Mailing Address:
PENN STATE BEHREND
170 KOCHEL CENTER
ERIE, PA 16563
Biography
Dr. Shaw received his B.A. in philosophy from Bard College, an M.A. in humanities from University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Indiana University, Bloomington. He joined the faculty of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, in 2004. He is the former Program Chair for the General Arts and Sciences Major (GAS) and the Associate Degree in Letters, Arts, and Sciences (2LABC).
Teaching and Research Interests
"It is difficult for me to succinctly summarize my research and teaching interests. I think of myself as a generalist with wide-ranging, eclectic interests that span both of the major philosophical traditions, both so-called “continental” and so-called “analytic” philosophy. The common theme in my publications, however, has been ethical responsibility, and I see myself as being primarily an ethicist. Much of my research so far has been in the area of twentieth-century European philosophy, particularly Emmanuel Levinas’s ideas about ethical responsibility. I sought to clarify and to defend his ethics of “unlimited care” in my book, Emmanuel Levinas on the Priority of Ethics: Putting Ethics First. I also have written about how his experience of the Holocaust shaped his ideas about suffering and responsibility. I also do research in the analytic tradition. I have published or presented papers on a variety of topics in philosophy of art and in ethics. Some of these topics include the ethics of joke-telling, whether video games can be art, and the significance of feminist philosophy of art."
Dr. Shaw's current research focuses on ethical puzzles raised by family relationships. Some of the topics that interest him include the debate over same-sex marriage, whether children “owe” their parents anything once they become adults, ethical dilemmas raised by assisted reproductive technology, and whether parents should be held legally responsible for crimes committed by their children. His teaching at Behrend has tended to focus on ethics.
Dr. Shaw regularly teaches classes on the history of ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. From time to time, he also teaches classes on existentialism and phenomenology, philosophy of art, and, thanks to a stroke of incredibly good luck, game design.
Courses Taught
- H&SS 297D, Introduction to Game Design
- I HUM 495, Internship
- PHIL 001, Basic Problems of Philosophy
- PHIL 005, Philosophy, Art, and Film
- PHIL 102H, Existentialism and European Philosophy
- PHIL 103 and 103W, Introduction to Ethics
- PHIL 119, Ethical Leadership
- PHIL 132, Introduction to Bioethics
- PHIL 296A, Independent Studies
Research Interests
Ethics; Applied Ethics; Medical Ethics; Bioethics; Twentieth-Century European Philosophy; Post-Holocaust Jewish Philosophy
Publications
All We Could Have Been and More - July, 2023
Is It a Wonderful Life? Frank Capra and Objective Lists Theories of Worth, Film-Philosophy - May, 2023
An Error Theory for Misanthropy, Journal of Philosophic Research - April, 2023
Surplus Embryos and Abortion, Social Theory and Practice - April, 2023
Why I am (still) not convinced heartbeat bills are defensible, Bioethics - January, 2023
The Flaw in Formalist Accounts of Circumvention Tourism, Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics - November, 2022
The Ethical Indefensibility of Heartbeat Bils, Bioethics - July, 2022
Procreational Responsibilities and the Parental Obligation Objection, Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics - July, 2022
Crash Test Zombie, Tartts - February, 2022
Must Pessimists Be Suicidal?, Journal of Value Inquiry - January, 2022
Gilman, Necessary Fiction - January 12, 2022
Why Inconsistency Arguments Matter, The New Bioethics - December, 2021
Knight of Faith, After Happy Hour Review - October, 2020
Parks and Wildlife, Third Point Press - August, 2020
Justice in Emmanuel and John Rawls, International Journal of Philosophical Studies - August, 2020
Body Snatchers, Jokes Review - March, 2020
Later They Didn't, Cleaver - September, 2019
Wicked Source of Light, Cleaver - September, 2019
Hurry Down the Chimney Tonight, Kenyon Review Online - September, 2019
Levinas and the Ethics of War and Peace - May, 2019
Crash Test Zombie, Booth - March, 2019
Regulating Assisted Reproduction: Discrimination and the Right to Privacy, Clinical Ethics - March, 2019
Alterity - November, 2018
The Best of All Possible Worlds, Sundog Literature - October, 2018
Levinas and the Trauma of Responsibility, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews - September, 2018
Crash Test Zombie, Booth - July, 2018
Selecting for Disabilities: Selection versus Modification, The New Bioethics - March, 2018
Trixie's All-Stars, Pithead Chapel - March, 2018
Cure Light Wounds, Split Lip Magazine - May, 2017
"Finish Him!", Booth - February, 2017
What do Gestational Mothers Deserve?, Ethical Theory and Moral Practice - September, 2016
Finish Him!, Booth - March, 2016
Yet Part of the Scheme, Ad Astra - October, 2015
Zombie Ant Fungus, Hobart - January, 2015
Gratitude, Self-Assessment, and Moral Community, The Journal of Value Inquiry - November 24, 2013
Facing Nature: Levinas and Environmental Thought, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews - September, 2012
Why Don't Philosophers Tell Their Mothers' Stories? Philosophy, Motherhood, and Imaginative Resistance - January, 2012
Conversations with Emmanuel Levinas: 1984–1994 by Michäel de Saint Cheron, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews - January, 2011
Is Levinas’s Philosophy a Response to the Holocaust?, Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy - 2010
Philosophy of Humor, Philosophy Compass - 2010
'A Second Look at On Film.' Rev. of On Film, by Stephen Mulhall, Film-Philosophy - 2009
The Verge of Philosophy, symplokē - 2009
Levinas and Law: A Mosaic - June, 2009
Emmanuel Levinas on the Priority of Ethics: Putting Ethics First - 2008
Jean-Paul Sartre and the Jewish Question, symplokē - 2008
Feminism, Sexiness, and Objectification: Can Anyone Be Sexy? Should Everyone Be Sexy?, Proceedings of the American Society for Aesthetics Pacific Division Meeting - 2006
Addressing Levinas, symplokē - 2005
Curt Ducasse, The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers - 2005
George Henry Calvert, The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers - 2005
Irwin Edman, The Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers - 2005
Obstacles to Teaching Feminist Aesthetics, American Society for Aesthetics Newsletter - 2005
Why Does Feminism Matter to Aesthetics?, Postgraduate Journal of Aesthetics - 2005
Annotated Bibliography of Writings in Feminism and Aesthetics, Hypatia - 2003
'Struggling to See the Light.' Rev. of Textures of Light, by Cathryn Vasseleu, Film-Philosophy - 2002
The Paradox of Sinister Beauty, Proceedings of the American Society for Aesthetics Pacific Division Meeting - 2002
A Different Kind of Tragedy: Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage, Annandale - 2000
Introduction: Some Thoughts on Mastering the Humanities / Are We the Greeks?, Corerelations - 1998
Education
PHD, Philosophy, Indiana University
MA, Humanities, The University of Chicago
BA, Philosophy, Bard College