Megan Altman
Megan Altman
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Biographical Sketch
Consistent with the goals of the liberal arts tradition, Professor Altman is committed to the vision of education as broadly preparing students to be free human beings, equipped to thoughtfully, seriously, and compassionately live in a world that is increasingly diverse, complex, and interdependent. She approaches teaching as a core component of academic life that calls for emotional vulnerability, a steadfast commitment to intellectual excellence, and openness to difference. The goal, for her, is to awaken students to the importance of thinking hard about life, about what they have learned, and about their place in the world. To this end, she approaches teaching as a rigorous, concentrated, yet to some extent lighthearted exercise that provides a variety of options for students to participate in ways that they feel comfortable.
Academic History
- Ph.D. Philosophy, University of South Florida
- M.A. Philosophy, University of South Florida
- B.A. Philosophy & Political Science, University of South Florida
Areas of Expertise & Competence
- 19th & 20th Century Continental Philosophy (especially Heidegger)
- Existentialism
- Phenomenology
- Hermeneutics
- Ethics (broadly construed)
- History of Philosophy
- Feminist Philosophy
- Latin American Philosophy
Publications
Co-edited Book
Horizons of Authenticity in Phenomenology, Existentialism, and Moral Psychology, edited by Megan Altman and Hans Pedersen (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, 2014).
Journal Articles
“The Ethics of Thinking: Heidegger, Levinas, and Kierkegaard Rethinking Ethics,” with Lee Braver, Gatherings: The Heidegger Circle Annual, vol. 11 (2021): 240-279.
“The Struggle for Belonging and Being at Home,” Frontiers of Philosophy in China, Vol. 11 (3) 2016 (special topic issue on “Retrieving Phenomenology,” edited by Eric S. Nelson), 444-462.
“Efficient Action: What Process Ontology Could Learn from Aristotle,” Concrescence: The Australasian Journal of Process Thought, Vol. 10 2009, 25-33.
Book Chapters
“Jewish Loneliness and Kierkegaardian Faith: Learning How to Hope in the Face of Homelessness,” in Taking Kierkegaard Personally: First Person Responses, eds. Gordon Marino and Jamie Lorentzen (Mercer University Press, 2020), 191-200.
“An Ethics of Home and Hope: Kierkegaard’s Exile and Heidegger’s Emigrant,” in The Kierkegaardian Mind, eds. Adam Buben, Eleanor Helms, and Patrick Stokes (London: Routledge, 2019), 110-121.
“Mortality and Morality: A Heideggerian Interpretation of Kierkegaard’s Either/Or,” in Horizons of Authenticity in Phenomenology, Existentialism, and Moral Psychology, eds. Megan Altman and Hans Pedersen (Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer, 2014), 219-237.
“Heidegger and Aristotle on Contemplating Contemplation,” in Schreiben Dichten Denken: Zu Heideggers Sprachbegriff, Heidegger Forum Volume 4, ed. David Espinet, series ed. Günter Figal (Frankfurt am Main: Vittorrio Klostermann, 2011), 227-240.
Book Reviews
"Existentialism in the 21st Century": Review of Existentialism (Kevin Aho), Introducing Existentialism: From Kierkegaard to the Seventh Seal (Robert Wicks), and Living Philosophy in Kierkegaard, Melville, and Others: Intersections of Literature, Philosophy, and Religion (Edward F. Mooney). Kritikon Litterarum (forthcoming 2022)
Heidegger’s Black Notebooks: Responses to Anti-Semitism, eds. Andrew Mitchell and Peter Trawny. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017. Human Studies: A Journal for Philosophy and the Social Sciences, Volume 42, Issue 4 (2019), pp. 717-723. DOI: 10.1007/s10746-019-09520-8.
Fred Dallmayr, Integral Pluralism: Beyond Culture Wars. Kentucky: University of Kentucky Press, 2010. Human Studies, Volume 3, Issue 4 (2011), pp. 333-340. DOI: 10.1007/s10746-011-9190-0.