Curriculum Vitae

GREGORY BASSHAM

Emeritus Professor of Philosophy
King's College (Pa.)

133 N. River St.
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711

Office e-mail: gregorybassham@kings.edu

 

AOS: Environmental Ethics, Philosophy of Law, Critical Thinking, Popular Culture and Philosophy; Inkling Studies

AOC: Ethics, Philosophy of Religion

Education

B.A., University of Oklahoma, 1982 (Studies in Ethics and Religion)
M.A., University of Oklahoma, 1985 (Philosophy)
Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, 1991 (Philosophy)

Academic Experience

Assistant Professor of Philosophy, King’s College, 1992-1999
Associate Professor of Philosophy, King’s College, 1999 – 2005
Professor of Philosophy, 2005 - 2018
Chair, Philosophy Department, 2003 - 2013
Director, King’s College Center for Ethics and Public Life, July 2003 – 2005
Faculty Council Chair, 2007-2008, 2011-2012
Emeritus 2018

Publications
A. Books:

Stoicism for Dummies (co-written with Tom Morris) (Wiley, 2024).

Environmental Ethics: The Central Issues (Hackett, 2020).

The Bedside Book of Philosophy (Sterling, 2021).

The Philosophy Book: 250 Milestones in Philosophy from the Vedas to the New Atheists (Sterling Publishing, 2016). (Translated into German, Dutch, Greek, and Spanish.)

C. S. Lewis’s Christian Apologetics: Pro and Con (edited volume, Rodopi-Brill, 2015.)

The Hobbit and Philosophy (co-edited with Eric Bronson) (Wiley, 2012). (Translated into German, Portuguese, Turkish, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, and Polish)

The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy (edited volume, Wiley, 2010.) (Translated into German, French, Hungarian, Danish, Portuguese (two versions), Polish, Spanish, Arabic, Persian, and Chinese)

Basketball and Philosophy (co-edited with Jerry Walls) (University of Kentucky Press, 2007).

The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy (co-edited with Jerry Walls) (Open Court, 2005) (Translated into Russian, Danish, and Portuguese).

The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy (co-edited with Eric Bronson) (Open Court, 2003) (Translated into eleven languages).

Critical Thinking: A Student’s Introduction (co-written with James M. Wallace, Henry Nardone, and William Irwin) (New York: McGraw-Hill, 7th edition, 2023). (Translated into Chinese.)

Original Intent and the Constitution: A Philosophical Study (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1992).

 

B. Articles and Chapters in Books:

“A Pluralistic Virtue-Centered Theory of Judging,” co-written with Olivia Ostrowski, Ratio Juris 35:2 (2022): 3-20.

“Humor and Philosophy,” in Kishor Vaidya, Teach with a Sense of Humor (The Curious Academic Publishing, 2021).

“Introduction: Oxford’s Bonny Apologist,” in Gregory Bassham, ed., C. S. Lewis’s Christian Apologetics: Pro and Con (Brill. 2015).

“The Argument from Desire Quenched,” in Gregory Bassham, ed., C. S. Lewis’s Christian Apologetics: Pro and Con (Brill. 2015).

“Reply to Peter Williams,” in Gregory Bassham, ed., C. S. Lewis’s Christian Apologetics: Pro and Con (Brill. 2015).

“Does Philosophy Still Deserve a Special Role in Catholic Higher Education?” The Journal of Catholic Higher Education 34:1 (Winter 2015), pp. 43-58.

“The Tao of Walking,” ScientiaSalon (April 12, 2015), https://scientiasalon.wordpress.com/2015/04/12/the-tao-of-walking/.

“How to Read Harry Potter and How Not To,” in Corbin Fowler, ed., The Ravenclaw Chronicles: Reflections from Edinboro (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2015).

“New Textualism: The Potholes Ahead” (co-written with Ian Oakley), Ratio Juris 28:1 (March 2015): 127-48.

“Life’s Purpose,” Think 14: 39 (2015): 19-25.

“Mearsheimer’s Mistakes: Why Colleges Should (and Inevitably Do) Provide Moral Guidance,” in Expositions, Vol. 17, No. 1: 33-41.

“Virtue-Centered Approaches to Education: Prospects and Pitfalls,” in Michael W. Austin, ed., Virtues in Action: New Essays in Applied Virtue Ethics (Palgrave, 2014).

“Legislating Morality: Scoring the Hart-Devlin Debate after 50 Years,” Ratio Juris, Vol. 25, No. 2 (2012): 117-32.

Who Could Have Deserved It? C. S. Lewis on Friendship,” in Suzanne Bray and William Gray (eds.), Persona and Paradox: Issues of Identity in C. S. Lewis, His Friends and Associates (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012).

“Harry Potter and the Metaphysics of Soul-Splitting,” Reason Papers, Vol. 34, No. 1 (June 2012): 25-31.

“Freedom of the Seas: The Stoic Sailor,” co-written with Tod Bassham, in Sailing and Philosophy, edited by Patrick A. Goold (Wiley, 2012).

