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 David Pensgard:
Current Academic Projects
Entry - 02/28/2010
What a difference a few months can make! Much has
happened since I last posted an update.
First, I have just been accepted into
CUA!! I am very excited
about this since it was my first choice and they have
extended their offer early (so I'm not on a wait list).
Second, the Eastern APA conference went pretty well. I
got enough feedback on my paper to make the trip
worthwhile. In addition, it was exciting to be at such a
high-level conference as a participant. I also got to
see Dr. Michael Gorman, a professor at CUA, deliver a
paper. It was one of the most interesting talks that I
heard at the conference!
Third, I am getting significant class load teaching
philosophy at Liberty University Online. This is great
experience and I am enjoying it very much. I think that
I can continue to teach these courses while pursuing my
PhD, so that's my plan for now.
Lastly, since I have gained admittance to a school, I
will hold off on my plans to write articles for
publication. I think it is best to wait until my
education is complete before I do any more publishing.
That's the advice that Trenton Merricks gave me, and it
seems wise. I will try to use my previously-mentioned
ideas in various class papers and my eventual
dissertation... the guts and title of which I am now
developing!
Entry - 10/16/2009
I am in the midst of two weighty endeavors. First, I am
beginning my teaching career as an adjunct professor of
philosophy at Liberty University where I am teaching an
introductory course in philosophy online.
Second, I am engaged in the application morass once
again as I seek to earn a PhD in Philosophy (Phil. of
Religion if possible). Currently, schools of interest
include Catholic University of America, Johns Hopkins U,
Georgetown, U of Maryland at College Park, U of
Edinburgh, and the U of Wales. The last two are in the
UK, but I hope to be able to work primarily from home on
the dissertation.
On another note, my paper for Trenton Merrick's class in
Metaphysics at UVA (see two posts down) was accepted to
the Eastern Division meeting of the American
Philosophical Association as part of the panel
discussions given by the Philosophy of Time Society. The
conference occurs just after Christmas and before New
Years Eve right in the middle of Times Square in New
York City! I hope I survive!
Entry - 05/12/2009
I have just completed my second class at UVA under Dr.
Harold Langsam. The paper for this class was:
Ambiguity In The Background Of
Experience: Implications For The Argument From Fineness
Of Grain. The paper investigates a certain
criticism of conceptualism within the philosophy of
perception. This criticism, known as the argument from
the fineness of grain of experience (FGA), is the
dominant criticism against conceptualism. I have
attempted to provide a new way to defend conceptualism
without reference to the re-identification condition on
demonstrative concepts.
My current academic plans are on hold for a few
semesters while I move from Lynchburg to Purcellville,
Virginia. I will apply to PhD programs in the fall. I
will also begin to think about writing articles for
research journals in the hopes of getting some work done
prior to receiving a PhD. I have a few ideas that I
don't want to wait on too much longer.
Entry - 01/14/2009
I have recently completed (as of
December 2008) my first class at the University of
Virginia (UVA) under Dr. Trenton Merricks. The class was
called Metaphysics (733).
My paper for that class was titled: "PRESENTIST
TIME TRAVEL AND THE LIMITS OF PRESENTIST CAUSALITY."
It was a critique of Simon Keller's and Michael Nelson's
attempt to adapt David Lewis's classic account of
four-dimensionalist time travel to presentism.
Tomorrow, I begin my next class at UVA, Dr. Harold
Langsam's Experience (836). This subject has to
do with consciousness as studied within the philosophy
of mind.
I hope to be able to do a paper that involves time
consciousness. As a side note, I should also mention,
since this is my first post, that I am interested in
time as my over-arching topic of study. I have
approached it metaphysically, neurologically, and
phenomenologically so far. I think I did some important
work within the study of time for my
masters thesis. Now I
just have to defend my conclusions and try to get others
to agree with me!
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