Faculty members' interests encompass all the major areas of philosophy including ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of art, theory of knowledge, metaphysics, modern philosophy, Asian philosophy, philosophy of law, philosophy of mind, logic, philosophy of science, existentialism, phenomenology, philosophy of language and philosophical counselling. Faculty members' interests also include the humanities areas of history of ideas and religious studies.
The faculty members of the Department of Philosophy and Humanities represent a wide variety of viewpoints and traditions within Philosophy and, more broadly, the Humanities. As educators, we are dedicated to the challenging and rewarding task of teaching our students to think critically about current debates in the social, ethical and political spheres through analysis of the philosophical issues that lie behind these debates.
We believe that attention to the philosophical background of current issues helps our students form more nuanced and defensible views on these issues and thereby achieve greater autonomy and independence of thought. However, we also hope to challenge our students to think beyond the application of philosophical ideas to current debates and to consider, for their own sake, those questions about knowledge, reality and value that have been the objects of human thought for as long as human thought has been recorded.
Regular Faculty
JOHN BRUIN |
BA, MA (McMaster), PhD (Guelph), Phenomenology, continental philosophy, history of philosophy, aesthetics, ethics, social and political philosophy and critical thinking Phone: 604 527 5783 Email: bruinj@douglascollege.ca Office: N3319, New Westminster Areas of interestOntology, philosophical hermeneutics, phenomenology, political philosophy, and aesthetics Principal publicationsHomo Interrogans, 2001 (University of Ottawa Press) |
LINDA CHRISTENSEN |
BA (Alberta), MA (British Columbia), MTS (Regent College), PhD (University of Calgary) Religious studies: comparative religion, nature of religion, new religious movements, religion in post-modern society Phone: 604 527 5784 Email: christensenl@douglascollege.ca Office: N3317, New Westminster |
DARCY CUTLER |
BA (British Columbia); MA, PhD (Western Ontario) History and philosophy of logic, philosophy of science, epistemology, critical thinking and modern philosophy Phone: 604 527 5170 Email: cutlerd@douglascollege.ca Office: N3318, New Westminster
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JILL FELLOWS |
BA, MA (University of Calgary), PhD (UBC) Social Epistemology (especially issues of trust, expertise and objectivity) and metaphysics (especially with regards to personal identity).
Areas of interestScience and society, philosophy of science (including feminist philosophy of science), ethics, history of modern philosophy and critical thinking.
Selected Publications:
Taught previously at SFU, Quest University and UBC. For more information, please visit Jill's website:
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SARAH HOGARTH ROSSITER |
B.Sc. (hons. spec. Mathematics, minor Philosophy), Ph.D. (Philosophy), University of Western Ontario Phone: 604-527-5420 Email:rossiters@douglascollege.ca Office: N3320 Area of SpecializationMedieval Philosophy Areas of Teaching InterestLogic; Critical Thinking; History of Philosophy; Philosophy of Religion |
MARILYN KANE |
BA (British Columbia), MA (Wales), PhD (British Columbia) Phone: 604 527 5170 Email: kanem@douglascollege.ca Office: N3318, New Westminster Also attended:
Areas of specializationAncient Greek philosophy, ethics, critical thinking.
Additional areas of philosophical interestEpistemology and metaphysics, philosophy of love, philosophy of therapeutic recreation.
Publications
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GUANGWEI OUYANG |
BA (Nanjing); MA (Fudan); MA, PhD, (Alberta) Philosophy of law, logic, theory of knowledge, epistemology, philosophy of science, ethics, critical thinking Phone: 604 527 5201 Email: ouyangg@douglascollege.ca
Publications
Courses taught in Vancouver, Michigan, Alberta and ShanghaiCritical Thinking, Symbolic Logic, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Philosophy of Science, History of Western Philosophy, Ethical Theory, Applied Ethics, Professional Ethics, Introduction to Liberal Studies, Social and Political Philosophy, Continental Philosophy, Philosophy of Social Sciences, and Chinese Philosophy.
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MICHAEL PICARD |
PhD, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 1993 Phone: 604 527 5068 Phone: 604 777 6281 Email: picardm@douglascollege.ca Office: N3308J, New Westminster Office: A3142, Coquitlam
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MATTHEW RACHAR |
BA (University of British Columbia), MA (University of Vienna), PhD (CUNY Graduate Center) Phone: 604-527-5058 Email: racharm@douglascollege.ca Office: N3323 Website: matthewrachar.com
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Mind and Action, Social and Political Philosophy, Ethics, Experimental Philosophy
Selected Publications
(forthcoming) "Why We Need a New Normativism about Collective Action", Philosophical Quarterly, forthcoming. With Javier Gomez-Lavin.