“Sherlock Holmes and the Ethics of Hyper-Specialization,” co-written with Bridget Costello, in Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy, edited by Philip Tallon and David Baggett (University Press of Kentucky, 2012).

“The Industrious Sherlock Holmes,” in Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy, edited by Philip Tallon and David Baggett (University Press of Kentucky, 2012).

“Should ‘Argument’ Be Defined without Reference to Use?” Proceedings of the Seventh Conference of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation (2011).
 
“A Hogwarts Education: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” in The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy.

“Choices vs. Abilities: Dumbledore on Self-Understanding,” in The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy.

“Just in Your Head? J. K. Rowling on Separating Reality from Illusion,” co-written with John Granger, in The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy.

“’My Precious’: Tolkien on the Perils of Possessiveness,” co-written with Anna Minore, in The Hobbit and Philosophy.

“The Adventurous Hobbit,” in The Hobbit and Philosophy.

“Lance Armstrong and True Success,” co-written with Chris Krall, in Mike Austin and Jesus Ilundain, eds., Cycling and Philosophy (Wiley, 2010).

“Popular Culture in the Philosophy Classroom: A Modest Defense,” co-written with Michael Austin, APA Newsletter on Teaching Philosophy, Fall 2008.

“Lifelong Learning and the Duty of Self-Improvement,” Think, Winter 2008.

“The Goal That Was and Wasn’t,” co-written with Regan Lance Reitsma, Think, Summer 2008.

“Lewis and Tolkien on the Power of Imagination,” in David Baggett, Gary Habermas, and Jerry Walls, eds., C. S. Lewis as Philosopher (InterVarsity Press, 2008).

“Hardwood Dojos: What Basketball Can Teach Us about Character and Success,” in Walls and Bassham, eds., Basketball and Philosophy (University of Kentucky Press, 2007). Co-written with Mark Hamilton.

“Running with the Seven C’s of Success,” in Michael Austin, ed., Running and Philosophy (Blackwell, 2007).

 “Don’t Play on Tilt! Avoiding Seven Costly Critical Thinking Errors in Poker,” in Poker and Philosophy, edited by Eric Bronson (Open Court, 2006). Co-written with Marc Marchese.

“Justice Scalia’s Equitable Constitution,” Journal of College and University Law, Vol. 33, No. 1 (2006).

”Some Dogs Go to Heaven: Lewis on Animal Salvation,” in Gregory Bassham and Jerry Walls, eds., The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy (Open Court, 2005).

“Pissin’ Metal: Malvo, Columbine, and the Matrix of Violence,” in William Irwin, ed., More Matrix and Philosophy (Open Court, 2005). Co-written with Henry Nardone.

“Resist Not Evil: Jesus and Nonviolence,” in Jorge Gracia, ed., Mel Gibson’s The Passion and Philosophy (Open Court, 2005). Co-written with David Baggett.

“The Prophecy-Driven Life: Fate and Freedom at Hogwarts,” in David Baggett and Shawn Klein, eds., Harry Potter and Philosophy (Open Court, 2005).

“Gracia on Divine Revelation,” American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 78:3 (Fall 2004): 485-87.

“Teaching Ought Imperatives,” Informal Logic, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Summer 2004): 11-16.

“The Zen of Hitting,” in Eric Bronson, ed., Baseball and Philosophy (Open Court, 2004).

“Reformed Epistemology and Chinese Mysticism,” World Hongming Philosophical Quarterly (Dec. 2003).

“Tolkien’s Six Keys to Happiness,” in Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson, eds., The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy (Open Court, 2003).

“Depression, Informal Fallacies, and Cognitive Therapy: The Critical Thinking Cure?” (co-written with William Irwin), Inquiry 21 (3) (Spring 2002): 15-21.

“Linked and Independent Premises: A New Analysis,” Frans H. van Emeren, J. Anthony Blair, and Charles A. Willard, eds., Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation, 2003.

"Work-Family Conflict: A Virtue Ethics Analysis," (co-written with Marc Marchese and Jack Ryan), Journal of Business Ethics 40 (2) (October 2002): 145-154.

“The Religion of The Matrix and the Problems of Pluralism,” in William Irwin, ed., The Matrix and Philosophy (2002).

“Emotional Appeals in the Film ‘12 Angry Men,’” in Frans H. van Emeren, Rob Grootendorst, J. Anthony Blair, and Charles A. Willard, eds., Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference of the International Society for the Study of Argumentation (1999) (co-authored with Henry Nardone).

“Freedom’s Politics: A Review Essay of Ronald Dworkin’s Freedom’s Law: The Moral Reading of the American Constitution,” Notre Dame Law Review 72 (1997): 1235-1276.

“Using the Film JFK to Teach Critical Thinking,” College Teaching 45 (1997): 10-13 (co-authored with Henry Nardone).

“Feminist Legal Theory: A Liberal Response,” Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy 6 (1992): 293-319.

