VII. Permanent Faculty

Michael Bradie (Emeritus)
Professor of Philosophy
B. S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M. A. Boston University
PhD University of Hawaii

Since coming to Bowling Green in 1968, Professor Bradie has taught courses in a wide range of areas.  His primary interests are in the philosophy of science, epistemology and logic.  He has been involved in developing interdisciplinary courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels in the philosophy of biology and the philosophy of physics. Professor Bradie has published numerous articles on the philosophy of science and epistemology.  His most recent publications include "Assessing Evolutionary Epistemology," "Darwin and the Moral Status of Animals," "What Does Evolutionary Biology Tell Us About Philosophy and Religion," and "Models, Rhetoric and Science."   A book on evolution and ethics, The Secret Chain: Evolution and Ethics, was published by SUNY Press in 1995.  In addition to his professional roles in Bowling Green, Professor Bradie has been a Visiting Scholar at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard (1984), the History and Philosophy of Science Department, Indiana University (1986) and a Visiting Fellow at the Center for the Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh (1992-93).

Christian Coons
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
B.A. University of California, Davis
Ph. D. University of California, Davis

Christian Coons came to Bowling Green from the University of California at Davis. Christian has published in Ethics, perhaps the top journal for work in ethics and related areas. He was awarded the prestigious Charlotte Newcombe Dissertation Fellowship for the 2003-4 year and he was also awarded the Michael V. Wedin Teaching Award in 2003 by the UC, Davis philosophy department.   His research interests include population ethics, moral epistemology, theory selection in normative ethics, and axiology.  He hopes to one day justify a substantive normative claim without using any substantive normative assumptions.

Michael Weber
Department Chair
Associate Professor of Philosophy
B.A. Williams College
M.A. Oxford University
Ph.D. University of Michigan

Michael Weber joined the BGSU Philosophy Department in 2008.  He previously taught at Yale University, having earned his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1998.  His dissertation was a defense of the rationality of satisficing – choosing what is simply “good enough” instead of what is best.  Since then, his work has focused on the role of emotions in ethical life and ethical theory, and on rational choice theory.  More recently he has been working on issues in egalitarian theory.  His recent publications include the following: “Is Equality Essentially Comparative?” Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 10 (2007): 209-226; "More on the Motive of Duty," Journal of Ethics 11 (2007): 65-86; "'Tough-Minded' Theories in Ethics," Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review XLV (2006): 747-54; “Are Terrorists Cowards?” Public Affairs Quarterly 19 (2005): 331-42; "Compassion: An Evaluation of Nussbaum’s Analysis and Defense," Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 7 (2004): 487-511.

Sara Worley
Associate Professor of Philosophy
B. A.  Reed College
Ph.D University of Pittsburgh

Professor Worley came to Bowling Green in 1991 after completing her graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh.  Her research and teaching interests are primarily in the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, metaphysics, and feminism.  With respect to the philosophy of mind, she is especially interested in questions of mental causation, and in finding a way of reconciling the "manifest image" of human beings, according to which we are rational agents, responsible for our actions, with the "scientific image" of human beings, according to which we are mere physical objects whose behavior can be completely explained by the laws of nature.  Related interests in the philosophy of science and metaphysics include questions about causation, explanation, and realism (both scientific and metaphysical).  Recent publications include "Belief and Consciousness" (Philosophical Psychology, 1997), and Determination and Mental Causation" (Erkenntnis, 1997),  "Mental Causation and Explanatory Exclusion" (Erkenntnis, 1993) and "Feminism, Objectivity and Analytic Philosophy" (Hypatia, 1995).  She is currently doing research on consciousness, mental causation and agency.

Ian Young
Teaching Professor
B.A. (Hons) University of Otago
M.A., Ph.D. Bowling Green State University

Ian's main area of interest is political philosophy, particularly in issues relating to multiculturalism and nationalism but he also retains strong interests in applied ethics in fields such as environmental ethics and issues relating to war and peace. He teaches a variety of undergraduate courses, including introductory courses, political philosophy, business ethics, medical ethics, philosophy of death and dying, environmental ethics and the philosophy of peace and war. In connection with the latter, he helped to create the minor in  Peace and Conflict Studies at BGSU.  He also teaches courses at BGSU's Chapman Learning Community and in the Political Science department.  In addition to the above, he serves as the Undergraduate Advisor for the Philosophy Department, maintains the department's website,  is the Faculty Advisor to the Philosophy Club, and is also the coach of the BGSU Ethics Bowl team.   He is originally from New Zealand and closely follows the progress of the New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks, as well as his favorite football team, Leeds United.