Stephen G. Morris
Curriculum Vitae
Academic Address
Department of Philosophy
College of Staten Island (CUNY)
2800 Victory Boulevard
Staten Island, New York 10314
Office Phone: (718) 982-2895
Academic Address
Department of Philosophy
College of Staten Island (CUNY)
2800 Victory Boulevard
Staten Island, New York 10314
Office Phone: (718) 982-2895
Employment
Associate Professor, College of Staten Island (CUNY), Staten Island, NY (Fall 2016—present)
Assistant Professor, College of Staten Island (CUNY), Staten Island, NY (Fall 2009—Spring 2016)
Assistant Professor, Missouri Western State University, Saint Joseph, MO (2005-2009)
Instructor, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL (2001-2005)
Instructor, Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL (2004-2005)
Teaching Assistant, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL (1998-2000)
Education
Ph.D. in Philosophy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Awarded Fall 2004
Dissertation Title: Deciphering the Secret Chain: An Evolutionary Perspective on Enlightened Self-Interest
Director: Professor Michael Ruse
Master of Arts in Philosophy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
Awarded Fall 2001
Bachelor of Science in Advertising, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Awarded Fall 1993
Areas of Specialization
Metaethics, Free Will/Action Theory, Moral Psychology
Areas of Competence
Ethical Theory, Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Happiness, Applied Ethics, Philosophy of Biology
Awards, Grants, and Honors
Stefan Bernard Baumrin Award given by The CUNY Academy for the Humanities and Sciences, to cover travel costs incurred while presenting a paper at the 2022 annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, February 2022.
College of Staten Island Faculty Center for Professional Development Travel Grant, May 2019 to present a paper at the 111th annual meeting of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology held in Cincinnati, OH, on March 7th, 2019.
College of Staten Island Faculty Center for Professional Development Travel Grant, April 2018 to present a paper at the 110th annual meeting of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology held in San Antonio, TX, on March 16th, 2018.
City University of New York’s Academy Travel Award, November 2017, to cover travel costs incurred while presenting a paper at the 2017 annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, Central Florida College, Ocala, Florida, November, 2017.
College of Staten Island Dean’s Scholarship Award for Summer Research, March 2014.
William Stewart Travel Award, November 2012, to cover travel costs incurred while presenting a paper at the 2012 annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, November, 2012.
College of Staten Island Faculty Center for Professional Development Travel Grant, October 2012, to present a paper at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Central Division), New Orleans, Louisiana.
College of Staten Island Faculty Center for Professional Development Travel Grant, November 2011, to present a paper at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Pacific Division), Seattle, Washington.
PSC-CUNY Summer Research Grant, College of Staten Island/CUNY, 2010.
NEH Summer Institute Grant in Experimental Philosophy, Ron Mallon and Shaun Nichols, co-Directors, The University of Utah, June 22nd-July 17th, 2009.
James V. Mehl Outstanding Faculty Scholarship Award, Missouri Western State University 2009.
Board of Governor’s Distinguished Professor Award with Distinction in Scholarship/Creative Activity, Missouri Western State University 2008.
National Science Foundation Travel Grant, November 2004, to present a paper at the 19th biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association (Austin, TX).
Books
Moral Damages: The Case for Abolishing Morality, Palgrave Macmillan. Published January 31, 2025.
Science and the End of Ethics, Palgrave Macmillan. Published March 12, 2015.
Refereed Publications
“The Non-Moral Basis for Eliminating Retributivism,” Diametros, 79: 74-90, 2024.
“Is Morality Open to the Free Will Skeptic?” Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, 23(3): 365-396, 2022.
“Empathy and the Liberal-Conservative Political Divide in the U.S.” Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 8(1): 08–24, 2020.
“Empathy on Trial: A Response to its Critics.” Philosophical Psychology, 32(4): 508-531, 2019.
“The Implications of Rejecting Free Will: An Empirical Analysis.” Philosophical Psychology, 31(2): 299-321, 2018.
“Compatibilism and Retributivist Desert Moral Responsibility: On what is of Central Philosophical and Practical Importance” (with Gregg D. Caruso). Erkenntnis, 82 (4):837-855, 2017.
“Vargas-Style Revisionism and the Problem of Retributivism.” Acta Analytica, 30 (3): 305-316, 2015.
“Commentary on ‘The Free-Will Intuitions Scale and the Question of Natural Compatibilism’.” Philosophical Psychology, 28(6): 802-807, 2015.
