivered by Dr. Loughead include, “The Uselessness of Art to the Revolution: Marcuse and Blanchot,” “’Brotherly Love’ in Postmodern Times,” “Levinas and Weil on the demand of social justice” and “The Energy of Failure: on Revolution.”  

Loughead was the 2008 Dr. I. Joan Lorch Faculty Award winner. Presented annually by the college's Women’s Studies Program, the award recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to women on campus.

She recently taught: Introduction to Philosophy, God and the World, Contemporary Philosophy, and Gender and Philosophy. She is also the interim Assistant Director of the Women’s Studies Program. She is currently researching the work of Enrique Dussel in reference to postmodernism, religion and social justice. She is working on a book entitled, Ethics from the Concrete: Essays in Global Phenomenology. She looks forward to a research and service trip to El Salvador and Guatemala during the Summer of 2007.

 
Dr. Herbert Nelson

Professor Emeritus
Ph.D. SUNY at Buffalo

Office: BH-103
Phone: 888-3140
E-mail: nelson@canisius.edu

Areas of specialization:
  • Philosophy of Religion
  • Philosophy of Law
  • American Pragmatism

 
Dr. Janice Schultz-Aldrich

Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D. SUNY at Buffalo

Office: Tower 703
Phone: 888-2321
E-mail: schultzj@canisius.edu

Areas of specialization:
  • Mediaeval philosophy, especially the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas
  • Ethics
  • Logic
Her publications include a book, written with Edward A. Synan:
St. Thomas Aquinas, An Exposition of the “On the Hebdomads” of Boethius, Introduction and Translation (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2001). Thomas Aquinas in Translation Series. Forthcoming is a book of the late Msgr. Synan's previously unpublished papers, edited and with an introduction by Dr. Schultz-Aldrich (Rodopi publishing house)

A few of the many articles she has published are:
  • “Revisiting Aquinas on ‘Naturalism’: A Response to Patrick Lee,” American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 77.1 (Winter 2003), pp. 113-131
  • “Love of Friendship and the Perfection of Finite Persons in Aquinas,” in Medieval Masters: Essays in Memory of Msgr. E. A. Synan, ed. R. E. Houser (Houston, Texas: Center for Thomistic Studies, 1999), pp. 209-232
  • “An Abelardian Reconstruction Reconsidered,” American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 70.2 (Spring 1996), pp. 275-286
  • “Thomistic Metaethics and a Present Controversy,” The Thomist 52.1 (January 1988), pp. 40-62
  • “‘Ought’-Judgments: A Descriptivist Analysis from a Thomistic Perspective,” The New Scholasticism 61.4 (Autumn 1987), pp. 400-426.
Dr. Stanley Vodraska

Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D. University of London (Warburg Institute)

Office: Tower 711
Phone: 888-2326
E-mail: vodrasks@canisius.edu

Areas of specialization:
  • Familial Philosophy
  • Hume’s Moral Philosophy
  • Deontic Logic
 
Dr. John Zeis

Professor of Philosophy
Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania

Office: Tower 714
Phone: 888-2588
E-mail: zeis@canisius.edu

Areas of specialization:
  • Philosophy of Religion
  • Epistemology
                  Adjunct Professors
                  Eric Chelstrom

                  M.A. Northern Illinois University
                  Ph.D. (in progress) SUNY at Buffalo

                  E-mail: chelstre@canisius.edu

                  Areas of specialization:
                  • Contemporary Continental Philosophy
                  • Phenomenology
                  • Philosophy of Mind
                  Steven Halady

                  B.S. John Carroll University

                  E-mail: haladys@canisius.edu

                  Areas of specialization:
                  • Contemporary Analytic Metaphysics
                  • Applied Ethics
                  • Social Philosophy
                  Dr. Leonard Jacuzzo

                  Ph.D. SUNY at Buffalo

                  E-mail: jacuzzol@canisius.edu

                  Areas of specialization:
                  • Philosophy of Language
                  • Logic
                  Robert Kieffer

                  Ph.D. SUNY at Buffalo

                  E-mail: kiefferr@canisius.edu

                  Areas of specialization:

                  • Ancient Philosophy
                  • Ethics
                  Catherine McLaughlin

                  M.A. Niagara University

                  E-mail: mclaughc@canisius.edu

                  Areas of specialization:

                  • Bioethics
                  • Ethics
                  Dr. Alpana Mukherjee

                  Visva-Bharati (India)

                  E-mail: mukherja@canisius.edu

                  Areas of specialization:

                  • Indian Philosophy
                  • Philosophy of Religion
                  Dr. Richard Perkins

                  Ph.D. SUNY at Buffalo 

                  E-mail: perkinsr@canisius.edu

                  Areas of specialization:

                  • 19th Century German Philosophy
                  • Nietzsche
                  • Existentialism
                  Heron Simmonds

                  M.A. SUNY at Buffalo

                  E-mail: simmondh@canisius.edu

                  Areas of specialization:

                  • Social and Political Philosophy
                  • Philosophy of Race
                  Dr. Michael Walsh

                  Ph.D. SUNY at Buffalo

                  E-mail: walsh5@canisius.edu

                  Areas of specialization:

                  • Existentialism
                  • Heidegger