Published "Aesthetics and the Problem of Evil" (Metaphilosophy 2003), 34 (3), 250-283. Reprinted in Leibniz, die Künste und die Musik: ihre Geschichte, Theorie und Wissenschaft, Sander Wilkens (ed.). Munich: Katzbichler Verlag (2007), 41, 146-165. Category: Invited Publications
Peer reviewed
2007
The Musical Representation: Meaning, Ontology, and Emotion. (2007), MIT Press.
Category: Book
Book
2006
Published Review of Deeper Than Reason: Emotion and Its Role in Literature, Music, and Art (Robinson, Jenefer, Oxford University Press, 2005). Modern Philology, 104(1), (2006), 105-108.
Category: Invited Publications
Book reviews
2003
Published "Another Look at Functionalism and the Emotions," Brain and Mind, 4 (2003), 353-383. Category: Refereed Publication
Peer reviewed
2001
Published "Troubles with the Causal Homeostasis Theory of Reference," Philosophical Psychology, 14 (2), (2001), 155-178. Category: Refereed Publication
Peer reviewed
Presentations and Projects
Persons, Selves, and the Emotional Brain 2009
Paper: "Persons, Selves, and the Emotional Brain," presented at a conference in honor of Robert Solomon, The University of Texas at Austin, February 6, 2009.
Sentiment and Sentimentality in Music 2009
Paper: "Sentiment and Sentimentality in Music," presented at a conference on music and the emotions at the Collegium for Advanced Studies, The University of Helsinki, June 3, 2009.
Nausea and Contingency: Musical Emotion and Religious Emotion 2002
Paper: "Nausea and Contingency: Musical Emotion and Religious Emotion," presented at the Dallas Philosophers' Forum, October 22, 2002.
The Musical Utterance: Reflections on Nelson Goodman 2000
Paper: "The Musical Utterance: Reflections on Nelson Goodman," presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Aesthetics, Reno, Nevada, October, 2000.
The Musical Affordance: A Neo-Gibsonian Approach to Musical Representation 2000
Paper: "The Musical Affordance: A Neo-Gibsonian Approach to Musical Representation," Presental at the UTA Psychology Colloquium, October 20, 2000.
The Musical Touch Effect 1999
Paper: "The Musical Touch Effect," presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Aesthetics, Washington, D.C., October 27-30, 1999.
Troubles With the Causal Homeostasis Theory of Reference 1999
Paper: "Troubles With the Causal Homeostasis Theory of Reference," presented at the annual meeting of the North Texas Philosophical Association, Dallas, Texas, March 13, 1999.
Decision Time 1997
Commentary on Hoke Robinson's "Decision Time," presented at the Central Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 23-27, 1997.
Aesthetics and the Problem of Evil 1996
Paper: "Aesthetics and the Problem of Evil," presented at the College of St. Thomas More, Fort Worth, TX (October 25, 1996), and at the Dallas Philosophers' Forum (November 26, 1996).
Majoritarianism, Autonomy, and 'Entrenchment' 1995
Paper: "Majoritarianism, Autonomy, and 'Entrenchment'," presented at the 57th annual meeting of the Southwestern Philosophical Society, Austin, Texas, Nov. 10-12, 1995.
Habermas on Austin's Perlocutionary Effects 1995
Paper: "Habermas on Austin's Perlocutionary Effects," presented at the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association, Chicago, illinois, April 26-29, 1995.
