Academic Information

CONTACT INFORMATION

E-mail: hicksmr2 (at) miamioh (dot) edu

EDUCATION

PhD, philosophy, Johns Hopkins University, 2009

Advisor: Michael Williams.

Dissertation: "The Environment Dependence of Thought" (abstract .pdf)

MA, philosophy: JHU, 2005

BA, philosophy, BS, mathematics: University of Pittsburgh, 2001

RESEARCH

Areas of Specialization

Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, the work of Wilfrid Sellars

Areas of Competence

Epistemology, History of Analytic Philosophy, Modern Philosophy, Philosophical Logic, History of Skepticism

Publications

"Sellars and the Task of Philosophy," forthcoming, Synthese

"Connotation and Frege's Semantic Dualism," forthcoming, History of Philosophy Quarterly

"The Presentational Use of Descriptions," Analytic Philosophy, 60, December 2019: 361-384.

"What Jones Taught the Ryleans: Towards a Sellarsian Metaphysics of Thought," in Sellars and Contemporary Philosophy, eds. David Pereplyotchik and Deborah Barnbaum, Routledge Press, 2017: 67-83.

"Pretense and Fiction-Directed Thought," Philosophical Studies, 172, June 2015: 1549-1573.

"Non-Evidential Reasons to Believe" (with Jonathan Adler), The Aim of Belief, ed. Timothy Chan: 140-166

"A Note on Fiction and Co-Reference", Philosophical Studies, 149, July 2010: 395--400

"Naturalism in Action", Inquiry, 52, December 2009: 609--635

Working Papers

See my current work

Presentations

--"Acquaintance and the Myth of the Given," NEH Summer Seminar for philosophy teachers, July 2019; Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of the History of Analytic Philosophy, June 2019

--"Imagination and the epistemology of transformative experience: Gatyas on Imagination and Perspective Shifting," Annual Meeting of the Ohio Philosophical Association, April 2019

--"Illusions of Singular Thought: Toward an ability approach to mental agency," Miami University Philosophy Department Works-in-Progress, November 2018

--"Connotation and Frege's Semantic Dualism," annual meeting of the Society for the Study of the history of Analytic Philosophy, June 2018

--"Morality in Epistemology: Comments on Satta," commentator, annual meeting of the Ohio Philosophical Association, March 2018

--"Wilfrid Sellars and the task of philosophy," annual meeting of the Society for the Study of the history of Analytic Philosophy, May 2017

--"Logic as Philosophy," Teaching Thinking: Logic and the liberal Arts workshop at Denison University, March-April 2017

--"Sellars and the task of philosophy: comments on deVries," commentator, Pacific Division Meeting of the APA, April 2016

--"Inverted commas and the metaphysics of reference," Central Division Meeting of the APA, March 2016

--"Truth and the Realm of Thoughts: Comments on Kamangar," commentator, Pacific Division Meeting of the APA, April 2015

--"Impudence, Anti-Naturalism and Explanation" Miami University Philosophy Department Works-in-Progress, December 2014

--"What Jones Taught the Ryleans" Nature of Rules and Normativity Conference, Prague, September 2014

--"The Presentational Use of Descriptions" UCSC, March 2014; Miami University, March 2014

--"E-Type Pronouns and Singular Thought" UCSC Philosophy and Linguistics Reading Group, June 2013

--"How General is the Generality Constraint?" UCSC, March 2012

--"The Generality Constraint and Categorial Error," CCNY, October 2011

--"Know-who and Testimonial Acquaintance" colloquium session at Pacific Division Meeting of the APA, April 2011

--"Fictionalism as a Response to Bafflement about Metaphysics" IUPUI, March 2010

--"Mathiesen on Groups as Epistemic Agents" (commentator), Eastern Division Meeting of the APA, December 2009

--"Impudence, Anti-Naturalism and Explanation: What Is the Problem with the Why-Game?" Brooklyn College Philosophy Society, October 2009

--"Naturalism In Action" University of Kentucky, September 2009

--"The Presentational Use of Descriptions" Johns Hopkins Philosophy Department Graduate Student Colloquium, Spring 2009

--"Understanding, Meaning and Thinking" Pitt/CMU Graduate Student Philosophy Conference, March 2007

--"Does immunity to error through misidentification exist?'' Johns Hopkins Philosophy Department Graduate Student Colloquium, Fall 2006

--"What is Thought?'' Johns Hopkins Philosophy Department Graduate Student Colloquium, Spring 2006

--"Language and Metaphysics in Quine's Discussions of Ontology'' Johns Hopkins Philosophy Department 3rd Year Paper conference, May 2005

EXPERIENCE

Teaching

--Miami University: Assistant Professor (2014- )

"Formal Logic" (4 credit hours) (10 times)

"Symbolic Logic (PHL 373) (4 credit hours) (3 times)

"Philosophy of Mind (PHL 494/594) (4 credit hours) (2 times)

"What is Philosophy?" (PHL 404) (3 credit hours) (2 times)

"Research Seminar" (PHL 610) (4 credit hours)

"History of Analytic Philosophy" (PHL 420A/520A) (4 credit hours)

"Science and Culture" (PHL 205) (3 credit hours)

"Philosophy of Language" (PHL 420C/520C) (4 credit hours)

"History of Skepticism" (PHL 620) (4 credit hours)

"Purpose and Chance in the Universe" (PHL 104) (3 credit hours)

--UCSC: Visiting Assistant Professor (2012-14)

"Introduction to Logic"

"Philosophy of Mind"

"Philosophy of Language"

"Introduction to Philosophy"

"Philosophy of Language" (graduate seminar)

--City College: Visiting Assistant Professor (2011-12)

"History of Philosophy II: Modern Philosophy"

"The Philosophy of Science"

"Atheism and Belief" (a freshman writing seminar)

"Rational Animal"

"Introduction to Philosophy"

--Brooklyn College: Adjunct Lecturer/ Adjunct Assistant Professor 2006-2011

"Scientific Revolutions"

"Paradoxes and the Limits of Knowledge"

"Knowledge, Reality and Values"

--Center for Talented Youth: Instructor Summers 2003-06 (Intensive summer course for students 12-15 yrs. old)

"Mathematical Logic", Johns Hopkins University, 2006

"Introduction to Logic", Lafayette College 2003-05

Professional Service

Journal Reviewer: Journal of Philosophy, Philosophical Studies, Journal of the History of Analytical Philosophy, Synthese, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, International Journal of Philosophical Studies

Reviewer: Ohio Philosophical Association (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

Chair: author-meets critics session on Robert Brandom's From Empiricism to Expressivism at "Sellars in a New Generation" conference, Kent State University, May 2015.

Chair: "What Does Belief Have to Do with Truth?" by Iskra Fileva. Symposium session at Central Division Meeting of the APA, February 2015

Chair: "The Fundamental Quantifier is Restricted," by Bradley Rettler. Colloquium session at Pacific Division Meeting of the APA, Spring 2013