ERNESTO V. GARCIA

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
541 HALL OF LANGUAGES
E-MAIL: evgarc01@syracuse.edu

ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT

• Syracuse University Department of Philosophy. Alan and Anita Sutton Distinguished Faculty Fellow (2005-present)

EDUCATION

• Columbia University. Ph.D., Philosophy [graduated in top 10% with ‘Distinction’] (2005)
• Harvard Divinity School. M.T.S., Christianity and Culture (1998)
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. B.A., Honors Philosophy and English (1995)

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION

Moral and Political Philosophy, Metaethics (especially Moral Psychology and Practical Reasoning), History of Modern Philosophy, Nineteenth-Century Philosophy

AREAS OF COMPETENCE

Philosophy of Law, Applied Ethics, Philosophy of Religion

DISSERTATION

Nature and Freedom in Kant’s Ethics: The Historical Development of Kant’s Moral and Political Philosophy, 1775-1798. Committee: Thomas Pogge, Patricia Kitcher, Frederick Neuhouser, Wayne Proudfoot, Arthur Kuflik (University of Vermont)

Abstract: This dissertation provides one of the first systematic treatments of the major doctrinal changes in Kant’s ethics during the critical period. My approach differs from the standard literature in two main ways. First, I offer a novel account of the historical origins of Kant’s three main ethical works – the 1785 Groundwork, 1788 Critique of Practical Reason, and 1797 Metaphysics of Morals – in light of the specific role each plays in his broader system. Second, in contrast to dominant Rawlsian constructivist readings, I defend a unified approach to Kant’s practical and theoretical philosophy, exploring the much-overlooked metaphysical framework behind Kant’s ethical theory. I argue that this metaphysical interpretive strategy not only forces us to rethink many central debates about Kant’s moral and political philosophy but also offers us a new way to understand Kant’s general value theory and his overall project of a “metaphysics of morals” itself.

FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS

• Tolley Research Faculty Grant, Syracuse University, 2006
• Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, Woodrow Wilson Foundation, 2004-05
• Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, 2004-05 (declined)
• Institute for Humane Studies Fellowship, 2003-4
• President’s Fellowship, Columbia University, 1999-2001
• Dean’s Summer Research Fellowship, Columbia University, 1999, 2000
• Elizabeth D. and Leonard P. Kurtz Fellowship and Fellow of the Faculty, Columbia University, 1989-99

PRIZES AND AWARDS

• APA Outstanding Graduate Student Prize, Central Division, 2005
• Award for best paper submitted by a graduate student, Eastern Study Group of the North American Kant Society [NAKS], for “A New Look at the Historical Origins of Kant’s 1785 Groundwork”, 2004
• Invitation for special edition of Philosophical Studies devoted to best papers presented at the APA Pacific Division Meeting, 2003
• APA Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Prize, Pacific Division Meeting, 2003
• Finalist, Columbia University “Presidential Teaching Award”, 2003 (Annual university-wide competition for teaching excellence among graduate student instructors)
• Recipient of “Core Curriculum Preceptor Award for Teaching Excellence”, Columbia University, 2002 (Only one award with a $3000 stipend given annually for best teaching among core curriculum graduate student instructors)
• 1st Annual Markus Herz Award given for best paper submitted by a graduate student among all study group meetings of the North American Kant Society [NAKS] for “The Historical Development of Kant’s Account of Virtue”, 2000
• Hume Society Graduate Student Travel Award, 1999

PUBLICATIONS

1. “The Logical Contradiction Reading of Kant’s Categorical Imperative Revisited,” forthcoming in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
2. “Bishop Butler on Forgiveness and Resentment,” forthcoming in Philosopher's Imprint
3. “Value Realism and the Internalism/Externalism Debate,” Philosophical Studies, Vol. 117, Nos. 1-2 (Jan. 2004), pp. 231-258
4. “A Kantian Theory of Evil,” Monist, Vol. 85, No. 2 (April 2002), pp. 194-209
5. “The Social Nature of Kantian Dignity,” in Social Philosophy Today, Volume 16: Race, Social Identity and Human Dignity (Charlottesville, VA: Philosophy Documentation Center, 2002), pp. 127-139
6. “Kant on Founding Civil Society,” in Kant und die Berliner Aufklärung: Akten des IX. Internationalen Kant-Kongresses, Vol. 4, edited by Volker Gerhardt, Rolf-Peter Horstmann, and Ralph Schumacher (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2001), pp. 116-125

BOOK REVIEWS

1. Book review of Paul Franks, All or Nothing: Systematicity, Transcendental Arguments, and Skepticism in German Idealism (Harvard University Press), forthcoming in Philosophical Review, Vol. 117, No. 2 (2008)
2. Book review of Essays on Kant’s Anthropology, edited by Brian Jacobs and Patrick Kain (Cambridge University Press), Journal of Moral Philosophy Vol. 3, No. 2 (2006): 240-244

