Robert F. Almeder

Robert Almeder
Born	(1938-12-11)December 11, 1938 Georgia, USA
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania, Georgia State University
Known for	Philosophy of Science, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics, Medical Ethics and Business Ethics

Robert F. Almeder worked as an American Professor of Philosophy at Georgia State University until his retirement in 2005 and has written extensively on the Philosophy of Science, Epistemology, and Ethics. Books by Almeder include Beyond Death (1987), Death and Personal Survival (1992), Blind Realism (1996), Harmless Naturalism (1998), and Human Happiness and Morality (2000).

Background

Almeder completed his PhD on "The Metaphysical and Logical Realism of Charles Peirce" at the University of Pennsylvania in 1969. Since then he has been the president of the Charles S. Peirce Society as well as president of the Georgia Philosophical Association. In 1973 Almeder received the Outstanding Educator of America Award and then the Georgia State University Alumni Distinguished Professor Award for teaching in 1984 and 1995. Almeder was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship in 1992 and then again in 2005. Georgia State University instituted a student award in honour of Almeder upon his retirement in 2005, the Robert F. Almeder Prize, awarded to the student who writes the best paper at the annual Georgia State Student Philosophy Symposium.

Views on minds

Almeder was strongly influenced by Charles Sanders Peirce, Ian Stevenson, and W.O. Quine and subscribes to Cartesian dualism, broadly rejecting scientism and materialism. Stevenson's reincarnation research work on children who claimed to remember past lives convinced Almeder that minds are irreducible to the brain or brain states. He argued that human minds are of a different order to normal physical objects which rely on a more primitive causality to enable interactions with physical entities. Almeder is critical of the academic and scientific community for not taking Stevenson's work seriously because of a mistaken understanding of the nature of his work and confusing it with the diminished respect for religion that has been associated with the rise of scientism.

Selected books

Almeder has authored several books and co-edited dozens of books on Biomedical Ethics, only some of which are listed here;

• Biomedical Ethics and the Law (co-edited with J. Humber), 2nd edition revised (New York: Plenum Press, 1979), 700 pages.
• The Philosophy of Charles S. Peirce: A Critical Introduction (The American Philosophical Quarterly Library. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980; and Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1980), 218 pages.
• Praxis and Reason: Studies in the Philosophy of Nicholas Rescher (New York: The University Press of America, 1982).
• Beyond Death: The Evidence for Life After Death. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas, (1987) Translated into Japanese (1991).
• Blind Realism: An Essay on Human Knowledge and Natural Science. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, (Nov. 1991) 261 pages. (Paper edition: 1997)
• Death and Personal Survival. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield, (Spring 1992), 291 pages.
• Glossary of Epistemology and Philosophy of Science (co-authored with James Fetzer) New York: Paragon Press (1992).
• Business Ethics: Corporate Values and Society (co-edited with M. Snoeyenbos and J. Humber), Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Press, (revised edition 1992)
• Harmless Naturalism. Chicago, Illinois: Open Court. ( March 1998)
• Human Happiness and Morality: A Brief Introduction to Ethics. Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Press (Dec. 2000)
• Biomedical Ethics Reviews (new edition each year from 1983–1994) (co-edited with James Humber) ( New York:Humana Publishing Corporation, 1983).

Editorial roles

Almeder has been the Editor of The American Philosophical Quarterly since 1998 and been co-editing the annual book series Biomedical Ethics Reviews since 1983. He has also served or is still serving on the following editorial boards;

• The American Philosophical Quarterly (1978–1998)
• The History of Philosophy Quarterly (1983–1994)
• The Journal of Business Ethics (1983–1996)

• Journal of Philosophical Research. (1980–present)

• The Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society:A Quarterly Journal of American Philosophy (1980–present)
• The International Journal of Applied Philosophy (1982–present)
• The Journal of Value Inquiry (1991–present)
• Public Affairs Quarterly (1995–present)