“Rethinking the Emerging Jurisprudence of Juvenile Death,” Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy 5 (1991): 467-501.

“Ehring’s Theory of Causal Asymmetry,” Analysis 46 (1986): 29-32.

 

C. Book Reviews:

Review of Charles Taliaferro, A Narnia Vision of the Atonement: A Defense of the Ransom Theory, forthcoming in Faith and Philosophy.

Review of John S. Nelson, Defending the Dark Arts: The Political Education of Harry Potter and His Friends (Rowman and Littlefield, 2021). Review of Politics 84:3 (Summer 2022): 495-96.

Review of Roger White, Judith Wolfe, and Brendan N. Wolfe, eds., C. S. Lewis and His Circle. Church History 85:3 (Sept. 2016): 654-56.

“How Not to Argue for Originalism: A Review of McGinnis and Rappaport’s Originalism and the Good Constitution.” Journal of College and University Law 42:1 (2016): 235-45.

Review of Bruce Allen Murphy, Scalia: A Court of One, The Journal of College and University Law 41:2 (2015): 395-421.

Review of Richard Ekins, The Nature of Legislative Intent, Ethics 124:2 (2013): 403-06.

Review of Alister McGrath, C. S. Lewis: A Life,” Mythlore, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Fall/Winter 2013): 169-74.

“Textualism’s Last Stand: A Review of Scalia and Garner’s Reading Law,” in The Journal of College and University Law, 38:2 (2012), pp. 101-118.

Review of Robert MacSwain and Michael Ward, eds., The Cambridge Companion to C. S. Lewis, Mythlore, Issue 113/14 (Spring/Summer 2011).

“Fish’s Purified Ivory Tower: A Review of Stanley Fish’s Save the World on Your Own Time,” in The Journal of College and University Law, 36:1 (2009), pp. 287-93.

Review of Erik J. Wielenberg, God and the Reach of Reason, in Faith and Philosophy, 27:2 (April 2010), pp. 236-40.

Review of Mark C. Murphy, Natural Law in Jurisprudence and Politics, The Journal of Catholic Social Ethics, 6:2 (Summer 2009)

Review of Robert A. Delfino (ed.), What Are We to Understand Gracia to Mean? Realist Challenges to Metaphysical Neutralism, American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly (Summer 2007): 512-14.

Review of Joseph Desjardins (ed.), Environmental Ethics: Concepts, Policy, and Theory, Teaching Philosophy 24:1 (March 2001): 86-87.

“It Means What They Said: A Review of Keith E. Whittington, Constitutional Interpretation: Textual Meaning, Original Intent, and Judicial Review,” The Review of Politics 62: 3 (Summer, 2000): 588-90.

Review of Geoffrey Scarre, Utilitarianism, Teaching Philosophy 23:2 (June 2000): 210-13.

“Interpretive Babel: A Review of Steven D. Smith, The Constitution and the Pride of Reason,” The Review of Politics 61:1 (1999): 159-60.

Review of Robert Lowry Clinton, God and Man in the Law: The Foundations of Anglo-American Constitutionalism, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 599 (September 1998): 188-89.

Review of Douglas Soccio, Archetypes of Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy, Teaching Philosophy, 21:3 (1998): 275-76.

“Morality and the Constitution: A Review of Graham Walker’s Moral Foundations of Constitutional Thought: Current Problems, Augustinian Prospects,” Review of Politics 53 (1991): 718-21.

 

D. Non-refereed Academic Articles:

See my Academia.edu page at: https://kings.academia.edu/GregoryBassham

 

Selected Presentations and Other Scholarly Activities (Since 2003)

“C. S. Lewis vs. The Green Book,” International Conference on Philosophy, Athens, May 2018.

“Harry Potter and the Meaning of Life,” Philosophy and Religion Club, Rollins College, March 2016.

“C. S. Lewis’s The Abolition of Man: The Philosophical Background,” Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Jan. 2016.

“A Critique of C. S. Lewis’s Argument from Desire,” Eastern Meeting of the Society of Christian Philosophers, Oct. 2015.

“New Textualism,” Eastern Pennsylvania Philosophical Association, March 2015.

“Beversluis on the Argument from Desire,” Eastern Pennsylvania Philosophical Association, April 2014.

“Moral Education at Hogwarts: The Role of Empathy in the Moral Life,” St. Andrews, Scotland, May 2012.

“Blurring Genres: How to Read Harry Potter—and How Not To.” Keynote address at Potterfest 2011, Edinboro University, October 2011.

“Harry Potter and the Metaphysics of Soul-Splitting.”  Marymount Manhattan College, October 29, 2011.

“Who Could Have Deserved It? C. S. Lewis on Friendship,” C. S Lewis, His Friends and Associates: Questions of Identity Conference, Lille, France, May 2011.

“Should ‘Argument’ Be Defined Without Reference to Use?” International Society for the Study of Argumentation, Amsterdam 2010.