“Reexamining the Connection between Free Will and Moral Responsibility.” Review Journal of Political Philosophy, (11): 103-117, 2014.
“Understanding Moral Responsibility within the Context of the Free Will Debate.” Florida Philosophical Review, 12(1): 68-82, 2012.
“Preserving the Concept of Race: A Medical Expedient, a Sociological Necessity.” Philosophy of Science, 78(5): 1260-1271, 2011.
“In Defense of the Hedonistic Account of Happiness.” Philosophical Psychology, 24(2): 261-281, 2011.
“The Evolution of Cooperative Behavior and its Implications for Ethics.” Philosophy of Science, 76(5): 915-926, 2009.
“The Impact of Neuroscience on the Free Will Debate.” Florida Philosophical Review, 9(2): 56-78, 2009.
“Towards a More Empirically Informed Ethics.” Review Journal of Political Philosophy, 7: 142-180, 2009.
“Neuroscience and the Free Will Conundrum.” The American Journal of Bioethics, 7(5): 20-22, 2007.
“Canada’s Assisted Human Reproduction Act: A Chimera of Religion and Politics.”
The American Journal of Bioethics, 7(2): 69-70, 2007.
“Is Incompatibilism Intuitive?” (with Eddy Nahmias, Thomas Nadelhoffer, and Jason Turner). Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 73(1): 28-53, 2006.
“Identifying the Explanatory Weakness of Strong Altruism: The Needle in the ‘Haystack Model’.” Philosophy of Science, 72(5): 1124-1134, 2005.
“Surveying Freedom: Folk Intuitions about Free Will and Moral Responsibility” (with Eddy Nahmias, Thomas Nadelhoffer, and Jason Turner). Philosophical Psychology, 18(5): 561-584, 2005.
“The Phenomenology of Free Will” (with Eddy Nahmias, Thomas Nadelhoffer, and Jason Turner). Journal of Consciousness Studies, 11(7-8): 162-179, 2004.
Book Chapters
“How the Standard Evolutionary Account of Morality Threatens Moral Realism.” Forthcoming in Darwin and Design (eds. Michael Ruse and William Dembski), Second Edition, Harvard University Press.
“The Complex Relationship Between Morality and Happiness Around the World.” In Happiness Across Cultures (ed. Helaine Selin), Second Edition, Springer Press: 263-274, 2025.
“Drug Addiction and Free Will: Theoretical and Practical Considerations.” In The Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Psychoactive Drug Use (ed. Rob Lovering), Palgrave Macmillan: 91-109, 2024.
“Introduction to Experimental Philosophy in Free Will” (with Chris Weigel). In Philosophy: Traditional and Experimental Readings (eds. Fritz Ahoff, Ron Mallon, Shaun Nichols), Oxford University Press: 332-339, 2013.
“The Science of Happiness: A Cross-Cultural Perspective.” In Happiness Across Cultures (ed. Helaine Selin), Springer Press: 435-450, 2012.
Book Reviews
Good Enough: The Tolerance for Mediocrity in Nature and Society, by Daniel S. Milo. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 95(1): 79-80, 2020.
Advances in Experimental Moral Psychology, by H. Sarkissian and J.C. Wright (eds.). Journal of Moral Philosophy, 15(2):229-232, 2018.
Scientific Freedom: The Elixir of Civilization, by Donald W. Braben. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 83(4): 385, 2008.
Refereed Paper Presentations
“Can the Evolution of Altruism Explain the Antisocial Tendencies of the Wealthy?” Presented at the 2023 Biennial Meeting of International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, July 2023.
“On the Moral Status of Historic Figures and the Removal of Public Monuments.” Presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Long Island Philosophy Society, Molloy College, Rockville Centre, NY, April 2022.
“The Never-Ending Subterfuge.” Presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association held in Miami, FL, on February 19th, 2022.
“Giving up the Ghost: The Untenability of Morality among Free Will Skeptics.” Presented at the 2021 annual meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Eastern Division), Virtual Conference, January 2021.
“The Neuroscientific Case against Retributive Justice” (with Robert C. Robinson). Presented at the 2019 meeting of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology held in Oslo, Norway from July 7th through July 12th, 2019. Previously presented at the 2014 annual meeting of the International Neuroethics Society, Washington, D.C., November 2014.
“Empathy and the Liberal-Conservative Political Divide in the U.S.” Presented at the 111th annual meeting of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology held in Cincinnati, OH on March 7th, 2019.
