Curriculum Vitae
SAMUEL C. RICKLESS
Philosophy Department, 0119
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0119
Employment
2009- : Professor, Philosophy, University of California, San Diego
2003-2009: Associate Professor, Philosophy, University of California, San Diego
2001-2003: Assistant Professor, Philosophy, University of California, San Diego
1996-2001: Assistant Professor, Philosophy, Florida State University
1995-1996: Visiting Lecturer, Philosophy, Florida State University
Education
Ph.D., Philosophy, University of California, Los Angeles, 1996
Dissertation: Sinn Without Guilt: A Theory of Content for Singular Terms
Advisor: David Kaplan
B.Phil., Philosophy, Oxford University, 1988
B.A., Philosophy, Harvard University, 1986
Areas of Research
History of Ancient Philosophy, History of Modern Philosophy, Ethics, Constitutional Law, Philosophy of Language
Publications (Refereed/Invited)
1. “Locke on Primary and Secondary Qualities,” Pacific Philosophical Quarterly (1997): 297-319.
2. “The Doctrine of Doing and Allowing,” Philosophical Review 106 (1997): 555-575.
3. “Socrates’ Moral Intellectualism,” Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 79 (1998): 355-367.
4. “The Semantic Function of Chained Pronouns,” Analysis 58 (1998): 297-304.
5. “How Parmenides Saved the Theory of Forms,” Philosophical Review 107 (1998): 501-554.
6. “Locke on the Freedom to Will,” The Locke Newsletter 31 (2000): 43-67.
7. “Miranda, Dickerson, and the Problem of Actual Innocence,” Criminal Justice Ethics 19 (2000): 2, 53-55. [invited]
8. “How to Solve Blum’s Paradox” (with Dana K. Nelkin), Analysis 61 (2001): 91-94.
9. “Religious Arguments and the Duty of Civility,” Public Affairs Quarterly 15 (2001): 133-154.
10. “Gideon Yaffe’s Liberty Worth the Name: Locke on Free Agency,” Locke Studies 1 (2001): 235-255. [invited]
11. “Warfield’s New Argument for Incompatibilism” (with Dana K. Nelkin), Analysis 62 (2002): 104-107.
12. “From the Good Will to the Formula of Universal Law,” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 68 (2004): 554-577.
13. “The Cartesian Fallacy Fallacy,” Noûs 39 (2005): 309-336.
14. “Locke’s Polemic Against Nativism,” in The Cambridge Companion to Locke’s
Essay, edited by Lex Newman (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007),
pp. 33-66. [invited]
15. “The Coherence of Orthodox Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence,” George Mason
University Civil Rights Law Journal 15 (2005): 261-296.
16. “A Synthetic Approach to Legal Adjudication,” San Diego Law Review 42 (2005):
519-532.
17. “Polygamy and Same-Sex Marriage: A Response to Calhoun,” San Diego Law
Review 42 (2005): 1043-1048.
18. “Binding Arguments and Hidden Variables” (with Jonathan Cohen), Analysis 67
(2007): 65-71.
19. “Is Locke’s Theory of Knowledge Inconsistent?,” Philosophy and Phenomenological
Research 77 (2008): 83-104.
20. Plato’s Forms in Transition: A Reading of the Parmenides, monograph, Cambridge
University Press (December 2006).
21. “Plato’s Parmenides,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (August 2007).
22. “The Right to Privacy Unveiled,” San Diego Law Review 44 (2007): 773-799.
23. Marc Hight’s Idea and Ontology: An Essay in Early Modern Metaphysics of Ideas
[review essay], Berkeley Studies 20 (2009): [here].
24. “Plato’s Definition(s) of Sophistry,” Ancient Philosophy 30 (2010): 289-298.
25. “The Relation Between Anti-Abstractionism and Idealism in Berkeley’s
Metaphysics,” British Journal for the History of Philosophy, forthcoming.
26. “Should Philosophers Become Public Intellectuals?” in Global Academe: Engaging
Intellectual Discourse, edited by Karyn Hollis and Sylvia Nagy-
Zekmi, forthcoming.
27. “The Moral Status of Enabling Harm,” Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 92 (2011):
66-86.
28. “Will and Motivation.” In The Oxford Handbook of British Philosophy in the
Seventeenth Century, edited by Peter Anstey, forthcoming.
