About Us
Honors Faculty Blaze Marpet
Philosophy | Ethics | Literature
Dr. Blaze Marpet is a scholar and teacher trained in academic philosophy. He teaches a wide range of courses informed by philosophies throughout history and across the globe, especially by classical Graeco-Roman and Asian philosophies. What animates his thinking and teaching is a belief in the power of philosophy (broadly and globally construed) to speak to matters of fundamental human concern and to aid in living well.
A favorite quotation of his is from a sixth century Indian Buddhist philosopher named Dharmak墨rti: 鈥淎ll successful human undertakings are preceded by knowledge; for this reason, we should study it.鈥�
Academic Background & Interests
Professor Marpet earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy at Eckerd College and, after ambling for a year at home and abroad, went to earn a doctorate in philosophy from Northwestern University. This graduate training included a teaching certificate from the University鈥檚 Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching and a certificate in ancient Greek, which, its bestowers insist, 鈥渞ecognizes advanced philological training in ancient Greek.鈥�
All this is to say that if one has questions about either teaching Plato or parsing a bit of Aristotle in Greek, Marpet would not be the most inappropriate person on campus to ask. He took a somewhat circuitous route to his doctorate, earning a master's degree in religious studies at the University of Chicago with a focus on Sanskrit and Asian philosophies and religions along the way. As of late, he has become increasingly interested in interdisciplinary work in environmental ethics.
Courses & Teaching Philosophy
The American novelist Henry James wrote, 鈥淭he only obligation to which in advance we may hold a novel, without incurring the accusation of being arbitrary, is that it be interesting.鈥� Professor Marpet feels this way about his classes 鈥� he hopes each one of his classes is interesting to students of all backgrounds.
One major goal in Marpet鈥檚 teaching is to invite his students to experience the wonder and awe so central to intellectual life. A second goal in his teaching is to help students develop their powers of logical reasoning. We human beings are all already playing what the philosopher Robert Brandom has called 鈥渢he game of giving and asking for reasons.鈥� Marpet鈥檚 classes are built to help students play that unavoidable game a bit better. He hopes that accomplishing these two goals equips students for a life of learning and civic engagement.
Courses Marpet has taught include:
- Acquisition of Knowledge
- Evolution and Ethics: Darwinism and Its Implications
- Happiness and the Meaning of Life
- Meditation, Mindfulness, and Modernity: Buddhism in a Global Context
- Explorations in Philosophy and Film
Marpet often connects course materials to popular films, music, and works of literature, on account of which his classes have witnessed many not entirely irrelevant (it is contested) digressions into the depths of YouTube, Spotify, and the library.
Personal
When Marpet is not engaged in his academic work, he enjoys spending time with his wonderful wife and three amazing children, as well as his close friends. With his friends and family, Marpet enjoys exploring new food, ambling in natural spaces, and practicing guitar. In what is in absolutely no way a shameless plug for search-engine optimality, one may traffic his personal website at .
Contact Dr. Blaze Marpet.