Affiliations
Music
1972-1989
Member, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
1986-Present
Member, American Philosophical Association
1993-Present
Member, Southwestern Philosophical Society
Appointments
Duration
Rank
Department / School
College / Office
University / Company
1997-Present
Associate Professor
Philosophy & Humanities
College of Liberal Arts
The University of Texas at Arlington
1991-1997
Assistant Professor
Philosophy & Humanities
College of Liberal Arts
The University of Texas at Arlington
1990-1991
Visiting Assistant Professor
Northern Michigan University
1989-1990
Visiting Assistant Professor
Northwestern University
1988
Assistant Professor (Part-time)
Emory University
Synergistic Activities
OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITES
Editorial Consultant, Philosophical Psychology Editorial Consultant, Synthese. Editorial Consultant, Journal of the History of Philosophy. Editorial Consultant, Oxford University Press. Editorial Consultant, Wadsworth Press. Editorial Consultant, Northwestern University Press. Editorial Consultant, Southwestern Philosophical Society and Southwest Philosophy Review. Session Chair, Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, Louisville, Kentucky, April 12-14, 1990.
Course Description The philosophers of the19th century exhibit diverse tendencies and varied interests. In this course we shall select from this profusion two loci of vigorous philosophic activity: the debate in moral philosophy motivated by Kant's deontological (duty-based) theory and Mill's consequentialist (happiness-based) theory, and the Hegelian idealist metaphysics and philosophy of history deriving from Kantian transcendental idealism. We shall also consider Nietzsche's genetic critique of the Western/Christian moral tradition, the beginnings of American pragmatism, and a seminal paper by Frege that helped usher in the new analytic movement in early 20th-century philosophy.
Texts Kant: Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, trans. Ellington. Hackett, 1988. Mill: Utilitarianism. Hackett, 1979. Nietzsche: On the Genealogy of Morals, trans. Kaufmann. Vintage, 1967. Hegel: “Who Thinks Abstractly?” (on e-reserve). Hegel: The Essential Writings, ed. Weiss. Harper, 1977. Peirce: Philosophical Writings of Peirce, ed. Buchler. Dover, 1955. Frege: "On Sense and Nominatum" (on reserve).
Requirements Three take home exams; optional 10- page term paper. Final grades will be computed on the basis of performance on the exams, with all three weighted equally. Attendance at lectures is expected but not graded. Please do not make a practice of arriving late. Note that university policy now is such that students will no longer be dropped from class rolls for non-attendance. Individual Attention If you are disabled in any way and require special accommodations, please speak to me privately. In general, I am available during office hours for discussion with any student. If you cannot visit during office hours, do not hesitate to make an appointment. Academic Dishonesty For definitions and procedures concerning academic dishonesty please consult the UTA Undergraduate Catalogue and the published guidelines established by The Undergraduate Assembly, Student Congress, and the Research and Evaluation Office/Student Affairs. University Statement “The University of Texas at Arlington supports a variety of student success programs to help you connect with the University and achieve academic success. They include learning assistance, developmental education, advising and mentoring, admission and transition, and federally funded programs. Students requiring assistance academically, personally, or socially should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more information and appropriate referrals.”
Contact Information CAR Hours: Th 3:30-4:30 Phone: (817) 272-3217 Email: nussbaum@uta.edu
Course Description Theory of knowledge, or epistemology as it has been called in the 20th century, has always been one of the core areas of Western philosophy. Epistemology presents three interrelated but distinguishable aspects, the first metaphysical, the second methodological, and the third criterial/justificational. It purports to tell us what knowledge is, how we should go about acquiring it, and how we can determine whether/establish that we have it.
In its modern (post 17th-century) phase, epistemology (whether in rationalist or empiricist versions) has been predominantly, though not exclusively, Cartesian. It has been foundationalist (holding that there are epistemically privileged modes of knowledge), it has been internalist and oriented to the first person point of view (holding that epistemic justification must in principle be available to the individual knower), and it has been sentential (holding that knowledge is propositional and that epistemic justification, where not reflexive, is captured by logical relations between beliefs).
In times recent (and not so recent) all three of these Cartesian assumptions have been challenged. Coherentism, holism, pragmatism, contextualism, and naturalism have challenged foundationalism; externalism and reliabilism have challenged internalism; and connectionism and evolutionary epistemology have challenged sententialism. In this course we shall consider epistemology's three aspects and the sometimes uneasy relations between them, contemporary versions of the traditional Cartesian approach, and the various recent challenges.
