George Wrisley

In May, 2008, I received my PhD in Philosophy from the University of Iowa. I spent 2008-2009 teaching in Texas, and the following year in Washington, DC., teaching at George Washington University and at the Catholic University of America.

I am currently a visiting professor of philosophy at North Georgia College and State University.

Areas of Specialization: Philosophy of Language and Metaphysics

With philosophy of language and metaphysics, I am primarily interested in language-world relations, particularly in relation to the implications of alternative conceptual schemes. Among other things, I am interested in issues concerning the language-relativity of ontology; however, I don't believe what I would call "extreme forms" of ontological or conceptual relativity are viable (for example, some of Quine's and Putnam's views). My work on Wittgenstein and Putnam has lead me to metametaphysical questions concerning the nature of metaphysical and ontological disputes. Further, I pursue issues concerning philosophical methodology, specifically in regard to the extent to which philosophy is, or can be, an empirical, as opposed to armchair, discipline.

Areas of Competence: Epistemology, Logic, and Ethics

With epistemology I am particularly interested in working out the best way to understand fallibilism and I am interested in the development of philosophical methodology (e.g., the ways in which philosophy has been a varying mix of the a priori and the a posteriori).

With ethics I am particularly interested in the question of what constitutes a life worth living and the nature of the relationships between ethics, a life worth living, philosophy, and religion. Part of that deep interest compels me to think seriously about Nietzsche, his work on the question of values, and the role and nature of suffering in human existence.

I am currently working on a project that calls into question the role of happiness in well-being and whether any notion of happiness is the proper end of human existence. Part of what is at issue is whether a life can go well without happiness. I argue that it can.