Michael Joseph Bowler
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Director of Graduate Studies
Humanities Department
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI 49931
Education
Ph.D. Philosophy, University of Notre Dame
M.A. Philosophy, Indiana University, Bloomington
B.S. Computer Science and Engineering, University of California, Davis
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Humanities Department, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
2011 - Present
2005 - 2011
Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
2004 - 2005
Visiting Instructor of Philosophy, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
2003 - 2004
Administrative Appointments
Director of Graduate Studies
Humanities Department, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
2010 - Present
Scholarship and Research
Book:
Heidegger and Aristotle: Philosophy as Praxis (London and New York: Continuum, 2008)
(Reviews: Philosophy in Review 30.1; Review of Metaphysics 62.4; Choice January 2009)
Research Grant Proposals:
Principal Investigator
2008 - 2011, National Science Foundation, $299,614
Submitted: March 2008; Review Panel Recommendation: Funded - July 2008
"Responsible Conduct of Research in Science and Engineering Education: Moral Motivation and
Ethical Sensitivity in Multi-National Graduate Students"
Co-PIs Susan Amato-Henderson (Psychology), Joseph Holles (Chemical Engineering), Ted
Lockhart (Philosophy), and Jingfang Ren (Technical Communication).
Principal Investigator
2011, National Science Foundation, $289,784
Submitted: March 2011; Review Panel Recommendation: Revise and Resubmit
“Case Studies in Science and Engineering Values: A Biographical/Autobiographical Approach to
Ethics Education in Science and Engineering,” Co-PIs: Susan Amato-Henderson, Valorie Troesch
and Patricia Gotschalk
Principal Investigator
2010, National Science Foundation, $299,217
Submitted, March 2010; Review Panel Recommendation: Declined
“A Survey of Faculty Perceptions of Responsible Conduct of Research among STEM Graduate
Student Researchers,” Co-PIs Susan Amato-Henderson and Tom Drummer
Co-Principal Investigator
2011, National Institutes of Health, $167,825
Submitted, April 2011; Review Panel Recommendation: Declined (“Not Discussed and
Designated”)
“Frame-Based Media Analysis of the 2009 USPTF Mammography Recommendations,”
PI: Marika Seigel, Co-PIs: Michael Bowler, Ann Brady, Melanie Barbier, Sarah Hawley.
Peer-reviewed Publications:
“Does a STEM Researcher’s Role Orientation Predict His or Her Ethical Sensitivity to
Responsible Conduct of Research?” Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Society
for Engineering Education 2011 (June 2011)
First author with co-authors: Susan Amato-Henderson; Tom Drummer; Joseph Holles; Joanna
Schreiber; Ted Lockhart; Debra Charlesworth; and Jingfang Ren.
“Assessing Role Orientation Among STEM Researchers: The Development of a Research Role
Orientation Inventory," Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Society for
Engineering Education 2010 (June 2010)
First author with co-authors: Susan Amato-Henderson; Tom Drummer; Joseph Holles; Joanna
Schreiber; Ted Lockhart; Debra Charlesworth; and Jingfang Ren.
"Testing for Ethical Sensitivity to Responsible Conduct of Research among Multi-National STEM
Researchers," Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Engineering
Education 2010 (June 2010)
First author with co-authors: Susan Amato-Henderson; Tom Drummer; Joseph Holles; Joanna
Schreiber; Ted Lockhart; Debra Charlesworth; and Jingfang Ren.
“A Quarrel Between the Ancients and the Moderns: Aristotle's Realism and Modern
Skepticism,” Newsletter of the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy, vol. 4, no. 2, 2004
“Thinking, Thought, and Nous in Aristotle’s De Anima,” Newsletter of the Society for Ancient
Greek Philosophy 1999/2000, no. 4
Book Chapter:
“Heidegger on Hermeneutic Rationality: Logos and World,” in Phronetic Rationality, edited by
Maria Luisa Portocarrero and Andrzej Wiercinski (Portugal: University of Coimbra Press,
Forthcoming).
