Erica Stonestreet, Ph.D

Quad 362H
ph. 320-363-2743
Email: estonestreet@csbsju.edu

I can recite Robert Frost's "The Star-Splitter," Walt Whitman's "There Was A Child Went Forth," and Rilke's "Zum Einschlafen Zu Sagen" by heart. Why? Because when I sat in the arboretum of Gustavus Adolphus College and read them, they summed up everything about life and the liberal arts that inspires me, so I memorized them. So why didn't I end up studying literature? One reason is that I also loved philosophy, math, and music, and I just couldn't fit everything in. With all these interests, you might wonder how I came to be a philosopher. I usually say philosophy chose me: I couldn't help it. After I graduated from Gustavus, I tried to combine my interests in math and philosophy by trotting off to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where I did several things: studied logic and the philosophy of mathematics, earning an M.S.; learned by living away how deep my roots in Minnesota are; discovered a passion for non-academic writing (I favor the "familiar" essay); and realized how much I love humanistic education. Studying a technical discipline showed me how much of a liberal arts junkie I really am, because I missed thinking about life. So I transferred to the University of Michigan to concentrate on ethics. The work I did there (and continue to do) centers around self-creation and the reasons for action that stem from who we are: in short, the ethics of individuality. I'm most interested in virtue and character, caring, and identity, the things that make us who we are in a biographical sense. While at Michigan, I met and married my husband Aaron, a self-styled "enginerd" who designs wood tessellations and plays with computers. We spend our free time watching movies, reading, kayaking, and taking our schnoodle Mica for long walks.

Teaching & Research Interests:
ethics of individuality: self-creation, caring, virtue, and personhood; moral philosophy; applied ethics (especially business and biomedical ethics); philosophy of human nature; logic

Fall 2009 Schedule:
days 1-3-5 period V (2:40-3:50 p.m.) Quad 457
First Year Seminar
days 2-4-6 period IV (1:00-2:10 p.m.) Quad 349
PHIL 123 Philosophy of Human Nature
days 2-4-6 period V (2:40-3:50 p.m.) Quad 347
HONRS 250

Spring 2010 Schedule:
days 1-3-5 period V (2:40-3:50 p.m.) Quad 457
First Year Seminar
days 2-4-6 period IV (1:00-2:10 p.m.) Quad 341
ETH 390/PHIL 324 Business Ethics
days 2-4-6 period V (2:40-3:50 p.m.) Quad 341
ETH 390/PHIL 324 Business Ethics