29. “Qualities.” In The Routledge Companion to Seventeenth Century Philosophy, edited
by Dan Kaufman, forthcoming.
30. “Why and How to Fill an Unfilled Proposition,” Theoria 78 (2012): 6-25.
31. Georges Dicker’s Berkeley’s Idealism: A Critical Examination, [review essay],
Berkeley Studies, forthcoming.
32. “Hume’s Theory of Pity and Malice,” British Journal for the History of Philosophy,
forthcoming.
33. “The Contrast-Insensitivity of Knowledge Ascriptions,” Philosophy and
Phenomenological Research, forthcoming.
34. “Locke’s ‘Sensitive Knowledge’: Knowledge or Assurance?” Oxford Studies in
Early Modern Philosophy, vol. 7, forthcoming.
Work in Progress
Berkeley’s Argument for Idealism, monograph.
Work in Preparation
Locke. (Monograph, under contract with Blackwell Publishers, part of the Great
Minds Series, edited by Steven Nadler.)
Reviews
John Russell Roberts, A Metaphysics for the Mob: The Philosophy of George Berkeley,
Philosophical Review 118 (2009): 244-247.
Francis A. Grabowski III, Plato, Metaphysics and the Forms, Ancient Philosophy 30
(2010): 428-432.
Jonathan Kramnick, Actions and Objects from Hobbes to Richardson, Notre Dame
Philosophical Reviews, <http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=23449>, April 17, 2011.
Presentations (Refereed)
“The Semantic Function of Chained Pronouns,” Florida Philosophical Association, November 1995.
“Is Kripke’s Puzzle About Belief Self-Defeating?,” Colloquium, Pacific APA, March 1998.
“How to Avoid the Third Man,” Colloquium, Eastern APA, December 1998; Florida Philosophical Association, November 1998.
“Locke on the Freedom to Will,” Southeastern Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, Duke University, November 1999.
“Are Propositional Attitude Reports Context-Sensitive?,” Colloquium, Central APA, April 2000.
“Is Locke’s Theory of Knowledge Inconsistent?,” Colloquium, Pacific APA, March 2005.
“The Relation between Anti-Abstractionism and Idealism in Berkeley’s Metaphysics,” Southwest Seminar in Early Modern Philosophy, UCSD, February 2007; meeting of the International Berkeley Society, Eastern APA, December 2007.
Presentations (Invited)
“Sinn Without Guilt,” Colloquium, University of Florida, November 1995.
“Kant’s Contradiction-in-Conception Test,” Colloquium, Florida State University, September 1996.
“Locke on Primary and Secondary Qualities,” Colloquium, University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, February 1997.
“How Parmenides Saved the Theory of Forms,” Colloquium, Florida State University, October 1997.
“Religious Arguments and the Duty of Civility,” Faculty Seminar, Florida State University School of Law, March 2000.
“Why There is No Cartesian Circle,” Colloquium, University of Virginia, January 2001.
“The Cartesian Fallacy Fallacy,” Colloquium, UCSD, November 2001.
“Ethical Considerations in the Medical Care of Convicts,” Public Lecture, UCSD Center for the Humanities: Dialogues in Medicine Series, May 2002.
Comments on Gideon Yaffe’s Liberty Worth the Name: Locke on Free Agency, Author
Meets Critics session, Southern California Philosophy Conference, UC Irvine,
October 2002.
Comments on Benjamin Hill, “Locke’s Ideational Definition of Knowledge and
Knowing Idea-Independent Reality,” Colloquium, Pacific APA, March 2004.
“Is Locke’s Theory of Knowledge Inconsistent?,” Colloquium, UC Riverside, October
2004.
Comments on Paul Hoffman, “Locke on the Locked Room,” Colloquium, Southern
California Philosophy Conference, UC Irvine, October 2004.
“Berkeley's Argument for Idealism," Colloquium, UC Santa Barbara, May 2006; Third
Biennial Margaret Dauler Wilson Conference, UCSD, June 2006; Colloquium,
Charles University, Prague, July 2010.
“Descartes on Atomism,” Public Lecture for undergraduate honors program, University
of Utah, January 2007.
“The Right to Privacy Unveiled,” Colloquium, University of Utah, January 2007;
University of San Diego Institute for Law and Philosophy Roundtable, April
2007.
