Christopher Frey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Frey is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and the College.

Chris Frey received his B.A. from UCLA in 2001 and his Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh in 2010. His primary research areas are Ancient Philosophy and the Philosophy of Mind.
Frey's interests in Ancient Philosophy lie at the intersection of metaphysics and natural philosophy. He is concerned with the ways in which Aristotle's views on elemental motion, chemical combination, and biological function illuminate crucial aspects of his metaphysics, e.g. the distinction between potential and actual being, the relationship between the animate and the inanimate, and the question of how the soul can be a principle of organic unity.
Frey's work in the Philosophy Mind centers on the the substantive relationships that exist between the phenomenality and the intentionality of perceptual experience. He is also interested in self-consciousness and the imagination.

CV (PDF)


Contact

office: Stuart Hall 207
office hours Spring Quarter: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-3
office phone: 773/702-8656
email: chrisfrey@uchicago.edu

 

In the News

"In the Engine Room of Reality: Philosophy’s junior faculty members discuss their work, inspiration, and teaching" by Courtney C. W. Guerra, AB’05 Tableau, Spring 2012 - Link

 

Selected Writings

  • "Organic Unity and the Matter of Man" Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, Vol. XXXII, Summer 2007. (PDF)
  • "On the Rational Contribution of Experiential Transparency" Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, forthcoming. (PDF)
  • "From Blood to Flesh: Homonymy, Unity, and Ways of Being in Aristotle"
  • “Phenomenal Presence”, in Uriah Kriegel and Terrence Horgan (eds.), Phenomenal Intentionality, Oxford University Press: Oxford, forthcoming.
  • "Bodily Sensation: Opposition and Ownership"

Selected Courses

25000. History of Philosophy I: Ancient Philosophy. (=CLCV 22700) PQ: Completion of the general education requirement in humanities. This course in ancient Greek philosophy examines some of the most important works by Plato and Aristotle. Topics include: the nature and possibility of knowledge, the distinction between the animate and the inanimate, what constitutes a flourishing human life, the nature of justice, change and coming to be in the natural world. Autumn 2011.

23502/3350. Introduction to Philosophy of Mind. Among the principal tasks of philosophy is to understand the position of our minds and our mental activities within the increasingly detailed account of the world that the physical and biological sciences provide. We will survey and critically examine the developments of this philosophical program in the twentieth century. Special emphasis will be given to the nature of consciousness and of mental content. (B) (III) Spring 2012.

55791. Topics in Aristotle: Metaphysics Theta. Metaphysics Theta is among the richest of Aristotle’s works. The topics it covers--actuality, potentiality, capacities, change, movement, generation, natures, and substance—are central to Aristotle’s philosophical system. This seminar will be devoted to a close reading of this text. Other parts of Aristotle’s corpus will be covered when appropriate. Spring 2012.

20410/30410. Philosophy of Perception. This course concerns the nature and character of perceptual experience. We will cover the most prominent contemporary accounts of perception---representationalism, relationalism, sense-datum accounts, etc.---and discuss how these views account for the distinctive phenomenal features of experience. Special focus will be given to experience's presentational character. Autumn 2010. (B) (III)

23560/33560. Husserl   This course concerns the philosophical work of Edmund Husserl. Husserl is the principal founder of phenomenology as a philosophical movement and is among the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. The course will focus on four texts: (i) Ideas I, (ii) Cartesian Meditations, (iii) Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology, and (iv) On the Phenomenology of the Consciousness of Internal Time.(III) B Winter 2011.

55710. Aristotle on Life. (=CLAS 45710) The seminar will discuss Aristotle's views on life, the soul, organic unity, and the relationship between the animate and the inanimate. It will be devoted to a close reading of the second book of Aristotle's De Anima but will include relevant readings from throughout Aristotle's corpus. (IV) Spring 2011.