Eric Snider

Office: AC323A
Ext: 6717
P.O. Box: 99
E-mail: e-snider@bethel.edu

Academic Degrees

B.A. Grand Rapids Baptist College
M.A. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Ph.D. Vanderbilt University

Short Biography

The unexamined life is not worth living for a human" (attributed to Socrates
by Plato). "Philosophy begins in wonder" (Aristotle). "The truth will set
you free" (attributed to Jesus by John).

I was born and grew up in western Michigan in a family with four sisters and
two brothers. In high school, I knew I wanted to go to college, at first
thinking I might study forestry, later thinking I might study plastics
engineering. But my first year in college convinced me it was concepts,
thoughts, principles, and theories I was interested in. I thought I might
go to divinity school, and thought philosophy would be a good major to
prepare me. But the courses (ethics, 19th-20th century continental
philosophy, and epistemology especially) and several of the professors
(especially Rich Mouw) got a grip on me. Philosophy was my home. I wrote a
thesis on Descartes as part of earning my MA. During my Ph.D. studies, a
seminar on rationality (taught by Alasdair MacIntyre) and a seminar on
Wittgenstein (taught by Mike Hodges) resonated deeply in me. Those seminars
led, via Davidson, Anscombe and other thinkers to a dissertation on
Aristotle on practical reasoning. I taught for 21 years at the University
of Toledo, except for one year at Calvin College (1992-93), before joining
Bethel's Philosophy Department fall 2007.

Beth and I got married in 1978, and we have two above average young adult
children. I enjoy outdoor activities, including bicycling, fishing, and
cross-country skiing. I like listening to good music, and watching hockey.

Areas of Interest

Most of my work is in ancient Greek philosophy, specifically moral
philosophy and epistemology. I also have core interests in ethical theory,
contemporary epistemology, and some amateur interests in the philosophy of
religion (especially religious epistemology).

Current Work

I have been focusing on issues surrounding the philosophy of Socrates: did
he disavow knowledge? Does he have a method of inquiry, and if so what can
it show? Can we discern what he understands by some of the virtues? How
should we understand his apparent disdain for rhetoric and rhetoricians? I
also have been thinking a lot about Pyrrhoic skepticism, have drafted and
presented a couple of papers on that recently. I have an amateur interest
in religious epistemology, and a paper forthcoming in Religious Studies, on
whether a particular version of the problem of evil provides a defeater for
theists (I argue that it doesn't).

Classes Taught Fall 2007

Classes taught Fall 2007
PHI 110N Society and Morality
PHI 251 Philosophical Traditions I: Classical and Medieval
GES 130 Christianity and Western Culture

Classes for Spring 2008

PHI 105N The Philosophical Quest
PHI 251 Philosophical Traditions I: Classical and Medieval
PHI 330 Great Philosophers: The Philosophy of Socrates