Academics William Edelglass - Philosophy

The educational philosophy at Marlboro first attracted William Edelglass to the college. While he earned his Ph.D. at Emory University, he likens Marlboro's alternative approach to St. John's College, where he did his undergraduate work. "These schools, and several others like them, are generally more conducive to integrating intellectual, moral, cultural and emotional dimensions of education than is sometimes the case at larger institutions," said William. Before coming to Marlboro, William taught philosophy at Colby College and at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics, Dharamsala, India.

Teaching Philosophy

William's areas of expertise include 20th-century European philosophy—phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, poststructuralism and postmodernism—Buddhist philosophy and environmental philosophy. But his courses often engage disciplines outside of philosophy, from Asian studies to religion. "Marlboro's interdisciplinary approach is deeply appealing to me," he said. "I value working with students and colleagues who do not feel bound by narrow disciplinary expectations that limit intellectual exploration."

Student Plans and Collaborations

A study of morality emphasizing the selective mechanisms by which it evolves, including an in-depth analysis of its adaptive function. Carolyn Drumsta '10, environmental studies and biology.
An interdisciplinary study of environmental management with a focus on collaborative, place-based and adaptive planning, drawing on economics, environmental philosophy and policy studies. Isaac Lawrence '10, economics and philosophy.
An examination of the conceptual art movement focusing on the subject of artistic intention and the art object, complemented by an exhibition of works on paper. Ariella Miller '10, art history and philosophy.

Scholarly Activities

William is co-editor of Environmental Philosophy, the journal of the International Association of Environmental Philosophy, and serves on the editorial board of several other professional journals. He was the co-editor of Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings (Oxford University Press, 2009), and is editor-in-chief of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy (Oxford University Press). Faces of Nature: Levinasian Ethics and Environmental Philosophy is also a work in progress.

Selected Publications

“Ethics, politics, and responsibility in a changing climate.” Forthcoming in Faces of Nature: Levinasian Ethics and Environmental Philosophy, William Edelglass, James Hatley and Chris Diehm (eds.).
“Philosophy and place-based pedagogies.” In Teaching Philosophy, Andrea Kenkmann (ed.) (London: Continuum, 2009), 69-80.
“Ethics and the subversion of conceptual reification in Levinas and Śāntideva.” In Deconstruction and the Ethical in Asian Thought, Youru Wang (ed.) (New York: Routledge, 2007), 151-61.
"Levinas on suffering and compassion." Sophia 45(2) (2006): 43-59.
"Moral pluralism, skillful means and environmental ethics." Environmental Philosophy 3(2) (2006): 8-16.
"Nub phyogs pa'i tshan rig gi lta grub kyi ngo sprod (An introduction to the philosophy of science)." Trans. Tsondue Tsamphel. Tshan rig dus deb 9 (2006): 41-61.
"Asymmetry and normativity: Levinas reading Dostoevsky on desire, responsibility and suffering." Analecta Husserliana 85 (2005): 719-36.

Selected Conference Papers

"Rooted cosmopolitanism: Philosophy, pedagogy and place." International Association for Environmental Philosophy annual meeting, November 2009.

B.A., St. John's College, 1993; M.A., Emory University, 1999, Ph.D., Emory University, 2004; Marlboro College, 2008 -