James Petrik
Recent News
Education
Ph.D. in Philosophy, Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin), 1983-1990.
B.S. in Mathematics, Bellarmine College (Louisville, Kentucky), 1979-1983.
Research
- Areas of Specialization: Early Modern Philosophy and Philosophy of Religion
Positions Held
Professor of Philosophy, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701. (Fall 2020 - Present)
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701. (Fall 1999-Spring 2020)
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701 (Fall, 1992-Spring, 1999)
Visiting Professor, Shoin Women's University, Kobe, Japan. (Fall, 1994-Summer, 1995)
Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Rockhurst College, Kansas City, Missouri 64112. (fall, 1989 – spring, 1992)
Teaching Awards
University Professor, Ohio University, 2011-12
University Professor, Ohio University, 2003-04
Jeanette Graselli Award for Excellence in Teaching, College of Arts & Sciences, Ohio University, 1999-00
Golden Key Honor Society Teaching Award, 1999-00
Faculty of the Year, Rockhurst College, 1989-90
Courses Taught
Graduate: British Empiricism, Continental Rationalism, Kant.
Undergraduate: Contemporary Philosophy of Religion, Ethical Theory, History of Modern Philosophy, Introduction to the History of Philosophy, Introduction to Metaphysics, Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, Islamic Philosophy, Logic, Philosophy of Death and Dying, Philosophy of the Human Person, Philosophy of Math and Science, Philosophy of Religion.
Publications
Books
Philosophy: Sex and Love, co-edited with Arthur Zucker (MacMillan-Cengage, 2016).
Fundamentals of Philosophy, 8th Edition with H. Gene Blocker and David Stewart (Boston, MA: Prentice Hall, 2013).
Evil Beyond Belief (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe Publishing, Inc., 2000).
Descartes' Theory of the Will (Durango, CO: Hollowbrook Publishing, 1992).
Refereed Articles
“Spinoza’s Dream Argument: a Response to Introspective Arguments for Freedom.” Co-authored with David Rose. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2019 26 (11-12): 157-181. [I was lead author on this publication.
“Al-Farabi and Kant on Corrupt Religious Leadership.” АйКап, 2017, no. 3, pp. 64-67.
“The internet, identity and intellectual capital: a response to Dreyfus's critique of e-learning.” Co-authored with Talgat Kilybayev and Dinara Shormanbayeva. Ethics and Information Technology, 16(4), 2014, pp. 275-284. [I was lead author on this publication.]
“Acting on One’s Own: A Response to Eleonore Stump’s Critique of the Flicker of Freedom” in Mind, Language and Action: Reports of the 36th International Wittgenstein Conference (Kirchberg, Austria: Ludwig Wittgenstein Society, 2013).
“Double Meant is not Double Good: A Problem for Kane’s Response to the Chance Objection,” in Beiträge der österreichischen Wittgenstein Gesellschaft/Contributions of the 29th Austrian Wittgenstein Society (Kirchberg, Austria: Ludwig Wittgenstein Society, 2006).
“Descartes on Divine Indifference and the Transworld Validity of the Eternal Truths” in The Southern Journal of Philosophy XXXVI (1998): 417-432.
"In Defense of C. S. Lewis's Analysis of God's Goodness" in International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, XXXVI (1994): 45-56.
Incontinence and Desire in Plato's Tripartite Psychology" in Dialogos, XXVII, #60 (July, 1992): 43-57.
"What's a God to Do?" in Sophia, XXX, Numbers 2-3 (1992): 31-33.
"Every Dogma Must Have Its Day" in Communication and Cognition, XXIV, #2 (1991): 137-148.
"Freedom as Self-determination in the Summa Theologiae" in The Southern Journal of Philosophy, XXVII, #1 (Spring, 1989): 87-100.
"What's Really Wrong With Informal Fallacies?" in Scholar and Educator, XII, #2 (Spring, 1989): 32-38.
"Two Faces Have 'I'" in Grazer Philosophische Studien, Vol. 35 (1989): 55-65.
"The Clock Paradox and the Logic of Time-Dilation" in Philosophy of the Natural Sciences (Vienna: Holder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1989): 214-219.
