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Texas Tech University             Department of Philosophy

Howard J. Curzer

I received both B.A. and M.A. degrees in mathematics from Wesleyan University, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. I have taught at Texas Tech University since 1983. My research falls into eight marginally related areas. (1) The core of my research is about Aristotle’s ethical theory. I have written a book plus several papers in which I lay out my interpretation of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. I also have some expertise in the rest of Aristotle’s philosophy and in classical Greek philosophy generally. (2) Virtue Ethics is a contemporary movement with Aristotelian roots. I have written two books about the virtues. (3) The Confucian tradition is arguably a sort of Virtue Ethics. I have written several papers about a follower of Confucius named Mencius. (4) I have created a survey to assess the level of a person’s moral development from an Aristotelian perspective, given this survey to numerous classes at multiple universities as a pre- and post-test, and published some of the results. (5) Together with 3 scientists (Peter Muhlberger, Mark Wallace, Gad Perry), I received an NSF grant to work out the ethics of wildlife research, and find ways to teach it to grad students. We have coauthored several papers sketching our results. (6) I have written some papers in Biomedical Ethics (e.g. stem cells, withdrawal of life support). (7) The Ethics of Care is a feminist moral theory. I have written papers about its relationship to Aristotle’s ethics and to Biomedical Ethics. (8) Finally, I have written a few papers in which I interpret passages of the Hebrew Bible.

 

office:        English/Philosophy Building #265K 

phone:        806-834-3506

email:         howard [dot] curzer [at] ttu [dot] edu

address:       Philosophy Department 

                    Texas Tech University

                    Lubbock Texas 79409-3092