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Erica Stonestreet, Ph.D
I can recite Robert Frost's "The Star-Splitter," Walt Whitman's "There Was A Child Went Forth," and Rilke's "Zum Einschlafen Zu Sagen" by heart. Why? Because when I sat in the arboretum of Gustavus Adolphus College and read them, they summed up everything about life and the liberal arts that inspires me, so I memorized them. So why didn't I end up studying literature? One reason is that I also loved philosophy, math, and music, and I just couldn't fit everything in. With all these interests, you might wonder how I came to be a philosopher. I usually say philosophy chose me: I couldn't help it. After I graduated from Gustavus, I tried to combine my interests in math and philosophy by trotting off to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where I did several things: studied logic and the philosophy of mathematics, earning an M.S.; learned by living away how deep my roots in Minnesota are; discovered a passion for non-academic writing (I favor the "familiar" essay); and realized how much I love humanistic education. Studying a technical discipline showed me how much of a liberal arts junkie I really am, because I missed thinking about life. So I transferred to the University of Michigan to concentrate on ethics. The work I did there (and continue to do) centers around self-creation and the reasons for action that stem from who we are: in short, the ethics of individuality. I'm most interested in virtue and character, caring, and identity, the things that make us who we are in a biographical sense. While at Michigan, I met and married my husband Aaron, a self-styled "enginerd" who designs wood tessellations and plays with computers. We spend our free time watching movies, reading, kayaking, and taking our schnoodle Mica for long walks. Our son Remi arrived in December 2010 and already takes after his father.
Teaching & Research Interests:
ethics of individuality: self-creation, caring, virtue, and personhood; moral philosophy; applied ethics (especially business and biomedical ethics); philosophy of human nature; logic
Fall 2011 Schedule:
PHIL 123-01A Philosophy of Human Nature (HM)
Days: 1/3/5
Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m.
Location: Quad 353
CRN #: 11223
PHIL 123-02A Philosophy of Human Nature (HM)
Days: 1/3/5
Time: 11:20 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Quad 343
CRN #: 12785
PHIL 321-02A Moral Philosophy (ES)
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 11:20 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Location: Quad 341
CRN #:12784
Spring 2012 Schedule:
PHIL 110-01A Logic
Days: 1/3/5
Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m.
Location: Quad 343
CRN #: 15094
PHIL 324-01A Business Ethics (ES)
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 9:40-10:50 a.m.
Location: Quad 349
CRN #: 15395
PHIL 324-02A Business Ethics (ES)
Days: 2/4/6
Time: 11:20 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Location: Quad 343
CRN #: 15396
