Lawrence Dallman received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Chicago, and received BAs in both philosophy and English from Montana State University. His work concerns 19th- and 20th-century continental philosophy, especially focusing on core issues in epistemology and metaphilosophy. In his dissertation, Lawrence reconstructs Karl Marx's early reflections on philosophical method, arguing that they sketch a sophisticated form of methodological naturalism with important relevance for contemporary metaphilosophical debates. Lawrence is also interested in Kant, the history of analytic philosophy (especially Wilfrid Sellars), and the philosophy of literature.
Recent Courses
PHIL 28710 Introduction to Nietzsche
In this course, we will examine the philosophical writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, with the aim of arriving at a cursory overview of his thought. We will take as our guiding thread a paradox concerning the value of truth that arises in the course of Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morality: when, as in scientific inquiry, we take it as a rule that we should always seek the truth, we presuppose that we are the kind of creatures to whom rules can apply (i.e. morally responsible persons); but scientific inquiry, in its tendency to disenchant the world and subvert our traditional self-understanding, threatens to undermine this idea. What if truth-seeking drives us to the conclusion that we are not, in fact, morally responsible persons? What then of truth? All texts will be read in English translation.
PHIL 22002 Introduction to Philosophy
Topic: What Is the Human Being?
The philosopher Immanuel Kant claims (famously) that philosophy boils down to three questions: What can I know? What ought I to do? What may I hope? He also suggests, however, that these three questions reduce, at bottom, to a fourth: What is the human being? Philosophy, then, is the study of what it is to be a human being. In this general introduction to philosophy, we will examine a variety of efforts made by philosophers, both contemporary and historical, to answer Kant’s three questions: What can I know? What ought I to do? What may I hope? We will do this always with an eye to how these efforts contribute to answering Kant’s broader question: What is the human being? Possible topics of discussion include the nature of knowledge, the limits of science, whether there are objective moral truths, whether we are free, the nature of artistic beauty, whether we should trust our gut instincts, and whether there is progress in culture.
PHIL 22503 Truth and Ideology
There has been significant concern, in recent years, about the threat of "fake news" and "disinformation." Most of this discussion has concerned deliberate lies told for political reasons. Those who spread fake news, however, rarely do so deliberately; many believe what they say, however obvious the falsehood of their claims may seem to outsiders. Beliefs of this sort are ideological in nature. Philosophers have studied the social phenomenon of ideology for hundreds of years. In this course, we will examine a number of historical (e.g. Marx, Engels, Lenin, Adorno, Gramsci, Althusser) and contemporary (e.g. Haslanger, Stanley, Honneth, Jaeggi, Railton, Leiter) accounts of ideology. In doing so, we will try to come to terms with the reality of ideology: What is it? How does it relate to truth? Can it be avoided? If so, how? All texts will be read in English translation. (A)