Dr. Jeffrey Dudiak

The Philosophers

Associate Professor of Philosophy
Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, University of Alberta
A229, 780-465-3500 x8049
Email: jeff.dudiak@kingsu.ca


Education

Ph.D Free University of Amsterdam, 1998
M.Phil.F Institute for Christian Studies, 1987
M.A Duquesne University, 1987
B.A. Malone College, 1983

 

Research Interests

● Continental Philosophy of Religion and Ethics
● Philosophical Anthropology
● Philosophical Pneumatology


Current Research Projects

● working on a “little” book on truth, tentatively entitled In Spirit and in Truth
● working on the meaning and function of truth in the writings of Paul the Apostle


Selected Publications

“Peace as Being Taught: The Philosophical Foundations of a Culture of Peace” in Levinas and Education, Denise Egéa-Kuehne, ed. (New York: Routledge).

“Religion with an Impure Heart: Levinas on Kierkegaardian Religion” in The Hermeneutics of Charity, J.K.A. Smith & H. Venema, eds. (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2004), pp. 185-196.

“Bienvenue: Just a moment” in Religion with/out Religion: The Prayers and Tears of John D. Caputo, J.H. Olthuis, ed. (London and New York: Routledge), pp. 7-19.

“The About-Face of Order” in Philosophy as Responsibility: Essays in Honour of Hendrik Hart, R. Kuipers & J. Wesselius, eds., (Lanham: University Press of America), pp. 117-125.

The Intrigue of Ethics: A Reading of the Idea of Discourse in the Thought of Emmanuel Levinas (New York: Fordham University Press).

“In a Bind: Religion and Philosophical Discourse” invited article to Eidos, v. XVI, no. 1 (January 1999), pp. 157-178.

“Structures of Violence, Structures of Peace: Levinasian Reflections on Just-War and Pacifism” in Knowing Other-wise: Philosophy at the Threshold of Spirituality, J. Olthuis, ed. (New York: Fordham University Press, 1997), 159-171.

“Again Ethics: A Levinasian reading of Caputo reading Levinas” Joyful Wisdom: A Journal of Postmodern Ethics, Vol.3, no.2, 1997. Reprinted in: Knowing Other-wise: Philosophy at the Threshold of Spirituality, J. Olthuis, ed. (New York: Fordham University Press, 1997), pp. 172-213.


Administrative Responsibilities

Chair of the King's Research Ethics Committee


Courses I Teach

PHIL 230 - Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 322 - Epistemology
PHIL 332 - 20th Century Continental Philosophy
PHIL 339 - Philosophical Ethics
PHIL 345 - Philosophy from Descartes to Kant
PHIL 399 - Special Topics in Philosophy: Hegel and Kierkegaard: God, System, and Philosophy

Related Links

Philosophy Major Program | Philosophy Minor Program

Introduction to Philosophy, Every Year, Fall and Winter 3(3-0-0)
This course is an introduction to philosophy based on a reading of representative texts from the philosophical tradition. The issues connecting the texts to be read center on the nature of human being and experience.
Epistemology, 2008-09, Fall 3(3-0-0)
This course is an introduction to the theory of knowledge. Detailed examination is made of the concepts of justification, truth and belief. Particular attention is paid to the significance of philosophical skepticism for epistemology. Issues concerning the relativity and objectivity of knowledge, as well as debates about realism and anti-realism are also examined. Emphasis is placed on recent philosophical reflection on these issues, but students are also introduced to classical positions.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
20th Century Continental Philosophy, 2008-09, Winter 3(3-0-0)
An examination of some recent figures and movements in continental philosophy. Attention is given to philosophers such as Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Gadamer, Ricouer, Adorno, Habermas, Foucault and Derrida as well as to movements such as phenomenology, existentialism, philosophical hermeneutics, neo-Marxism, structuralism and post-structuralism. Attempts are made to discover historical connections not only among various philosophies but also between those philosophies and selected developments in the arts, the sciences and European society.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Philosophical Ethics, 2009-10, Winter 3(3-0-0)
A critical examination of the nature of morality by means of an analysis of classical and contemporary texts. Questions examined include: What is the nature of moral judgment? How are moral decisions justified? What is the relationship between virtue and moral behavior? What is the relationship between happiness and moral duty? Why be moral at all?
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Philosophy from Descartes to Kant, 2009-10, Fall 3(3-0-0)
This course is a survey of the origins and development of philosophy from Descartes to Kant. Special attention is paid to the relationship between epistemological ideas and political, ethical and religious thought.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230
Special Topics in Philosophy, 2009-10, Winter 3(3-0-0)
A course on a topic or figure of special interest to a member of the philosophy faculty and offered on a non-recurring basis.
Prerequisites: PHIL 230