:Robert C. Koons
{{short description|American philosopher (born 1957)}}
{{Infobox philosopher|region=Western philosophy|era=Contemporary philosophy|name=Robert C. Koons|birth_date={{birth date and age|1957|2|22}}|birth_place=Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.|education=Michigan State University (BA, 1979)
Oxford University (MA, 1981)
University of California, Los Angeles (PhD, 1987)|institutions=University of Texas|school_tradition=Analytic philosophy
Thomism
Analytical Thomism|main_interests=Metaphysics
Neo-Aristotelianism
|thesis1_title=|thesis1_url=|thesis1_year=|thesis2_title=|thesis2_url=|thesis2_year=|Website=|website=https://robkoons.net|title=Professor|image=Professor Robert C. Koons.png}}Robert Charles "Rob" Koons ({{IPAc-en|k|uː|n|z}}; born February 22, 1957) is an American philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas, noted for his contribution to metaphysics and philosophical logic. Koons has also advocated for academic freedom and courses on Western civilization.
Early life and career
Koons was born in Saint Paul. Son of Charles Bruce and Margaret Constance (Suter) Koons. He received a Bachelor in Philosophy from Michigan State University, 1979; a Master of Arts in Philosophy and Theology, Oxford University, England, 1981; and a Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy, University of California at Los Angeles, 1987.
Koons was Assistant professor philosophy University Texas, Austin, 1987-1993, associate professor, 1993-2000, professor, since 2000.
Koons was faculty affiliate Christian Leadership Ministries, Dallas, 1987. Member American Philosophical Association, Association Symbolic Logic, Society Christian Philosophers. He was named Claude R. Lambe fellow, Institute Humane Studies, 1986; recipient Gustave O. Arlt prize in humanities Council Graduate Schools, 1992; Richard Weaver fellow Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 1985, Danforth fellow, Danforth Foundation, 1979, Marshall scholar, 1979.
Educational activities
Koons has been involved in debates over issues of academic freedom{{cite news | last = Liscano | first = M | title = U. Texas faculty concerned with potential stifling of opinion | work = The Daily Texan | date = 2001-10-16 | url = http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-47560784.html }}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} and has advocated for college exit exams as he believes the measures used currently don't measure how well students learn.{{cite news | last = Nolen | first = J | work = The Daily Texan | title = Two U. Texas profs seek college exit exams | date = 2000-09-01 }} He led an effort at UT to create a concentration in Western Civilization and American Institutions.{{cite news | first = M | last = Ludwig | title = Colleges failing in civics | date = 2007-09-19 | url = http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA091907_01A_CIVICS_3497295_html3283.html?c=y&page=1 | accessdate = 2010-08-29 | publisher = My San Antonio | work = San Antonio Express-News }}{{dead link|date=April 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The goal of the program was to promote the study of the "Great Books" of the Western tradition, especially the American founding. Koons stated that the program transcended political differences.{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/education/22conservative.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&sq=Conservatives%20Take%20a%20New%20Tack&st=cse&scp=1 | title = Conservatives Try New Tack on Campuses | last = Cohen | first = P | work = The New York Times | date = 2008-09-21 | accessdate = 2010-08-29 }}
Koons is a national Senator of Phi Beta Kappa society, as well as a member of the executive committee of the Society of Christian Philosophers.
Books
=Authored=
- Paradoxes of Belief and Strategic Rationality (Cambridge University Press, 1992)Reviews of Paradoxes of Belief:
- Gian Aldo Antonelli, Economics & Philosophy, {{doi|10.1017/S0266267100001607}}
- Jeffrey S. Banks, The American Political Science Review, {{doi|10.2307/2938830}}, {{jstor|2938830}}
- Peter Esainko, American Scientist, {{jstor|29775037}}
- Bernard Linsky, Philosophical Books, {{doi|10.1111/j.1468-0149.1993.tb00741.x}}
- Vann McGee, Mind, {{jstor|2254056}}
- Realism Regained: An Exact Theory of Causation, Teleology, and the Mind (Oxford University Press, 2000)
- Metaphysics: The Fundamentals (with Timothy Pickavance), (Wiley-Blackwell, 2015)Review of Metaphysics: The Fundamentals:
Nicholas Danne, Metaphysica, {{doi|10.1515/mp-2016-0019}}
- The Atlas of Reality: A Complete Guide to Metaphysics (with Timothy Pickavance), (Wiley-Blackwell, 2017)Reviews of The Atlas of Reality:
- Jude P. Dougherty, The Review of Metaphysics, {{jstor|44807020}}
- Ross Inman, Southwestern Journal of Theology, [https://swbtsv7.s3.amazonaws.com/media/Theology_Journal/62.1/62.1_Book_Reviews.pdf]
=Edited=
- The Waning of Materialism: New Essays in the Philosophy of Mind (with George Bealer) (Oxford University Press, 2010)Reviews of The Waning of Materialism:
- Andrew M. Bailey, Mind, {{jstor|23012254}}
- David Yates, The Philosophical Quarterly, {{doi|10.1111/j.1467-9213.2011.00033.x}}
- ’’Neo-Aristotelian Perspectives on Contemporary Science’’ (with William Simpson and Nicholas Teh), (Routledge, 2018)Reviews of ’’Neo-Aristotelian Perspectives'':
- Paul M. Gould, Philosophia Christi, {{doi|10.5840/pc201921120}}
- Benjamin Liebeskind, "Einstein in Athens", The New Atlantis, {{jstor|26760516}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/philosophy/faculty/koons Robert Koons' faculty page]
{{Authority control}}
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Category:American philosophy academics
Category:21st-century American philosophers
Category:Analytic philosophers
Category:Catholic philosophers
Category:American metaphysicians
Category:American philosophers of mind
Category:American philosophers of religion
Category:American philosophers of education