John Holder

Professor of Philosophy

B.A., Dickinson College 
M.A., University of Illinois at Chicago 
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University

Programs: Philosophy, American Studies

My primary area of research is comparative philosophy, in particular, the comparison of early Buddhism and John Dewey's pragmatism. I am currently working on a naturalistic conception of religious experience that draws on key elements in both of these philosophical traditions.

As an instructor of philosophy, I try to encourage students to do philosophy rather than merely study what important philosophers have written on the subject. My publications include a Hackett textbook Early Buddhist Discourses that contains translations of and introductions to 20 discourses from the Pali Canon (the earliest Buddhist scriptures).

I am an active member of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy and the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy (where I have served as program chair).

Courses
PHIL 120 Philosophy of Human Nature 
PHIL 210 Logic 
PHIL 305/AMER 305 American Philosophy 
PHIL 342 Asian Philosophy and Religion 
PHIL 365 Twentieth-Century Philosophy