“Berkeley’s Master Argument,” Conference, International Berkeley Society, Newport,
Rhode Island, June 2008; Colloquium, Cornell University, September 2009;
Colloquium, UCSD, April 2011.
“Defining the Sophist,” Invited Session, 14th Arizona Colloquium in Ancient
Philosophy, University of Arizona, February 2009; Colloquium, UC Irvine,
February 2009.
“Jolley on Locke on Primary and Secondary Qualities,” Conference in honor of Nicholas
Jolley, UC Irvine, June 2009
“The Relation Between Anti-Abstractionism and Idealism in Berkeley’s Metaphysics,”
presented at an International Berkeley Conference commemorating the 300th
anniversary of the publication of the Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human
Knowledge, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, April 2010.
“Berkeley on the Perception of Sensible Objects,” Thomas Rukavina Lecture on the
History of Philosophy, Gonzaga University, April 2010; International Berkeley
Society Conference, Zurich, Switzerland, June 2011.
“The Semantics of Proper Names,” Colloquium, University of Bologna, July 2010.
“Three Cheers for Double Effect” (with Dana K. Nelkin), Workshop on Doing Harm,
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France, July 2011.
Conferences
The Philosophical Foundations of Freedom of Expression, USD Institute for Law and
Philosophy, October 2001.
What is Legal Interpretation? USD Institute for Law and Philosophy, April 2004.
The Meaning of Marriage, USD Institute for Law and Philosophy, January 2005.
Analytical Jurisprudence, USD Institute for Law and Philosophy, September 2005.
The Duty to Rescue, USD Institute for Law and Philosophy, October 2006.
Informational Privacy, USD Institute for Law and Philosophy, April 2007.
Just War and Terrorism, USD Institute for Law and Philosophy, September 2007.
Robert Nozick and Lockean Libertarianism, USD Institute for Law and Philosophy,
April 2009.
Freedom of Conscience, USD Institute for Law and Philosophy, April 2010.
Fellowships and Scholarships
Marshall Scholarship; 1986-88
Humanities Fellowship, UCLA; 1991-92
Dissertation Year Fellowship, UCLA; 1994-95
Chancellors Summer Faculty Fellowship, UCSD; 2001
Hellman Fellowship, UCSD; 2002-03
Research Grant, UC Academic Senate, San Diego Division; Summer 2002, Summer
2003, Summer 2004, Summer 2005, Summer 2008
UCSD Center for the Humanities, Humanities Faculty Fellowship; Fall 2004
Awards
University Teaching Award, Florida State University; 1999-2000
Outstanding Faculty Award, Thurgood Marshall College, UCSD, June 2008
Chancellor’s Associates Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, UCSD, April
2010
Warren College Faculty Service Award, UCSD, June 2010
Languages
French (fluent), German (reading knowledge)
Courses Taught (at UCLA, FSU, UCSD)
Graduate Level
Paradoxes (Proseminar), The Doctrine of Doing and Allowing and the Doctrine of Double Effect (with Dana Nelkin), Hume’s Treatise (with Don Rutherford), Berkeley’s Metaphysics, Plato’s Parmenides, Locke’s Essay, Kant’s Groundwork, Singular Terms, Propositional Attitude Reports, Non-Consequentialism, Material Constitution, Introduction to Philosophical Methods (Proseminar), Preliminary Examination Preparation (Epistemology), Preliminary Examination Preparation (Ethics)
Upper Division
Early Modern Philosophy, Socrates and Plato, The Empiricists, Philosophy of Mind, Knowledge and Scepticism, Symbolic Logic, Limits of Beneficence (Seminar for Philosophy Majors)
Lower Division
Ethics and Society, Dimensions of Culture 2: Justice, Descartes’s Meditations (Freshman Honors Seminar), Life’s Dominion (Freshman Seminar), Introduction to the Philosophy of Science, Biomedical Ethics, Reasoning and Critical Thinking
Graduate Advising
Nate Rockwood: Philosophy, Chair, Ph.D. committee, 2011-present
Daniel Schwartz: Philosophy, Ph.D. committee, 2010-present
Erin Frykholm: Philosophy, Ph.D. committee, 2009-2011
Gary Hartenburg: Philosophy, UC Irvine, Ph.D. committee, 2006-present
Kristen Irwin: Philosophy, Ph.D. committee, 2005-2010
Dale Dorsey: Philosophy, Ph.D. committee, 2005-2007
