Contact
Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts - Philosophy Dept
- hnye@ualberta.ca
- Phone
- (780) 492-3307
- Address
-
2-59 Assiniboia Hall
9137 116 St NWEdmonton ABT6G 2E7
- Availability
- By Appointment
Overview
About
Howard Nye is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alberta. He works primarily in the areas of practical ethics, normative ethics, and metaethics, and has related interests in political philosophy, the philosophy of mind, and decision theory.
One line of Howard’s current research concerns the ethics of collective action, including why individuals should contribute to projects that may do a great deal of good if enough others also contribute, and what contributions to potentially beneficial projects are most important to make. Much of his current research in this line investigates the desirability and feasibility of a just transition to a predominantly plant-based food system in Canada.
Another line of Howard's research investigates challenges to the common assumption that life is less of a morally important benefit to sentient beings who lack the intellectual abilities of typical human adults.
A third line of Howard's research investigates what it takes for an entity to have representations and goals in a sense that admits of genuine, underivative error and unfulfillment, with applications to the sentience and mental lives of various non-human animals, intellectually less able humans, and possible future artificial intelligence systems.
Courses
PHIL 305 - Philosophy of Psychology
Central topics at the interface of philosophy and psychology. Prerequisite: PHIL 205, or two courses in Psychology, or consent of Department.
PHIL 345 - Humans and Animals
Philosophical approaches to the question of comparative human and animal cognition, emotion, awareness, and language. The course will also address the problem of animal rights vis-à-vis individual and institutional human interests.
PHIL 350 - Foundations of Ethics
A philosophical investigation of theoretical questions about ethics, such as whether ethical values are objective or subjective, why we should be moral, whether virtues really exist, what role reason plays in ethical deliberation, and what constitutes the basis of our ethical obligations.
PHIL 470 - Topics in Social and Political Philosophy
Prerequisite: At least *6 in PHIL, *3 of which must be at the 200-level, or consent of Department.
PHIL 570 - Social and Political Philosophy