Book Review:
Invited review of Gadamer’s Dialectical Hermeneutics by Lauren Swayne Barthold
Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, April 2010 (2,870 words)
Work in Progress:
Book:
Hermeneutical Heidegger (Proposal Accepted; Manuscript in Preparation: Northwestern
University Press), Co-edited with Ingo Farin
Article:
(Invited, Peer-Reviewed Submission) “Empirical Approaches to Research Ethics in Multi-National
Contexts” (tentative title), Journal of Professional and Research Ethics (JOPRE) and the Ethics
CORE online encyclopedia (Abstract accepted; Article in preparation)
Book Chapter:
“Hermeneutic Subjectivity,” in Hermeneutical Heidegger, edited by Michael Bowler and Ingo
Farin. (In preparation)
Conference Proceedings:
“Case Studies in Science and Engineering Values: A Biographical/Autobiographical Approach to
Ethics Education in Science and Engineering” (with Valorie Troesch; Abstract under review)
“Moral Motivation and Ethical Sensitivity in STEM Researchers” (with Susan Amato-Henderson,
Tom Drummer, et. al.; Abstract under review)
Educational Projects
Project Director (2010 - 2015) - International Online Responsible Conduct of
Research Training Collaboration. I am Michigan Tech’s project director on a collaborative
project sponsored by 22 universities worldwide to develop an international online training program
for responsible conduct of research (RCR) in conjunction with the Epigeum Group
(http://www.epigeum.com). As a project director, I will help to develop the curriculum for a series
of online modules to train faculty and students in responsible conduct of research, beta test the
modules at Michigan Tech and suggest improvements to the product, implement tutor-guided
workshops using version 1.0 of the online modules at Michigan Tech, and suggest improvements
to the design of the modules for the next three years. This will replace the CITI online RCR
training that Michigan Tech currently uses. The project is being supported by the Vice President
for Research Office and I will be working with the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance to
implement the program on campus.
Conference Papers/Presentations
“Does a STEM Researcher’s Role Orientation Predict His or Her Ethical Sensitivity to
Responsible Conduct of Research?” First author with co-authors: Susan Amato-Henderson; Tom
Drummer; Joseph Holles; Joanna Schreiber; Ted Lockhart; Debra Charlesworth; and Jingfang
Ren.
Annual Meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education
Vancouver, Canada, June 2011
“Bringing Empirical Methods to Bear Upon the Study of Ethics and Ethics Education in Science
and Engineering,” (Invited presentation) Co-authored with Susan Amato-Henderson
Pacifichem 2010 - The International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies
Honolulu, Hawaii, December 2010
“The design, implementation, and results of a survey of faculty perceptions of STEM graduate
students’ preparedness to meet the challenges of research integrity,” (Invited presentation) Coauthored with Susan Amato-Henderson
Pacifichem 2010 - The International Chemical Congress of Pacific Basin Societies
Honolulu, Hawaii, December 2010
Invited Commentary on P. Christopher Smith’s “The Disembodiment of Speech”
Annual Meeting of the North American Society for Philosophical Hermeneutics
Seattle University, Seattle, WA, September 2010
“Assessing Role Orientation Among STEM Researchers: The Development of a Research Role
Orientation Inventory,” First author with co-authors Susan Amato-Henderson; Tom Drummer;
Joseph Holles; Joanna Schreiber; Ted Lockhart; Debra Charlesworth; and Jingfang Ren.
Annual Meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education
Louisville, KY, June 2010
"Testing for Ethical Sensitivity to Responsible Conduct of Research among Multi-National STEM
Researchers," First author with co-authors Susan Amato-Henderson; Tom Drummer; Joseph
Holles; Joanna Schreiber; Ted Lockhart; Debra Charlesworth; and Jingfang Ren.
Annual Meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education
Louisville, KY, June 2010
“World and Culture: Toward an Existentialist Conception of Culture” (invited presentation)
34th Annual International Association of Philosophy and Literature Conference
University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, May 2010
“On the Trajectory of Heidegger's Thought and Why We Should Reexamine Aristotle” (invited
presentation)
27th Heidegger Symposium,
University of Dallas, Dallas, TX, April 2009
“Assessing Moral Motivation and Ethical Sensitivity Among Multi-National Graduate
Students: Implications for Research and Teaching” (poster presentation)
National Science Foundation Ethics Education in Science and Engineering Meeting
NSF headquarters, Arlington, VA, January 2009
“Dreyfus on Heidegger: Dasein, Disclosure, and World”
26th Heidegger Symposium,
University of Dallas, Dallas, TX, April 2008
Commentary on James Wood’s “Freedom in the Philebus”
American Catholic Philosophical Association Annual Meeting
Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, November 2007
“How Philosophy Became Historical: Paul Natorp and the Path to Hermeneutics”
Canadian Philosophical Association Annual Meeting
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, May 2005
“A Quarrel Between the Ancients and the Moderns: Aristotle's Realism and Modern
Skepticism”
Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy
American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Annual Meeting
Pasadena, CA, March 2004
“Dialectic and First Principles in Aristotle's Topics”
Ancient Philosophy Society Annual Meeting
Trinity College, Hartford, CT, April 2003
Commentary on Joseph Trabbic's “Aquinas and Continental Philosophy of Religion:
Finding a Way Out of Onto-theology”
American Catholic Philosophical Association Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH, November 2002
“Aristotle on Episteme and Dialectic”
Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy Annual Meeting, Binghamton University (SUNY),
Binghamton, NY, October 2001
“Thinking, Thought, and Nous in Aristotle’s De Anima”
Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy
American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Annual Meeting,
Albuquerque, NM, April 2000
“Heidegger and the Reappropriation of Aristotle’s Notion of Praxis”
Notre Dame Philosophy Graduate Student Colloquium
University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, February 1999
“A Phenomenological Argument Against Perduring Entities”
Indiana University Graduate Student Philosophy Conference
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, November 1995
Commentary on Trenton Merricks’ “On the Incompatibility of Enduring and Perduring Entities”
American Philosophical Association Central Division Annual Meeting,
Chicago, IL, April 1995
Invited Presentations and Workshops
National:
Invited participant in curriculum-design workshop for International Online Responsible Conduct
of Research Training Collaboration
London, England, July 2011
Invited participant, workshop on "Ethics in Science and Engineering: Redefining Tools &
Resources," Sponsored by the National Center for Digital Government; the Science, Technology
and Society Initiative; the Center for Public Policy & Administration; and the University
Libraries; with funding from the National Science Foundation
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, October 2009
(More information at: http://www.umass.edu/sts/digitallibrary/workshop/)
University:
“The Precautionary Principle as an Ethical Principle OR Does One Have a Moral Obligation to
Prevent Future Possible Harmful Acts?”
