Who I Am and What I Have Done with My Life So Far
I am a philosopher who for 45 years taught in the Philosophy Dept. at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA (U. S. A.), retiring in June 2016 with emeritus status. In addition to teaching the usual introductory level courses (introduction to philosophy, introduction to ethics, introduction to social and political philosophy, introduction to logic) I taught, while at George Mason, upper level undergraduate and graduate courses in the history of 20th century analytic philosophy, philosophy of science, theory of knowledge, symbolic logic, philosophy of mind, philosophical issues in cognitive- and neuro-science, and the history of the sometimes vexed relation between reason, science and religious faith. Needless to say I also had (and still have) scholarly interests. For these, and some of my scholarly accomplishments, see the sidebar.
Educational Background
I have a B. S. in physics from Penn State University and an M. A. and PhD in philosophy from the University of Maryland.
What I Plan to Be Doing with My Life from Here On
Even though I have retired from George Mason University, I have not quit teaching and don’t plan to do so any time soon. Beginning in the fall of 2016 I started teaching philosophy courses to educational retirement communities (such as Osher Life Long Learning and Encore Learning) in the Washington D. C. area. The courses I have taught are abbreviated versions of some of the courses I taught while at George Mason University, and include titles such as The Mind-Body Problem in Modern and Contemporary Philosophy; Reason, Science and Natural Religion in the Modern Age; Reason, Mysticism and Faith; and Philosophical Foundations of Morality. Also, I plan to continue reading and researching in my scholarly areas of interest (see sidebar) and, as the spirit and corresponding neuronal firings move me, may do some writing in those areas. In fact, to see a work in progress you may download “Giving Illusionism a Run for Its Money” here.
Research and Scholarly Writing
I have done research and scholarly writing in philosophy of science, theory of knowledge, and philosophy of mind. Most recently (i.e., over the past 15 or 20 years) my focus has been on what David Chalmers calls the “hard problem” of consciousness; and the ontological status of the secondary qualities. As of the most recent updating of this homepage (May, 2019), I am inclined to think that the hard problem cannot be solved physicalistically, so am inclining toward dualism or panpsychism; and that the secondary qualities are not physicalistically instantiated. But, of course, philosophers sometimes change their minds about such things, so stay tuned for updates. In fact, to access a work in progress–one that entertains a change of mind but ultimately doesn’t embrace it–you can click on the link further on down. I have also listed below some of my articles that have been published on these matters over the years.
WORK IN PROGRESS
“Giving Illusionism a Run for Its Money”
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS OF EMMETT HOLMAN
“Russellianism and the Quotational Model of Phenomenal Concepts”, Journal of Philosophical Research, vol. 40, 2015, pp. 41-62.
“Phenomenal Concepts as Bare Recognitional Concepts: Harder to Debunk than You Thought, …but Still Possible”, Philosophical Studies, vol. 164, 2013, pp. 807-827.
“Panspsychism, Physicalism, Neutral Monism, and the Russellian Theory of Mind, Journal of Consciousness Studies, vol. 25, #5, 2008, pp. 48-67.
“Dualism and Secondary Quality Eliminativsm: Putting a New Spin on the Knowledge Argument”, Philosophical Studies, vol. 128, #2, 2006, pp. 229-256.
“Color Eliminativism and Color Experience”, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 83, #1, 2002, pp. 38-56.
“Maxwell and Materialism”, Synthese, vol. 66, 1986, pp. 505-514.
“Continuity and the Metaphysics of Dualism”, Philosophical Studies, vol. 45, 1984, pp. 197-204.