(2021) "Quasi-Psychologism about Collective Intention", Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 21: 475-488.
(2019) "Normativity in Joint Action", Mind and Language, 34(1): 97-120. With Javier Gomez-Lavin.
(2018) "Alignment and Commitment in Joint Action", Philosophical Psychology, 31(6): 831-849. |
ELLIOT ROSSITER |
BA (Ottawa); MA, PhD (Western Ontario) Early Modern Philosophy, History of Ethics, Applied Ethics Phone: 604 527 5319 Email: rossitere@douglascollege.ca Office: N3308G, New Westminster
ResearchMy published work so far has focused on the history of philosophy (especially John Locke). Currently, my research is focused on issues concerning ethics and economics, particularly the historical evolution of the concept of human work and how an understanding of this evolution can inform contemporary discussions of the future of work and technology. For more information on my research and teaching, please visit Elliot Rossiter’s home page at: elliotrossiter.ca
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CHARLOTTE SABOURIN |
BA, MA (Université de Montréal), PhD (McGill)
Kant, History of philosophy, Feminist philosophy Phone: NW: (604) 527-5867 / DL: (604) 777-6324 Email: sabourinc@douglascollege.ca Office: NW: N3321 / Coquitlam: A3171 |
DEVIN ZANE SHAW |
PhD (University of Ottawa) Office: N3322, New Westminster Email: shawd3@douglascollege.ca
InterestsExistentialism, German idealism, political theory, philosophy of art, environmental ethics, Indigenous philosophy, philosophy of social movements.
Current ResearchI am currently writing a book about Jacques Rancière, Simone de Beauvoir, and antifascism. My long-term project, called Unsettling Existentialism, involves rethinking the work of Sartre, Beauvoir, and other existentialists through the lens of anticolonial and decolonial—that is, Africana, creole, and Indigenous—frameworks.
Selected Publications
Recent Articles and Review Essays
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DOUG SIMAK |
BA (hons), MA (Alberta); PhD (British Columbia) Social and political philosophy, ethics, biomedical ethics, nursing ethics, environmental ethics, humanities and critical thinking Phone: 604 527 5207 Email: simakd@douglascollege.ca Office: N3454, New Westminster
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EDRIE SOBSTYL |
BA, MA (Calgary); PhD (Alberta) Philosophy of science, epistemology, philosophy of mind, social and political philosophy, applied ethics and critical thinking Phone: 604 527 5784 Phone: 604 777 6324 Email: sobstyle@douglascollege.ca Office: N3317, New Westminster Office: A3171, Coquitlam
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KIRA TOMSONS |
BA (Double Honours, Philosophy and German - Acadia), MA (Queen's), PhD (Dalhousie) Phone: 604 527 5867 Phone: 604 777 6324 Email: tomsonsk@douglascollege.ca Office: N3321 New Westminster Office: A3171 Coquitlam
InterestsApplied Ethics, Business Ethics, Health Care Ethics, Feminist Theory and the Ethics of Care, Philosophy of Law.
Current ResearchI am currently working on three projects: the ethics of lying to children, incorporating feminist ethics into business ethics, conceptual and ethical analysis and finally, examining the conditions under which a mistaken belief in consent should be considered a legitimate defence against a charge of sexual assault.
Selected Publications
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KRISTIAN URSTAD |
BA (Simon Fraser), MA, PhD (University of Oslo) Phone: 604 527 5867 Phone: 604-777-6281 Email: urstadk@douglascollege.ca Office: N3321, New Westminster Office: A3142, Coquitlam
Areas of specializationAncient philosophy, ancient ethics.
Areas of competenceHistory of philosophy, modern and applied ethics, critical thinking.
InterestsAncient views on pleasure, virtue and happiness or the good life; modern views on happiness and welfare.
Principal publicationsIncludes papers on Aristippus, the Cyrenaics, Socrates, Callicles, Plato, Xenophon, Epicurus and Nietzsche.
