Position:Professor of Philosophy and Psychology

Classes: Ethics, Cognitive-Moral Development, Cognitive Research and Education, Legal Process and Practice, Democracy and Anarchism, Inspired Lives: Wisdom and Character

Background: I have long had a passion for both philosophy and psychology, but also for teaching, and for just about everything else. As I approach my final decade or two at RPI, I'm afraid these passions are growing only stronger.  My teaching, like my research, combines philosophy and psychology, usually related to ethical values and public policy. For many years I worked at Harvard's Center for Moral Development and its related "Just Community" program in the Connecticut prison system. This mission continues through service on the executive board of the AME (The Association for Moral Education), and the Ark Community Charter School in Troy. My public policy work started in the US Senate where I was an APA/AAAS Congressional Fellow. There I worked for the Senate Small Business Committee and in Senator Hart's Office on issues of urban economic development, taxation, housing, health and human services. A few years ago I directed a Sloan Foundation grant for Troy and Capitol District socio-economic redevelopment. And for many years before and after I have run two ongoing community programs: "Be Your Own Hero: Careers in Commitment" (a character education program for the public schools) and The Umuluwe Sister-City Program (partnering RPI villagers in Nigeria)

Current focus: My teaching and research is becoming increasingly focused on moral and political motivation, also expressive action. The guiding question: Can a full regimen be worked out for developing radical integrity and self-determination in ourselves--for a full appreciation of what is valuable and democratic in our world, and a ruthlessly honest critical evaluation for what is hypocritical, unjust and dehumanized--for the nurturing of powerful and unswerving passion for celebrating life, and for standing staunchly against what disrespects human freedom, equality and dignity, choking the life out of it? My current quartet of courses in ethics, moral psychology (development) anarchism and democracy, and social entrepreneurship/civic engagement is designed to evolve and provide that regimen. On the philosophical side of this equation, radical integrity implies a non-ideological approach to beliefs and viewpoints. The regimen followed here dismisses no view, but seeks to extract what is most solid and useful from conflicting positions, integrating them into an inclusive, ever open-ended whole. In publications I term my view The Savings Approach. The moral and political positions it yields are termed The Right Mix.

Current Research Interests: In addition to ongoing theoretical research in ethics and moral development, I conduct a long-term empirical research program in cognitive science. It investigates ethical problem-solving processes using protocol analysis. An on-line ethical coaching system has been developed by my student and colleague, Russell Robbins. And the development of ETHICALADVISOR software is foreseen. More recent research is taking form on mechanisms for resisting authoritarianism both psychologically and through social action (civic engagement). The RPI campus provides a handy laboratory for this project through its seemingly inexhaustible disputation between faculty, administration and trustees.

In his own words: Ethics originally concerned how to flourish as a person in life--how to develop an admirable personality and character, a circle of excellent relationships, and a socially contributing lifestyle. It concerned how to be excellent as a person and create a life masterpiece. Becoming expert in one's thinking (philosophy), one's emotional sensitivity to self and others (psychology) and the authentic, socially apt expression of one's understanding (wisdom) was the aim. This is what I'm concerned about in all courses from law and anarchism to the philosophy of neuro-cognition. It's what I'm most concerned about in my life, which is an ongoing research program in better way to be. Given how people work, how do we build ideal ones (carbon or silicon based)? How do we make ourselves a delight for ourselves and others? How do we form ourselves to be a constant thorn in the side of hypocrisy and injustice in the world, and more, a brash and fearsome warrior against them?

Publications: Google.com lists several of my academic publications and publications on my recording and songwriting career with Columbia (CBS) Records. Moral Development: A Compendium, contains 7 books I edited on moral psychology. The On-line Encyclopedia of Philosophy contains my long entry summarizing the field. The first version of my Right Mix Theory is published as Toward Moral Perfectionism. In the last few years I have been completing books on Martin Luther King's interpersonal problem-solving methods and like methods derived from research in cognitive development, also on a counterpose of ideal and irreverent outlooks on ethics. (This For Goodness Sake volume includes descriptions of exemplary people, love, ultimate integrity, posed alongside "The Good of Evil," "The Virtues of Hypocrisy," "Offending People: A Lost Art," and a critique of forgiveness as unjust, impossible, and near-incomprehensible.) Democratism: An Allegiance Between Patriotism and Good Citizenship is my most recent book project, responding to US foreign policy and the undue power of political ideology in democracy. I've also continued to publish in journals concerned with cognitive and moral development, moral education, and applied ethics.

Stands: What someone stands for or endorses often is more informative than descriptive sketches. This is especially so when these stands are distinctive. Hence the following, trailed by a fuller curriculum vitae.