The Society of Philosophers in America is proud to celebrate our Trustee Emeritus, Dr. John J. McDermott, who has been named one of the 50 most influential living philosophers.
In recognizing Professor McDermott, the list’s authors wrote the following:
John McDermott received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Fordham University, in New York City, in 1959, and, though he is getting up in his years, is still teaching, holding the position of University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Texas A&M University. McDermott’s work is primarily focused on the philosophy ofculture, specifically American literature and philosophy, having written, compiled, or contributed to books on William James, Josiah Royce, and John Dewey, as well as being a former President of the William James Society. McDermott is most notable for, and has been most influential in exploring and advancing the ideas of James and Dewey in relation to American culture, as well as his examination of American culture through philosophy.
Congratulations, John! And thank you for all you’ve done for American philosophy and for SOPHIA!
In SOPHIA’s 2015 strategic plan, we decided that it will be important for us to leverage technological tools for building communities of philosophical conversation. One way in which we can do that simply is to create introductory videos for each member. When you register on our site to JOIN or RENEW your SOPHIA membership, please fill in as much information as you feel comfortable adding. The reason is that most the info you write will be posted on your Profile page in our SOPHIA Directory (no, not your credit card info). One option we have, among others, is to post a link to a YouTube video in which you can introduce yourself to other SOPHIA members. I made a short sample video to introduce myself:
My suggestion is that people share:
Who you are: name, title, institutional affiliation (if any)?
What your background and interests are in Philosophy?
What brought you to SOPHIA?
What is something unique or interesting about you beyond philosophy or professional details?
If any of you would like, I (ETW) could hold a video conference with you to introduce you in a bit more of an interview format. Alternatively, if recording a video doesn’t sound straightforward (on some devices it’s less simple than on others), we could hold such a conference call and we could just record the member’s video frame as he or she answers such questions – or others that you suggest. There are things we can do to help make this process easier. The more we can put a voice and a face to a name, the better for community. Share your thoughts or questions on this initiative.
And of course, if you have not yet had a chance to JOIN or RENEW your membership to SOPHIA, please take a few minutes to do so.
SOPHIA will be hosting a panel at the 2017 Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association on Thursday, January 5th from 5:15-7:15 p.m. There have been some changes to our original plan. The presenters listed below reflect the updated plan:
Group Session
Topic: “The Value of and Impediments to Studying Philosophy for First Generation College Students”
Chair: George R. Lucas (U.S. Naval War College & Notre Dame University)
SOPHIA has the opportunity to hold a panel at the 2017 Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association. The conference will run from January 4th to the 7th of 2017 at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel, in Baltimore, MD. Alongside SOPHIA’s other activities, we do aim to represent ourselves and what we do in the country’s professional organizations. Such meetings are also a good opportunity to recruit people into membership and to grow chapters, as people learn about opportunities to gather with SOPHIA folks who live near them.
We will post details about our panel here soon as an “event” post. Reach out if you have ideas for panels that would be valuable for us to hold either at this or at other professional associations. We want to spread the word in and beyond the academy about SOPHIA’s new phase of growth. More soon.
The Society of Philosophers in America is proud to celebrate our Trustee Emeritus, Dr. John J. McDermott, who has been named one of the 50 most influential living philosophers.John McDermott received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Fordham University, in New York City, in 1959, and, though he is getting up in his years, is still teaching, holding the position of University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Texas A&M University. McDermott’s work is primarily focused on the philosophy ofculture, specifically American literature and philosophy, having written, compiled, or contributed to books on William James, Josiah Royce, and John Dewey, as well as being a former President of the William James Society. McDermott is most notable for, and has been most influential in exploring and advancing the ideas of James and Dewey in relation to American culture, as well as his examination of American culture through philosophy.
![[Book Image]](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0823226638.1.L.jpg)