“In Defense of Empathy.” Presented at the 110th annual meeting of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology held in San Antonio, TX, on March 16th, 2018. Presented
at the 62nd annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, College of Central Florida, Ocala, FL, November 2017.
“The Implications of Rejecting Free Will and Moral Responsibility.” Presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, June 2016. Presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the Long Island Philosophical Society, St. John’s University, Queens, NY, April 2015.
“Epiphenomenalism and Free Will.” Presented at the 2016 annual meeting of the Long Island Philosophical Society, Molloy College, Rockville Centre, NY, April 2016.
“Assessing the Case against Moral Nativism.” Presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Pacific Division), Vancouver, BC, April 2015. Presented at the 59th annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, November 2014.
“Assessing Prinz’s Non-evolutionary Account of Morality.” Presented at the 2013 annual meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Psychology Society, Annville, PA, June 2013.
“An Empirical Perspective on Enlightened Self-Interest.” Presenting at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Central Division), New Orleans, Louisiana, February 2013.
“Marquis’s argument for why abortion is wrong and the contraception objection.” Presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, November, 2012.
“Vargas-style Revisionism and the Problem of Desert.” Presented at the 2012 annual meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Pacific Division), Seattle, Washington, April 2012.
“Understanding Moral Responsibility within the Context of the Free Will Debate.” Presented at the 56th annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, November 2011.
“Preserving the Concept of Race: A Medical Expedient, a Sociological Necessity.” Presented at the 22nd biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Montreal, Quebec, November 2010. Also presented at the 55th annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, Santa Fe Community College, Gainesville, FL, November 2009.
“Seeking a Common Ground in the Free Will Debate.” Presented at the semiannual meeting of the Long Island Philosophical Society, Rockville Centre, NY, April 2010.
“In Defense of the Hedonistic Account of Happiness.” Presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Philosophical Association (Pacific Division), Vancouver, British Columbia, April 2009.
“The Evolution of Cooperative Behavior and its Implications for Ethics.” Presented at the 21st biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2008.
“The Impact of Neuroscience on the Free Will Debate.” Presented at the 53rd annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, November 2007.
“Neuroscience, Folk Psychology, and Moral Responsibility.” Presented at the 2007 annual Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association National Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, April 2007.
“The Fundamentalist Attack on Science: A Problem that Won’t Just Disappear.” Presented at the 20th biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Vancouver, British Colombia, November 2006. Also presented at the 2006 annual Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association National Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, April 2006.
“Folk Intuitions and Free Will.” Presented at the 51st annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, Cocoa Beach Campus of the University of Central Florida, Cocoa Beach, FL, November 2005.
“Identifying the Explanatory Weakness of Strong Altruism: The Needle in the ‘Haystack Model’.” Presented at the 19th biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Austin, TX, November 2004.
“Morality and Self-Interest: The Case for Compatibility.” Presented at the 50th annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, FL, November 2004.
“The Evolution of Altruism: A Darwinian Dilemma.” Presented at the 49th annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL, November 2003.
“The Free Will Debate: Prospects for a Resolution.” Presented at the 48th annual meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, November 2002.
“Responsibility and the Reason View.” Presented at the 4th Annual Inland Northwest Philosophy Conference, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, April 2001. Also presented at the 5th Annual UF-FSU Graduate Student Philosophy Conference, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, February 2001.
Invited Presentations
“Is a Moral World More Violent?” Presented at the Long Island Philosophical Society, St. John’s University, April 1, 2023.
“Debunking Basic Desert.” Presented at the Surrey Centre for Law and Philosophy Workshop: “The Scientific Evidence for Hard Incompatibilism,” University of Surrey, Surrey County, UK, June 15, 2022.
Commentary on “Philosophy of Biomedicine for the 21st Century” (Pete Takacs author). Presented at Werkmeister Conference, The History and Philosophy of Biology – Past Achievements, Future Challenges, Florinda State University, Tallahassee, FL, September 2018.
“In Defense of Empathy.” Presented at Dean’s Symposium Lecture Series, The College of Staten Island/CUNY, Staten Island, NY, November 2017.
“Assessing the Case against Moral Nativism.” Presented at Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL , March 2016 and at The Philosophy Forum Series, The College of Staten Island/CUNY, Staten Island, NY, April 2014.
“Happiness as a Public Policy Priority.” Presented at Dean’s Symposium Lecture Series, The College of Staten Island/CUNY, Staten Island, NY, December 2013.
