Andrew Eshleman, Associate Professor
Office: Stabler Hall, Room 307
Phone: 501-569-3109
Email: aseshleman@ualr.edu
Introduction
I am a first generation college student who never dreamed that he would be where he is now when he was in college. There I encountered philosophy but never thought of it as connected in any way to a career for myself. After college and several years working in the “real world,” I found myself reading more and more philosophy and thinking that I would regret it if I didn’t give graduate school a try. I went to California to study with one of my favorite philosophers and moved here in 1998 after I finished my degrees. When I’m not working or being a dad, I might be listening to music, playing soccer, or pushing dirt around in my garden.
“And is it complicated? Well, it is complicated a bit; but life and truth and things tend to be complicated. It’s not things, it’s philosophers that are simple. You will have heard it said, I expect, that oversimplification is the occupational disease of philosophers, and in a way one might agree with that. But for the sneaking suspicion that it’s their occupation.” -J.L. Austin
Teaching Interests
As my educational background attests, I’ve always had an interest in both philosophy and religion, so I feel especially fortunate to be part of a department where I can teach both. The courses I regularly teach include: Ethics and Society, Ethical Theory, Medical Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, Eastern Thought, and Religious Worldviews.
Areas of Specialization: Moral Philosophy (Ethics, Free Will, and Moral Responsibility), Philosophy of Religion.
Areas of Competence: Applied Ethics, Religion and Ethics, Eastern Philosophy, Metaphysics, History of Modern Philosophy.
Research Interests
My first set of research interests concerns whether and when it seems reasonable to hold persons responsible for their actions and character. One of the interesting things about this area of inquiry is the way in which it involves consideration of issues in ethics in conjunction with issues associated with the traditional debates about the nature of human freedom. My second set of research interests is in philosophy of religion. In this area, I’ve written about the problem of evil, “religious non-realism,” and am increasingly interested in reexamining issues from the perspective of non-theistic religious traditions (e.g., Advaita Vedanta and Buddhism) that have been, up until now, explored almost exclusively in the context of theistic religions.
Selected Professional Activities
- “Religious Fictionalism Defended,” forthcoming in Religious Studies.
- Readings in Philosophy of Religion: East Meets West (editor), Blackwell Publishing, 2008.
- “Responsibility for Character,” Philosophical Topics, 32:1-2 (Spring-Fall 2004, in print 2006): 65-94.
- Review of God and Realism by Peter Byrne, Religious Studies, 41:3 (September, 2005): 347-352.
- “Can an Atheist Believe in God?” Religious Studies, 41:2 (June, 2005): 183-199.
- “Being is Not Believing: Fischer and Ravizza on Taking Responsibility,” The Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 79:4 (December 2001): 479-490.
- “Moral Responsibility,” an on-line entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (January 2001, updated August 2004, August 2009).
- Review of Moral Appraisability: Puzzles, Proposals, and Perplexities by Ishtiyaque Haji, Ethics, 111: 1 (October, 2000): 167-170.
- Review of Arguing for Atheism by Robin Le Poidevin, Faith and Philosophy, 16: 2 (April, 1999): 272-276.
- “Alternative Possibilities and the Free Will Defense,” Religious Studies, 33:3 (September, 1997): 267-286.
Educational Background
Ph.D., Philosophy 1998
University of California, Riverside
M.A., Religion 1992
Claremont Graduate University
M.A., Philosophy 1991
Claremont Graduate University