Profile

My background is in 19th and 20th C. European philosophy. But I began in physics, at UC Irvine, and then slowly discovered European philosophy, in the margins of that institution. This led me to pursue graduate study in Europe, first in Germany (Cologne and Bochum), and then in France (Paris XII, now Paris Est) for the doctoral degree. I studied with a variety of philosophers over the years - many of whom were at odds with each other, sometimes philosophically, sometimes personally. I learned from all of them and especially from their differences. My interests don’t really fit into the standard categories of philosophy in the US, and I’m always discovering new material that is intriguing. It has been decades since I was a student, but I continue to follow seminars on exciting material online.

 

Université Paris XII - Docteur de philosophie 2009

Thesis:
The Structuration of Phenomenality: Temporality, Trace, Event (Heidegger, Derrida, Nancy). French, 386pp.

Jury: 
Jean-Luc Nancy, President, (Strasbourg), Eliane Escoubas, Director, (Paris XII), Alexander Schnell (Paris IV)

Mention: Très honorable, félicitations du jury à l’unanimité (= summa cum laude)

University of California, Irvine - B.A. Philosophy, 1995

At Stanislaus, I cover Language, Mind and Knowledge. I approach these areas from the same discursive and theoretical frameworks which interest me historically.  More detail on my work can be found under my links below.  I am also the Philosophy Department's liaison to the interdisciplinary program in Cognitive Studies (a collaboration of Philosophy, CS and Psych).

I usually teach Logic, Mind, Language, Cognitive Phenomenology and occasionally Intro to Continental and Advanced Study in History of Phil. In all these classes I usually take a historical approach and in some, I focus on contemporary developments in AI. The historical material emphasizes phenomenology (Husserl, Heidegger), structuralism (Saussure, Hjelmslev) and deconstruction (Derrida, Nancy). The AI obviously focuses on contemporary results in deep learning: GPTs/LLMs. I am currently attempting to bring the former material to bear on the latter.

I have a wide range of interests including Kant and Classical German Philosophy, German Phenomenology (Husserl, Heidegger, Fink), Structuralist linguistics and so-called 'Post-Structuralist' French philosophers (Axelos, Derrida, Nancy, Deleuze, Lyotard). I am also interested in the early history of psychiatry/psychoanalysis (Janet, Freud, Jaspers). In general, my work is situated at the intersection of different languages and traditions. I have some interests in a critical examination of Heidegger's interpretation(s) of the history of metaphysics.

Topically, I have longstanding interests in notions of time and of event. I am also interested in philosophy of art and philosophy of language. In the former, I am currently interested in architecture. In the latter interest, I am led to investigations in deep learning and neural networks. I am currently interested in how GPTs/LLMs may lead us to new insights about the structures of language. I consider these new technological/scientific achievements as potentially revising many of our inherited philosophical views. But at the same time, these developments may confirm critical predictions made by phenomenologists of the past century.

I gave a talk on Husserl and LLMs that can be viewed on YouTube.

For more detailed information on my work, consult my Teaching Page and my Research Page.

  • List with full references
  • Research Articles on Kant, Heidegger, Jean-Luc Nancy, Derrida, Karl Jaspers and Pierre Janet
  • Encyclopedia Article on Heidegger
  • Translations of Janicaud, Escoubas, Lohmar

In varying stages of completion....

  • Time in Heidegger
  • Post-Heideggerian interpretations of Kantian time
  • The event conceptions of Nancy, Deleuze
  • Fink, Axelos and play