Eric Snider

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

Monday 11 am - 1 pm

Wednesday 12:30-1:30

and by appointment

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? Is Socrates a belief holist (to understand one belief of another, you have to understand other related beliefs held by that other), and is that why he questions others on a variety of topics related to the original topic? 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.