Philosophy Faculty at SUNY Plattsburgh - Beth Dixon

Philosophy Faculty — Beth Dixon

Professor

The idea that I try to consistently realize in my professional life is that philosophical reasoning and ethical inquiry are activities connected with our ordinary ways of living. At some point most of us will think about, wrestle with, or be puzzled by a philosophical issue. A professional philosopher can play the role of a guide to thinking clearly, thoroughly, and consistently about these ideas.

Perhaps the main insight that guides the way I teach is that philosophy is a kind of activity — a doing — and it is, additionally, a social activity.

My students are invited to own the philosophical inquiry that takes place in my classes.

Teaching Areas

• Ethics.
• Philosophy of mind.
• Emotions.
• Ethics and animals.
• Logic.
• Philosophy for children.

Research Areas

• Ethics.
• Philosophy for children.
• Ethics and animals.

Recent Publications and Presentations

• “Fables and Philosophy” presented at the session on Precollege Ethics Education, American Philosophical Association Eastern Division Meeting, Boston, MA—December 27-30, 2010.
• Animals, Emotion, and Morality: Marking the Boundary (Prometheus Books, September 2008). Read the back cover. (PDF file size is 813kB).
• "The Moral Responsibility of Children and Animals," Thinking Vol. 19, no. 1.
• "Responsibility for Belief: Three Cases," Teaching Ethics, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Spring 2004).
• "Narrative Cases," Teaching Ethics, Vol. 3, no. 1 (Fall 2002).
• "Animal Emotion," Ethics and the Environment, Vol. 6 no. 2 (Autumn 2001).

Awards

• SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching (2009).

Contact Beth Dixon

Office: Champlain Valley Hall 306
Phone: (518) 564-2836
Email: dixonba@plattsburgh.edu