Tim Juvshik
Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy
- Office
- Alexander Twilight Hall 303A
- tjuvshik@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- F23: T 2:30-4:00, W 10:00-11:30 & by appointment
- Additional Programs
- Philosophy
Tim Juvshik earned his PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has MA degrees from McGill University and Queen’s University, and a BA from Lakehead University. Before joining the philosophy department at Middlebury, he held an appointment at Clemson University.
Professor Juvshik’s main areas of research are in metaphysics and philosophy of technology. Much of his work to date has focused on the metaphysical nature of artifacts and the built world, though he also has interests in normative and applied questions concerning technology, especially emerging technologies such as AI, geoengineering, and genetic engineering. Professor Juvshik also has research interests in more core metaphysical questions concerning abstract objects, causation, personal identity, and the nature of time and persistence.
He has published articles on artifact function, mind-dependence, and physical modification, as well as on whether abstract objects have causal powers, in journals such as Philosophical Studies, Synthese, Erkenntnis, and American Philosophical Quarterly. His current research projects are on the social dimensions of artifacts, AI ethics, and the ontology of art.
He teaches courses in metaphysics, formal logic, and philosophy of science, as well as courses in more normative philosophy, including social and political philosophy, philosophy of art, philosophy of technology, and applied ethics.
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Courses Taught
PHIL 0180
Current
Introduction to Modern Logic
Course Description
Introduction to Modern Logic
Logic is concerned with good reasoning; as such, it stands at the core of the liberal arts. In this course we will develop our reasoning skills by identifying and analyzing arguments found in philosophical, legal, and other texts, and also by formulating our own arguments. We will use the formal techniques of modern propositional and predicate logic to codify and test various reasoning strategies and specific arguments. No prior knowledge of logic, formal mathematics, or computer science is presupposed in this course, which does not count towards the PHL distribution requirement but instead towards the deductive reasoning requirement. 3 hrs. lect./1 hr. disc.
Terms Taught
Requirements
PHIL 0215
Current
Philosophy of Technology
Course Description
Philosophy of Technology
n this course we will explore a number of philosophically and ethically significant questions about the nature of technology and how it interacts with, improves, harms, and ultimately structures our individual lives and society, generally. The answers to the questions pursued in this course lie somewhere between two common attitudes towards technology: an unbridled optimism that technology will improve our lives and a romanticized Ludditism that desires a return to pre-technological human society. While there is much to appreciate and much to criticize about modern technology, both appreciation and criticism need to be tempered with critical and rational reflection. Specific topics include ethics of artificial intelligence, ethical design, genetic engineering and human nature, technologizing cognition, technology in politics, technology creep. 3 hrs. lect.
Terms Taught
Requirements