Dr. Phil Oliver received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1998. His academic specialty is American Philosophy, in particular the thought of William James and John Dewey. His book William James's "Springs of Delight" (Vanderbilt Press, 2001) explores "personal enthusiasms and habitual 'delights' and their power to make our days meaningful, delightful, spiritual, and even transcendent...[and] to sponsor our "return to life" in all its rich, robust, and personal concreteness." His other research interests include the philosophy of childhood and education, biotechnology, ethics, the environment, and philosophical ideas in contemporary literature. He was born near St. Louis, Missouri - which possibly explains his unreasoning love of baseball (about which he has also published), and his partisan preference for the Cardinals. He lives with his family in Nashville.

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PHIL 1030, Intro to Philosophy (“CoPhilosophy”)PHIL 3345, Bioethics PHIL 3340, Environmental Ethics PHIL 3160, Philosophy of Happiness PHIL 3310, Atheism and Philosophy  –MALA (Master of Liberal Arts) –MALA 6010– Foundations of Liberal Arts II Collaborative course. Topic: Cheating. Fall/Spring 2017/18 –MALA 6030.2 "Topics in Culture & Ideas: The Anglo-American Mind," Summer 2017 –MALA 6050 (Topics in Science and Reason) - Evolution in America, Summer 2018 –MALA 6050 (Topics in Science and Reason) - Evolution in America (remote), Summer 2020 –MALA 6050 (Topics in Science and Reason) - " Democracy in America" (remote), Spring 2021 –MALA 6050 (Topics in Science and Reason) Rationality, Summer 2022 –MALA 6050-001 Topics in Science & Reasoning: Experience, Spring 2023 –MALA 6050 (Topics in Science and Reason) - Americana: Streams of Experience in American Culture, Summer 2024 –MALA independent study courses (several, on a variety of topics) –MALA capstone project supervision (several, on a variety of topics) –MALA 6050 (Topics in Science and Reason) - Philosophy in Recent American Literature (coming Summer 2025)

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