Email: <gwitmer> Office: 330B Griffin-Floyd Hall Phone: (352) 273-1830 Dept. Fax: (352) 392-5577 Department of Philosophy 330 Griffin-Floyd Hall University of Florida Gainesville, FL 32611-8545

D. Gene Witmer Associate Professor of Philosophy Ph.D., Rutgers University, 1997 Areas of research: Metaphysics, philosophy of mind, physicalism, consciousness, a priori knowledge Curriculum Vitae I joined the faculty at the University of Florida in 1997 after doing my doctoral degree at Rutgers. My research has been in metaphysics and philosophy of mind, often focusing on the doctrine of physicalism, the claim, roughly, that everything that exists is in some sense ultimately physical in nature. I've also worked on such topics as the nature of intrinsic properties, questions about mental causation, functionalist treatments of the mind, and the role of conceptual analysis and/or a priori knowledge in metaphysics generally. My interest in epistemology and philosophy of religion has grown over the years as well. Recently, I have found myself in the most improbable position of Department Chair, a role that has made the metaphysics of impossibilia a pressing concern. Recent graduate seminars have included courses in the history of analytic philosophy, physicalism, and the problem of consciousness. By way of undergraduate teaching, I have been teaching the philosophy of religion course (PHI3700) on a regular basis lately and have often taught the upper-level course in philosophy of mind (PHI4320). Other undergraduate courses I teach include Metaphysics (PHI3500), Analytic Philosophy (PHP4784), and the Theory of Knowledge (PHI3300). I am presently the faculty advisor for UF's Gator Freethought society. Faculty < Department < College < University

Office hours for Summer 2013: By appointment only* ... *Regular office hours are not held during holidays, spring break, or after the last day of classes (during reading days and exam week).  Appointments may still be made during those times. If a class is cancelled on a particular day, the office hours on that day will be cancelled as well.

Fall 2013 courses PHI3700 Philosophy of Religion The philosophy of religion can encompass a wide range of issues from different philosophical areas, especially issues in epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics. Instead of a broad survey, however, in this course we will focus on what is arguably the most fundamental question in this area, namely, whether or not there exists something deserving of the title “God.” The notion of God here presumed is, roughly, the traditional Western conception of God as an unlimited, all-good, all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe, something deserving of worship or religious devotion. The course is structured around a fictional dialogue between a theist, an atheist, and an agnostic as well as a coursepack with supplementary papers corresponding to parts of the dialogue. Topics covered include the relationship between God, value and morality; arguments from design (teleological arguments), including both classical biological and more contemporary "fine tuning" arguments; cosmological or "first cause" arguments; the infamous ontological argument (which aims to show just from the definition of God that he must exist); the significance of religious experience and claims about miracles; the problem of evil as a reason to be an atheist; the idea that we might "bet" on God's existence as per Pascal's Wager; and the nature of faith. Nearly each of these topics is one to which we might devote an entire course, and our time is limited. Nonetheless, the goal is to provide you with a substantial, serious understanding of the most important lines of argument in this area. PHI5935 Proseminar Mandatory "boot camp" seminar for all new graduate students. Selected Publications Review of Jens Kipper, A Two-Dimensionalist Guide to Conceptual Analysis (Ontos Verlag, 2012). Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. January 11, 2013. http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/36731/ "Naturalism and Physicalism." In Robert Barnard and Neil Manson, eds., The Continuum Companion to Metaphysics. Continuum 2012. "Stalking the Elusive Physicalist Thesis." Review of Daniel Stoljar, Physicalism. Routledge, 2010. Metascience (2012) 21: 71-75. Review of Timothy Williamson, The Philosophy of Philosophy. Blackwell, 2007. Metaphilosophy (2011) 42: 155-160. Review of Christopher Peacocke, Truly Understood. Oxford University Press, 2008. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, June 1, 2009. http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=16266 "Necessity, Identity, and A Priori Access. Philosophical Topics 35 (1-2): 241-263. Spring/Fall 2007. Review of Steven Horst, Beyond Reduction: Philosophy of Mind and Post-Reductionist Philosophy of Science. Oxford University Press, 2007. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, April 10, 2008. http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=12863 "How To Be A (Sort of) A Priori Physicalist." Philosophical Studies 131 (1): 185-225. October 2006. "Intrinsicality without Naturalness." Co-authored with William Butchard and Kelly Trogdon. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 70 (2): 326-350. March 2005. Selected Recent Presentations Comments on Klaas Kraay, "Can God Satisfice?" American Philosophical Assocation, Central Division. February 22, 2013. New Orleans, LA. "A Priori Externalism and Privileged Access." Florida Philosophical Association. November 3, 2012. Orlando, FL. Comments on Douglas Keaton, "Exclusion, Yet Again." American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division. April 6, 2012. Seattle, WA. Comments on Justin Tiehen, "Grounding and Mental Causation." Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology. March 23, 2012. Savannah, GA. Comments on Barbara Montero, "Must Physicalism Imply the Supervenience of the Mental on the Physical?" Fourth Annual Consciousness Online conference. February 17 through March 2, 2012. http://consciousnessonline.com/2012/02/17/must-physicalism-imply-the-supervienence-of-the-mental-on-the-physical/ "Making Sense of Naturalism." • Florida Philosophical Association. November 4, 2011. Ft. Lauderdale, FL. • Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology. March 23, 2012. Savannah, GA. Comments on Carl Gillett, "Against Structural Properties." March 4, 2011. Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology. New Orleans, Louisiana. "On Making Everything Boring." Presidential Address for the Florida Philosophical Association. November 5, 2010. Daytona, Florida. Comments on Kevin Morris: "Subset Realization, Parthood, and Causal Overdetermination." April 15, 2010. Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology. Atlanta, Georga. Comments on Emmett Holman: "Phenomenal Concepts and the Mode of Presentation Problem." April 2, 2010. Pacific APA Division Conference. San Francisco, California. "Remarks on Jubien's Possibility." Part of a critical symposium on Michael Jubien's book Possibility (Oxford University Press, 2009). November 13, 2009. Florida Philosophical Association conference. Gainesville, Florida. Comments on Gary Bartlett: "A Neglected Argument Against Functionalist Theories of Experience." April 10, 2009. Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology. Savannah, Georgia. "Remarks on Ladyman and Ross's Every Thing Must Go." February 20, 2009. Central Division, American Philosophical Association. Author Meets Critics session of the Society for the Metaphysics of Science. Chicago, Illinois. Comments on Timothy Pickavance: "Trivializing Naturalness." February 19, 2009. Central Division, American Philosophical Association. Chicago, Illinois. "Semantic Rationalism: A Brief Exposition and Defense." November 16, 2008. Florida Philosophical Association. Daytona Beach, Florida.