Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
I have most recently been thinking Philadelphia, its history and prospects. The city has made important improvements from its low point in the 1970's and 1980's. What is most evidently needed is light manufacturing jobs for working people. I believe that this is about the only thing which will effectively approach the problems of unemployment, crime and poverty in the neighborhoods. Trade with the wider world is no doubt important and can add to the prosperity of the city and the area. Philadelphia has always been a great port--though we are a hundred miles from the open sea, down the Delaware. Still international commerce can not replace domestic manufacturing. It is a matter of proper balance. I have taught and published on three continents, including work at American and European universities and at the University of Ibadan in Africa; and I have lived, off and on in Europe and in Philadelphia over the past 25 years or so--and crossed the Atlantic about 85 times. The area of my work includes philosophy of language, specialized on the theory of meaning and interpretation, and I also work in American philosophy and American intellectual history. As a practical matter, and in the cultural area, I have generally opposed and criticized the sources of America's contemporary political polarization. This makes the various polarizers unhappy.
I am currently working on several book length projects in philosophy along with articles and reviews.
A taught several courses on figures in American philosophy.
I taught Introductory Logic in English, and also courses on figures in American Philosophy and on American pragmatism.
I taught a range of undergraduate courses at Rider, Including Introductory Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Greek Philosophy, and Business Ethics.
Teaching philosophy in a large graduate and undergraduate department.