Invited presentation to Michigan Tech’s Nanotechnology Enterprise Initiative
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, November 2010
“Preserving our Humanity in a Nanotechnological Age”
Invited presentation as part of teacher workshop on nanotechnology sponsored by Michigan
Tech’s Nanotechnology Enterprise Initiative
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, February 2010
“The Ethics of Nanotechnology and Science”
Invited presentation to Michigan Tech’s Nanotechnology Enterprise Initiative
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, December 2009
“The Role of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Society”
Invited presentation to Michigan Tech’s Nanotechnology Enterprise Initiative
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, March 2009
“The World as Thought and the World as Lived: Husserl and Heidegger on the Concept
of World”
Kenyon College, Gambier, OH, April 2003
Departmental:
“How Philosophy Became Historical: Paul Natorp and the Path to Hermeneutics”
Humanities Department Colloquium
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, December 2005
Teaching
Undergraduate (* - multiple sections):
Michigan Technological University:
Introduction to Philosophy*
Ethical Theory/Moral Problems*
Political Philosophy*
Kenyon College:
Introduction to Philosophy*; Introduction to Logic; Husserl and Heidegger;
Hermeneutics; Medieval Philosophy; Modern Philosophy; Advanced seminar on Plato;
Advanced seminar on Aristotle
University of Notre Dame:
Introduction to Philosophy*; Existentialist Themes*
Indiana University South Bend:
Introduction to Philosophy; Introduction to Ethics
Graduate:
Michigan Technological University:
Special Topics in Philosophy: Continental Philosophy
Communication in Cultural Contexts
Independent study - Gadamer's Hermeneutics
Independent Study - Techne and the Philosophy of Technology
Directed Reading - Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue.
National, University and Departmental Service
National:
Elected Officer (Member-at-large and member of the Executive Committee) of the Engineering
Ethics Division of the American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 - 2013
Paper reviewer for Engineering Ethics Division of the 2011 Annual Conference & Exposition of
the American Society for Engineering Education.
University:
Graduate Faculty Council, Michigan Tech, 2010 - Present
Cognate Reviewer, University Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiative, Michigan Tech, 2007 - 2009
Faculty Sponsor, Philosophy Club, Michigan Tech, 2005 - 2006
Co-faculty Sponsor, Philosophy Symposium, Kenyon College, 2003 – 2005
Departmental:
Director of Graduate Studies, Humanities Department, Michigan Tech, 2010 - present
Department Steering Committee, Humanities Department, Michigan Tech, 2008 - present
Graduate Program/RTC Steering Committee, Humanities Department, Michigan Tech, 2005 –
2008, 2009 - Present
Advisor, Undergraduate Minor in Ethics and Philosophy, Humanities Department, Michigan Tech,
2010 - present
Search Committee Chair, Philosophy Tenure-Track Position, Humanities Department, \
Michigan Tech, 2010 - 2011
Search Committee Member, German Lecturer Position, Humanities Department, Michigan Tech,
2005 - 2006
Thesis Supervision and Advising
Master’s Committee Chair:
Thomas Adolphs, Michigan Technological University, current
Dissertation Committee Member:
Dennis Walikainen, What’s It Like There? Toward a Rhetoric of University Maps
and Tours, Michigan Technological University, completed: April 2009
Thomas Vosecky, Uncovering Poiesis: The Role of Production in Education, Work,
and Life, Michigan Technological University, completed: April 2011
Heather Jordan, Diversity Determinism: Examining the Global Promises and Perils
of Synchronous Online Collaboration, Michigan Technological University, completed: June 2011
Kevin Hodur, Michigan Technological University, current
Joanna Schreiber, Michigan Technological University, current
Graduate Comprehensive Examination Committee Member:
Kevin Hodur, Michigan Technological University, completed: January 2010
Joanna Schreiber, Michigan Technological University, completed: December 2010
Mies Martin, Michigan Technological University, current
James Rudkin, Michigan Technological University, current