WORKS IN PROGRESS (PARTIAL LIST)

1. “A New Look at Kantian Respect for Persons”
2. “Hume on Practical Reason: Instrumentalist or Skeptic?”
3. “Taking Self-Government Seriously: A New Account of Personal Autonomy”
4. "The Classical Model of Agency: An Interpretation and Defense"
5. "The Ethical Significance of the Second Person Perspective: Two Approaches"

PRESENTATIONS AND INVITED TALKS

1. Comments on Richard Galvin, “The Practical Contradiction Interpretation Revisited,” APA Pacific Division Meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 2007
2. Comments on Rachel Cohon, "Hume on Reason Alone and Moral Discrimination," Upstate New York Early Modern Workshop, Syracuse, NY, September 2006
3. Comments on Shoshana Smith (Colgate University), “Descartes and Common Notions,” Upstate New York Early Modern Workshop, Syracuse, NY, March 2006
4. “A New Look at Kantian Respect for Persons,” 9th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Law, Culture, and the Humanities [ASLCH], Syracuse, NY, April 200
5. “Bishop Butler on Forgiveness and Resentment,” Upstate New York Early Modern Workshop, Syracuse, NY, December 2005
6. “The Strategy of Kant’s Formula of Humanity,” 2005 APA Central Division Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 2005
7. “Hegel’s Critique of Kant’s Transcendental Idealism in the Phenomenology of Spirit: The Untold Story,” Society for German Idealism Group Session, in conjunction with 2005 APA Pacific Division Meeting, San Francisco, CA, March 2005
8. “Kantian Respect for Persons: A Critical Reappraisal,” University of Maryland-Baltimore County [UMBC], March 2004
9. “Kant’s Political and Historical Writings,” Invited Talk for ‘A Prospectus for a Multicultural Approach in the Core Curriculum: Nobility and Civility Workshop’, Columbia University, New York, NY, May 2004
10. “The Metaphysical Project of Kant’s 1785 Groundwork,” 1st Annual Meeting of the Eastern Kant Study Group of the North American Kant Society, New York, NY, April 2004
11. “Kant’s 1785 Groundwork: Historical Background, Structure, and Aims,” Invited Lecture for Columbia University Contemporary Civilization Workshop on “Kant”, New York, NY, January 2004
12. “The Relationship between Nature and Freedom in Kant’s Philosophy of History,” 2nd Annual Humane Studies Fellows Research Colloquium, Alexandria, VA, May 2003
13. “Value Realism and the Internalism/Externalism Debate,” Pacific Division APA Meeting Symposium Paper with panel members David Copp (Bowling Green State University) and Ulrike Heuer (UPenn), San Francisco, CA, March 2003
14. “In Defense of Abraham’s Faith: Kant, Hegel, and Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling,” 39th Annual Meeting of the Society of Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy with commentator Merold Westphal (Fordham University), Baltimore, MD, October 2001
15. “The Historical Development of Kant’s Account of Virtue,” Midwest Study Group of North American Kant Society, Chicago, IL, November 2000
16. “The Idea of Virtue as a Regulative Ideal,” 40th Annual Contemporary Philosophy Conference on “Virtue: Excellence in Morality”, Bretton Woods, NH, August 2000
17. “Kant on Founding Civil Society,” 9th International Kant Congress, Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, Germany, March 2000
18. “Hume and 18th-Century Aesthetic Experiments,” 26th International Hume Society Conference, with commentator David Raynor (University of Ottawa), University College Cork, Cork, Ireland, July 1999
19. “The Social Nature of Kantian Dignity,” 16th International Social Philosophy Conference, Villanova, PA, June 1999
20. “Economic Privilege in the Aesthetic Theories of David Hume and Adam Smith,” Princeton Eighteenth-Century Society Conference, Princeton, NJ, April 1999

Graduate Student Conferences

1. “Kant’s Practical ‘Transcendental Logic’ in the 1785 Groundwork,” 1st Annual United Kingdom Kant Society Graduate Student Conference, London School of Economics, London, England, July 2004
2. “Kant’s Discovery of Moral Character, ca. 1793,” Boston University Graduate Student Kant Conference, Boston, MA, April 2004
3. “Skepticism and the Internalism/Externalism Debate,” 11th Annual Harvard/MIT Graduate Student Philosophy Conference, with commentator Martin O’Neill (Harvard), Cambridge, MA, March 2003
4. Comments on Robert Armstrong (Columbia University), “Sympathy and Practical Reason in Hume’s Ethics,” 1st Annual NYU/Columbia Graduate Student Philosophy Conference, New York, NY, April 2001
5. Comments on David Enoch (NYU), “The Indispensability of Irreducibly Normative Facts,” 1st Annual NYU/Columbia Graduate Student Philosophy Conference, New York, NY, April 2001