“The Metaphysical Self and Solipsism in the Tractatus" in Philosophy of Law, Politics, and Society (Vienna: Holder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1988): 321-323.
Invited Articles
“The Case for Reincarnation” in Philosophy: Religion, edited by Donald Borchert (MacMillan-Cengage: in press, 2017, pp. 277-302.
“Autonomy, Sex and Coercion: The Problem of Non-Consensual Sex” in Philosophy: Sex and Love, edited by Arthur Zucker and James Petrik (MacMillan-Cengage: 2016), pp. 271-302.
“Philosophy of Sex and Love” in Philosophy: Sources, Perspectives, and Methodologies, authored and edited by Donald Borchert (Macmillan-Cengage: 2016), pp. 365-382.
“Enantiomorphs and Kant's Neglected Alternative” in Vestnik for Philosophy and Political Science, vol. 37 (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Press, 2011), pp. 204-207.
“Inscrutable Evil and An Infinite God” in Fundamentals of Philosophy, 8th Edition by H. Gene Blocker, David Stewart and James Petrik (Boston, MA: Prentice Hall, forthcoming 2013). This article is an adaptation of a portion of my book, Evil Beyond Belief.
"Death's Defeat: Emphasizing Human Dignity in the Post-mortem Harvesting of Organs" in The Bioethics Network of Ohio Newsletter: Special Supplement (2000): pp. 23-26.
"Descartes" in Censorship (Pasadena, CA: Salem Publishing, 1997): Vol. I, 215.
"Pornography" in Censorship (Pasadena, CA: Salem Publishing, 1997): Vol. II, 621-626.
"Consistency" in Magill's Ready Reference Ethics (Pasadena, CA: Salem Publishing, 1994): Vol. I, 193-194.
"Divine Command Theory" in Magill's Ready Reference Ethics (Pasadena, CA: Salem Publishing, 1994): Vol. I, 234-235.
"Golden Rule" in Magill's Ready Reference Ethics (Pasadena, CA: Salem Publishing, 1994): Vol. II, 354-355.
"Self-Preservation" in Magill's Ready Reference Ethics (Pasadena, CA: Salem Publishing, 1994): Vol. III, 785-786.
"Will" in Magill's Ready Reference Ethics (Pasadena, CA: Salem Publishing, 1994): Vol. III, 933-936.
Presentations Given (in last seven years)
Invited Lectures at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, "Lectures in Ethics," Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (November 2014).
Invited Lectures at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, "Lectures in Ethics," Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (December 2013).
36th International Wittgenstein Symposium 2013, "“Acting on One’s Own: A Response to Eleonore Stump’s Critique of the Flicker of Freedom"," Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society, Kirchberg, Austria. (August 14, 2013).
Invited Lectures at Karaganda State Technical University, "Lectures in 17th and 18th Century Philosophy," Karaganda State Technical University, Karaganda City, Kazakhstan. (June 2013).
Invited Lectures at Karaganda State Technical University, "Ethics and Philosophy of Religion," Karaganda State Technical University, Department of Philosophy, Karaganda City, Kazakhstan. (October 2012).
Turkic Philosophy, "The Platonism of al-Kindi's Ethics," Department of Philosophy, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (October 17, 2012).
Values of Youth in Independent Kazakhstan: Psychological Perspectives, "The Greening of America's Youth," Department of Psychology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (December 8, 2011).
Invited Leading Lecture, "Inscrutable Evil and the Existence of God," Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (November 30, 2011).
Invited Lecture, "Inscrutable Evils and Moral Skepticism," University of Transport, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (November 29, 2011).
Religious Extremism, "The Irreligion of Religious Extremism," Department of Philosophy, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (November 23, 2011).
Problems of Philosophy of Religion, "Freedom of Belief and Religious Practice," Department of Philosophy, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (November 10, 2011).
Invited Lecture, "Philosophy of Film," Kazakh National Academy of the Arts, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (November 2, 2011).
International Science-Theoretical Conference, "Enantiomorphs and Kant's Neglected alternative," Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. (October 19, 2011).
Philosophy Colloquium, ""Ontology, Modality and Divinity: A Cartesian Trilemma"," Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA. (March 31, 2010).