Philosophy Faculty

gsaxtell@radford.edu
Professor
CHBS 4205
540-831-5025

Ph.D. University of Hawaii'i

Bio: Dr. Guy Axtell is Professor of Philosophy and Faculty Fellow of the Radford University Honors Academy. He received the Outstanding Scholar Award for 2012-2013 in the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences.

Teaching interests: Epistemology and metaphysics, philosophy of science, “STS” or science, technology and society studies, and philosophy of religion. JanusBlog: the Virtue Theory Discussion Forum has links to many of his recent and forthcoming papers in his research areas of epistemology and analytic and comparative philosophy of religion. When not teaching or writing, “Dr. Ax” often seeks his ataraxia through biking, tennis, skiing, windsurfing, and curiously speaking about himself in the third person. Ataraxia: Ancient Greek term for psychic balance and “freedom from disquiet.”

Research interests: Sampling of recent and forthcoming research:

Papers and abstracts are available at PhilPapers (http://philpapers.org/profile/32628) and Academia.edu (https://radford.academia.edu/GuyAxtell)

• Objectivity. In Key Concepts in Philosophy from Polity Press (Cambridge, UK, Dec. 2015), 978-0-7456-6220-6. Wiley site:  http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-074566220X.html
• “Navigating the Dialectics of Objectivity.” In The Future of Social Epistemology: A Collective Vision. James Collier (ed.) Rowman & Littlefield (2015), 97-106.  http://www.rowmaninternational.com/books/the-future-of-social-epistemology
• “Moral Learning, Imagination, and the Space of Humor.” Draft for 11^th East-West Philosopher’s Conference, Honolulu, U. of Hawaii,  East-West Center, 2016.
• “William James on Pragmatism and Religion.” In William James, Moral Philosophy, and the Ethical Life: The Cries of the Wounded.  Jacob Goodson (ed.), Lexington Books (2016).
• “The Emotions in James’ Principles of Psychology.” In William James, Moral Philosophy, and the Ethical Life: The Cries of the Wounded. Jacob Goodson (ed.), Lexington Books (2016).
• “Possibility and Permission? Intellectual Character, Inquiry, and the Ethics of Belief,” in H. Rydenfelt and S. Pihlstrom, William James on Religion. Palgrave-MacMillan, 2013.
• “Recovering Responsibility,” Logos and Episteme (2011).
• “The Dialectics of Objectivity,” Philosophy of History (2012).
• From Internalist Evidentialism to Virtue Responsibilism” in Evidentialism and its Discontents,Trent Dougherty (ed.) 2011. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• “Three Independent Factors in Epistemology” (with Phillip Olson, VTU’s ASPECT Program),Contemporary Pragmatism, 2010.
• “Character-Trait Ascription in Ethics and Epistemology,” in H. Battaly (ed.) Virtue and Vice, Moral and Epistemic. Oxford: Wiley/Broadview Press, 2010 (reprinted from Metaphilosophy (2009).
• “Virtue Theoretic Responses to Skepticism”, in Oxford Handbook of Epistemology, John Greco, ed., 2009.
• “Epistemic Virtue,” in Routledge Encyclopedia of Epistemology, 2nd edition, 2009, M. Steup, ed.
  

ggoffste@radford.edu
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
CHBS 4136                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Ph.D. University of Missouri

Dr. Gilburt Goffstein is assistant professor. He is a co-founder of Radford University’s Peace Studies Program. He received the 2017-2018 Gilburt Goffstein Award in Teaching Excellence in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies.

Dr. Goffstein’s teaching, research and personal interests come together in the exploration of human liberation. This begins with a Freudo-Marxist interpretation of G. H. Mead’s social behaviorism and culminates in critical communicative spirituality that incorporates the interplay of the thought of Jurgen Habermas and the practice of Zen Buddhism. Dr. Goffstein’s other passions include the game of Go and the city of Paris.

shartlin@radford.edu
Professor of Philosophy
CHBS 4201
540-831-5898

Ph.D. SUNY at Stony Brook

gmartin@radford.edu
Professor of Philosophy
CHBS 4211
540-831-5897

Ph.D. CUNY

abernal@radford.edu
Philosophy Adjunct Faculty
CHBS 4204

Ph.D., Virginia Tech

Amiel recently received his Ph.D. from the ASPECT program at Virginia Tech. Amiel’s work (and dissertation) focus on epistemic injustice, attempting to explain how and when too much information, credibility, and understanding can undermine the intellectual achievement of individuals. Outside of teaching and research Amiel is a an avid traveler, yoga enthusiast, and adventure-seeker.

mzarella@radford.edu
Philosophy Adjunct Faculty
CHBS 4126

M.A., Virginia Tech

I teach a variety of introductory and upper-level courses. In all my courses, philosophy is presented as an activity that strives to clarify questions and potential answers in matters central to being human: what can we know about ourselves and the world; how can we best explain conscious experience; do we act freely, and if so, how should we live—how should we face death? My courses emphasize writing; through writing and revising papers, students think deeply about the questions we discuss. 

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Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
Ph.D. Penn State

Ph.D. Florida State University

Bio: Dr. Joe Jones was Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. Joe was an Air Force brat. His father took the family to the Philippines for two tours, 5 1/2 years, and one tour in Germany, three years, and did an unaccompanied year tour in Korea when Joe was 6. When Joe was 17, he went to college at Clemson University, majored in beer, and flunked out. In late 1968, at 19 1/2 and with a 1-A draft classification prior to the lottery, he enlisted for 4 years in the Air Force. Between 1970 and 1972, he spent twenty-one months in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. When he was discharged early, just turned 23, he had spent about ten years abroad, which has affected his view of the world. This view is not so centered on the United States as the views of some folk. Better motivated, Joe tried college again, discovered it comfortable, and became a lifelong student. After 11 years, Florida State University said there were no more degrees he could get and threw him out with a Ph.D. in ancient Greek philosophy and mathematics, the history of science, logic, ethics, and a thing called metaphysics. He is still learning and appreciates the chance to speak with students concerning philosophical issues, which he sometimes considers ongoing therapy for himself. He wishes for students to also benefit from the conversations.

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