Luke Robinson: Philosophy, Ph.D. committee, 2001-2006
Peter Edwards: Music, Ph.D. committee, 2004-2005
Matthew Brown: Phil 290, Independent Study (Plato and Protagoras on
Relativism), Fall 2004
Nellie Wieland: Phil 290, Independent Study (Insensitive Semantics), Winter
2006
Erin Frykholm: Phil 290, Independent Study (Moral Sentimentalism and
Rationalism before Hume), Fall 2006
Undergraduate Advising
Andre Niemeyer: Honors Thesis (Reference Determination and Reference
Change), Fall 2005-Winter 2006
Shawn Burns: Honors Thesis (Leibniz v. Locke on Innate Ideas), Fall 2004-
Winter 2005
Annie Pan: Phil 199, Independent Study (Plato’s Parmenides), Fall 2003
Departmental Activities
Florida State University
Faculty Advisory Committee, 1999-2000
Werkmeister Conference Committee, 1996-97, 1998-99
Graduate Program Committee, 1996-97
Graduate Admissions Committee, 1996, 1998
Library Liaison, 1996-2000
Chair, Epistemology Preliminary Examination Committee, 1997-2001
Member, Ethics Preliminary Examination Committee, 1998-2001
Faculty Recruitment Committee, 1997-98, 1998-99
UCSD
Placement Committee, Fall 2011
Acting Director of Graduate Studies, Fall 2010
Colloquium Committee, 2006-2007
Search Committee, 2002-03; 2003-04; 2005-06
Graduate Admissions Committee, 2003-04, 2010-2011
History of Philosophy Roundtable, co-organizer, 2003-04
Lounge Journals Czar, 2003-present
Participant, Symposium on the Death of Socrates (with Peter Atterton), Undergraduate
Philosophy Club, November 2003
Reviewer, Undergraduate Philosophy Conference, April 2004; April 2005
University Activities
Florida State University
Faculty Senator, 1996-2001
UCSD
Academic Senate Subcommittee on Research, 2010-2011
Committee on the Campus Free Speech Rights of Non-Affiliates, 2008-2009
Search Committee, Katzin Chair in Jewish Civilization, 2006-2007
Academic Dishonesty Hearing Board, Alternate Member, 2005-2011
CEP Subcommittee on Subject A Appeals, Member, 2003-2006, 2009-2011
CEP Subcommittee on Subject A Appeals, Chair, 2006-2007
Faculty Advisor, Program in Law and Society, 2003-present
Faculty Affiliate, Research Ethics Program, 2004-2008
External Activities
Affiliated Scholar, University of San Diego Institute for Law and Philosophy, 2003-
present
Refereeing
American Philosophical Quarterly, Ancient Philosophy, Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie, Blackwell Publishers, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Canadian Philosophical Association, Dialogue, Ethics, Inland Northwest Topics in Philosophy, Journal of Applied Philosophy, Journal of the History of Philosophy, Journal of Philosophical Research, Journal of Social Philosophy, Legal Theory, Mind, The Monist, Noûs, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophers’ Imprint, Philosophia, Philosophical Psychology, Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, Southern Journal of Philosophy, Social Theory and Practice (member of Editorial Board, 1996-2001; member of Advisory Board, 2001-present), Blackwell Philosophy Compass (Section Editor: History of Modern Philosophy, 2005-present; also referee)
Service
Guest Lecture, Kearny Mesa High School, “Terrorism and Civil Liberties,” March 2005
Opinion Piece, “In Guantanamo Cases, A Question of Tyranny,” Newsday, May 2, 2004
Guest Appearance, Amnesty International UCSD, Human Rights Awareness Week,
Discussion of Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, May 2008
Guest Lecture, Kearny Mesa High School, “Consequentialism vs. Non-
Consequentialism,” May 2009, April 2010, May 2011
Guest Lecture, “Are We All Moral Monsters?” UCSD Family Weekend, October 2010;
UCSD Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, October 2011
Presentation, “The Ethics of Academic Integrity,” Honoring Academic Integrity, UCSD
Event, April 2011
Professional Memberships
American Philosophical Association 1994-present
American Association of University Professors 1996-present
Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy 1998-present
International Berkeley Society 2005-present
American Constitution Society 2009-present
Hume Society 2010-present