Undergraduate Student Conference

“The Reconstruction of Human Finitude: On Kierkegaard’s Proto-Hermeneutics,” New England Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, Tufts University, Medford, MA, April 1995 [This was a chapter from my undergraduate thesis which was published in two undergraduate journals: Episteme Vol. VI (1995), pp. 1-19 and Hampshire College Journal of Philosophy (1996), pp. 38-60)]

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

ADVISOR

• M.A. Thesis, Joel Brown, “Kant and Transcendental Arguments”, Syracuse University

DISSERTATION COMMITTEE MEMBER

• Larry James, “The Meaningfulness of Life”, Syracuse University
• Kienhow Gow, “Fichte’s Transcendental Theory of Action”, Syracuse University
• Michael McQuitty, “The Proper Role of Religious Convictions in the Political Realm of a Liberal Democracy”, Syracuse University

COURSES TAUGHT

GRADUATE LEVEL

• Kant’s Ethical Theory, Syracuse University, Fall 2007
• Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, Syracuse University, Spring 2007
• Theories of Autonomy (co-taught with Kenneth Baynes), Syracuse University, Fall 2006
• Independent Study, Kant’s Critique of Judgment, Syracuse University, Spring 2006
• Independent Study, Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, Syracuse University, Spring 2006
• Independent Study, Kant’s Ethical Theory (co-taught with Frederick Beiser), Syracuse University, Fall 2005

UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL

• British Philosophy, Syracuse University, Spring 2007
• Ethics, Onondaga College, Spring 2007
• History of Modern Philosophy, Onondaga College, Fall 2007
• History of Ancient Philosophy, Onondaga College, Fall 2006
• Independent Study, History of Philosophy: Pre-Socratics to Augustine, Syracuse University, Fall 2006
• British Philosophy, Syracuse University, Spring 2006
• Honors Introduction to Philosophy, Syracuse University, Fall 2005
• Contemporary Civilization: Great Books in the Western Tradition, Columbia University, Fall/Spring 2001-03
• Images of the Self in Philosophy and Literature, Barnard College, Summer 2002
• Philosophical Methods and Problems, Columbia University, Summer 2001
• Existentialism, Columbia University, Summer 2001
• History of Modern Philosophy, NYU, Summer 2000

TEACHING ASSISTANT

• Moral Philosophy, Columbia University, Fall 2003
• Political Philosophy, Barnard College, Spring 2001
• Nineteenth-Century Philosophy, Barnard College, Fall 2000
• History of Modern Philosophy, Columbia University, Spring 2000
• Philosophy of Law, Barnard College, Fall 1999

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE

• Main conference organizer (with assistance of Michael Stocker and Ned McClennen), SPAWN [Syracuse Philosophy Annual Workshop and Network] 2007 Conference on “Practical Reason”, Syracuse University, July 2007. List of speakers:

Senior Participants: Robert Audi, Michael Bratman, Stephen Darwall, Margaret Gilbert, Gilbert Harman, Ned McClennen, Joseph Raz, Geoffrey Sayre-McCord, T.M. Scanlon, G.F. Schueler, Michael Smith, Nicholas Sturgeon
Junior Participants: Justin D’Arms, Ulrike Heuer, Pamela Hieronymi, Daniel Jacobson, Joshua Knobe, Niko Kolodny, Michael Ridge, Kieran Setiya, David Sobel, Ralph Wedgwood

• Upstate New York Early Modern Workshop Co-Organizer, 2005-2007
• Undergraduate Review Committee, Syracuse University, 2005-06
• Journal Referee:
Philosophical Quarterly
Journal of Moral Philosophy
Inquiry
Journal of Philosophical Research
• North American Kant Society [NAKS] Assistant to the President, 2003-05
• Invited Faculty Member, Special Workshop on “A Prospectus for a Multicultural Sequence in the Core Curriculum” sponsored by the Mellon Foundation, Heyman Center for the Humanities, Columbia University, 2004-2005
• Columbia/NYU Graduate Student Philosophy Conference
Organizing Committee, 2001-2003
Paper Reviewer, 2001-05
• Selection Committee for “Best Undergraduate Essay Prize” for Contemporary Civilization, Columbia University, 2004-05
• Columbia Undergraduate Philosophy Review, Graduate Student Advisory Board, History of Philosophy and Moral/Political Philosophy Advisor, 2003-05
• Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Teaching Workshop Co-Leader (with Mara DeGenarro, Department of English), “Responding to Undergraduate Student Writing”, 2003-04

REFERENCES

Frederick Beiser, Syracuse University Department of Philosophy
Patricia Kitcher, Columbia University Department of Philosophy
Frederick Neuhouser, Barnard College Department of Philosophy, Chair
Thomas Pogge, Columbia University Department of Philosophy/Political Science
Wayne Proudfoot, Columbia University Department of Religion
Michael Stocker, Syracuse University Department of Philosophy
Laurence Thomas, Syracuse University Department of Philosophy

Eileen Gillooly, Columbia University [teaching recommendation]