Text: Sosa and Kim (eds.): Epistemology: An Anthology (Second Edition). Blackwell, 2008. A set of articles on e-reserve.
Books on reserve: BonJour, L. The Structure of Empirical Knowledge. Harvard, 1985. Chisholm, R. The Foundations of Knowing. Minnesota, 1982. Churchland, P. Scientific Realism and the Plasticity of Mind. Cambridge, 1979. Dancy, J. and Sosa, E. A Companion to Epistemology, Blackwell, 1993. Haack, S. Evidence and Inquiry. Blackwell, 1993. Kirkham, R. Theories of Truth. Bradford/MIT, 1992. Millikan, R. White Queen Psychology and Other Essays for Alice. Bradford/MIT, 1993. Moser, P., Mulder, D., and Trout, J.D. The Theory of Knowledge: A Thematic Introduction. Oxford, 1998. Pollock, J. and Cruz, J. Contemporary Theories of Knowledge. (Second Edition) Rowman and Littlefield, 1999. Rorty, R. Consequences of Pragmatism. Minnesota, 1982.
Requirements: Three take-home essay exams and a 10-page term paper, all equally weighted. No final exam. Graduate students: 15-page paper.
Attendance and Exam Policy: Attendance is expected but not graded. Please do not make a practice of coming in late. The take-home assignments and the paper must be handed in on time. Note that university policy is now such that students will no longer be dropped from class rolls for non-attendance.
Individual Attention: If you are disabled in any way and require special accommodations, please talk to me privately. I am available at any time during office hours for discussion with any student. If you cannot visit during office hours, do not hesitate to make an appointment.
Academic Dishonesty For definitions and procedures concerning academic dishonesty please consult the UTA Undergraduate Catalogue and the published guidelines established by The Undergraduate Assembly, Student Congress, and the Research and Evaluation Office/Student Affairs.
University Statement “The University of Texas at Arlington supports a variety of student success programs to help you connect with the University and achieve academic success. They include learning assistance, developmental education, advising and mentoring, admission and transition, and federally funded programs. Students requiring assistance academically, personally, or socially should contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 817-272-6107 for more information and appropriate referrals.”
Schedule of Readings: Traditional Concepts of Justification: Foundationalism and Coherentism Schlick: “The Foundation of Knowledge.” On e-reserve. BonJour: "The Doctrine of the Empirically Given." On e-reserve. Sellars: "Does Empirical Knowledge Have a Foundation?” Chisholm: "The Myth of the Given." Sellars: “Epistemic Principles.” BonJour: "Can Empirical Knowledge Have a Foundation?" BonJour: "The Coherence Theory of Empirical Knowledge." On e-reserve. BonJour: "Coherence and Truth." On e-reserve.
Challenges to the Tradition: Externalism, Non-Sententialism, Pragmatism, and Contextualism Gettier: "Is Justified True Belief Knowledge?” Goldman: "A Causal Theory of Knowing." On e-reserve. Goldman: "What Is Justified Belief?" Churchland: "Sententialist Epistemologies and the Natural Science of Epistemic Engines." On e-reserve. Rorty: "Pragmatism, Relativism, and Irrationalism." On e-reserve. Elgin: “The Epistemic Efficacy of Stupidity.” On e-reserve. Lewis: “Elusive Knowledge”
Naturalized Epistemology, Evolutionary Epistemology and their Critics Quine: "Epistemology Naturalized." Haack: “Naturalism Disambiguated.” On e-reserve. Millikan: “Truth Rules, Hoverflies, and the Kripke-Wittgenstein Paradox.” On e-reserve. van Fraassen “Against Naturalized Epistemology.” On e-reserve.
Contact Information CAR Phone: (817) 272-3217 Email: nussbaum@uta.edu
Important Disclaimer: The responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained on these pages lies with the authors and user providing such information.
Faculty Profile
Mail Box: 19527, CAR 
(817) 272-3217 