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DAVID WOLFE |
BA (University of Saskatchewan), MA (Dalhousie), PhD (Columbia) Phone: 604 527 5783 Phone: 604 777 6324 Email: wolfed@douglascollege.ca Office: N3319, New Westminster Office: A3171, Coquitlam
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Retired Faculty
LEONARD ANGEL (Emeritus) |
BA (McGill); MA, Philosophy; MA, Creative Writing and Theatre; PhD, Philosophy (British Columbia) Philosophy of religion, mysticism, ethics, theory of knowledge, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, Asian philosophy, philosophical counselling, meta-philosophy, and critical thinking Email: angell@douglascollege.ca
Areas of interestPhilosophy of religion, mysticism, meditation, analytic philosophy, ethics, theory of knowledge, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, Asian philosophy, critical thinking (A Format for Multifactoral Reasoning), philosophical counselling, and secular wisdom cultivation.
Principal publications: Philosophy
Principal publications: Fiction/poetry
Principal publications: Plays
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MANO DANIEL |
BA (Hons, Dalhousie); MA, PhD (Waterloo) Political philosophy, ethics, existentialism, metaphysics, philosophy of sports.
InterestsNature and role of apology; economics and environmental sustainability; philosophy of biography; collective action problems; philosophy and public policy; critical thinking.
Principal publications(co-edited with Lester Embree) Phenomenology of the Cultural Disciplines Taught previously in Ontario and Florida Moderator of the New Westminster Philosopher's Cafe Director, Institute for Ethics and Global Justice, Douglas College. |
BRIAN DAVIES (Emeritus) |
BA, MA (California, Riverside); ABD - Philosophy (British Columbia) Philosophy of mind, metaphysics, theory of knowledge, modern philosophy, ethics and critical thinking Director, Institute for Ethics and Global Justice, Douglas College.
Special interestsMetaphysics, philosophy of mind, meditation, modern philosophy, ethics and critical thinking.
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ROBERT FAHRNKOPF |
BA (Stanford); PhD (British Columbia) Philosophy of religion, metaphysics, theory of knowledge, ethics, environmental ethics and critical thinking
Interests Metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of religion, history of philosophy and critical thinking.
Principal publicationsWittgenstein on Universals, 1988 (Peter Lang Publishing)
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ROBERT NICHOLLS |
BA (Brock); MA (Guelph); PhD (Waterloo) Continental philosophy, existentialism, social and political philosophy, value theory, history of philosophy, business ethics and critical thinking
Email: rpnicholls7@gmail.com
Areas of specializationContemporary continental philosophy, especially Nietzsche and Heidegger.
Areas of competenceHistory of philosophy, ethics, social and political philosophy, aesthetics, Eastern philosophy.
Publications
Current research areasCritical Thinking: A Primer (a textbook for first-year college students); Heidegger and the history of philosophy; philosophical counselling.
Philosophical counsellingSince 1987, Robert Nicholls has been pursuing the practice of "philosophical counselling." For the most part, this practice is restricted to one-on-one logotherapy based in Dasein analysis and the broader school of existential psychotherapy, although Dr. Nicholls has also participated in some group therapy sessions. His approach to philosophical counselling is influenced by a number of theoreticians and practitioners, but especially by the work of Ludwig Binswanger and Irwin Yalom. Dr. Nicholls has developed his own approach to self-understanding, which is grounded significantly in Heidegger's notions of "autonomy, freedom and authenticity." In addition, he studied extensively the work of Carl Jung with the late Professor Paul Seligman, long-time honourary member of the Jungian Society. Further, Dr. Nicholls has himself completed psychoanalysis with a Freudian practitioner. The idea of philosophical counselling is based upon the conviction that the possibility of well-being is inseparable from the project of self-understanding, and that these notions need not be taken up only in the context of pathology, where a model of "health and disease" dominates, but should be pursued in the broader, life-long context of the individual's Weltanschauung. Existential psychotherapy is concerned thematically with several aspects of human existence, including death and dying, anxiety, freedom and responsibility, selfhood, willing and resolution, isolation, meaninglessness, sexuality and gender, and transformation. Clients are not engaged contractually, nor are there any requirements to undertake specific behavioural practices. Anyone wishing to pursue private counselling with Dr. Nicholls may contact him at rpnicholls7@gmail.com |
Contract faculty
LYLE CRAWFORD |
BA, MA (Philosophy), University of Victoria; PhD (Philosophy) (ABD), Simon Fraser University
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MAZEN GUIRGUIS |
Ph.D. in Philosophy (2003), University of British Columbia; M.A. in Philosophy (1995), University of Waterloo Specialized Honours B.A. in Philosophy (1994), York University.
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