“Vargas-style Revisionism and the Problem of Desert.” Presented at The Philosophy Forum Series, The College of Staten Island/CUNY, Staten Island, NY, October 2011.
“Clarifying the Concept of Free Will.” Presented at The Philosophy Forum Series, The College of Staten Island/CUNY, Staten Island, NY, September 2010.
“What’s At Stake in the Free Will Debate?” Presented at a meeting of the Metro Experimental Research Group, New York University, July 2010.
Commentary on “On the Psychological Origins of Dualism” (Brian Fiala, Adam Arico and Shaun Nichols authors). Presented at Werkmeister Conference of Experimental Philosophy, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, January 2010.
“Does Science Rule Out Free Will?” Presented at The Philosophy Forum Series, The College of Staten Island/CUNY, Staten Island, NY, September 2009.
“Tracing the Origins of Altruism: The Evolutionary Needle in a Haystack.” Presented at the Philosophy of Biology Workshop, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, April 2004.
“The Phenomenology of Free Will” (with Eddy Nahmias, Thomas Nadelhoffer, and Jason Turner). Presented by Nahmias at the Interdisciplinary Workshop on the Phenomenology of Agency, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, October-November 2003.
Teaching Experience
College of Staten Island/CUNY
Senior Seminar: The Philosophy, Economics, and Politics of Happiness
Independent Study: The Evolution of Morality
Independent Study: Challenges to Moral Realism
Independent Study: The Ethics of Cancer Treatment
Independent Study: Democracy and Free Will
Independent Study: Epistemology (Coherentism)
Independent Study: The Internal Metrics and Values Fulfillment Account of Happiness
Independent Study: Symbolic Logic
Independent Study: Comparison of Happiness Among Consecutive Generations of Immigrants
Introduction to Philosophy
College of Staten Island/CUNY (continued)
Logic and Scientific Method
Introduction to Ethics
Ethical Issues in Business and Society
Free Will and Determinism
Life and Death: Bioethics
Ethical Theory
Political Philosophy
Missouri Western State University
Business Ethics
Logic I
Introduction to Philosophy
Logic II (Symbolic)
History and Philosophy of the Natural Sciences
Biomedical Ethics
Ethical Theory
Neuroscience, Ethics, and Literature
Business, Environmental and Health Care Ethics
Missouri Western State University
Ethical Issues and Life Choices
Introduction to Political Philosophy
Introduction to Philosophy
Introduction to Political Thought
Reasoning and Critical Thinking
Ethical Theory
Missouri Western State University
Introduction to Logic
Missouri Western State University
Law School Admissions Test
Medical College Admissions Test
Professional Service
Dissertation Committee (outside member) for Andrew Field, University of Surry (UK). “Re-assessing Criminal Responsibility: A Pragmatic View of the Self,” Spring 2023.
Middle States Standard II Committee (Accreditation), Fall 2020-Spring 2021
CSI Faculty General Education Committee, Fall 2015—Spring 2018; Fall 2019—Fall 2023; Spring 2024—present.
CSI Pre-Med Advisory Committee, Fall 2012—present.
Search Committee, Lecturer position in Philosophy, Philosophy Department, College of Staten Island, Fall 2022—Spring 2023.
College of Staten Island (CSI) Admissions Committee, Fall 2013—Spring 2018.
CSI Faculty Senate & College Council—Fall 2013—Spring 2014; Fall 2018—Spring 2019.
CSI Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, Fall 2013—Spring 2015.
CSI Faculty Senate (Alternate), Fall 2011—Spring 2013.
CSI Admissions Committee (Alternate), Fall 2012—Spring 2013.
CSI Faculty General Education Committee (Alternate), Fall 2011—Summer 2012.
CSI Faculty Student Disciplinary Committee, Fall 2010—Spring 2012.
Member of the Ethics Board at Staten Island University Hospital, Staten Island, NY, Spring 2010—present.
Director, Student Philosophy Club, College of Staten Island (CUNY), Fall 2010—Spring 2011.
Co-Director, Student Philosophy Club, College of Staten Island (CUNY), Fall 2011—present.
Co-Director, Philosophy Forum Series, College of Staten Island (CUNY), Fall 2011—present.
Reviewer for Topoi
Reviewer for Diametros
Reviewer for Neuroethics
Reviewer for Erkenntnis
Reviewer for Consciousness and Cognition
Reviewer for Monist
Reviewer for Philosophical Studies
Reviewer for Philosophical Psychology
Reviewer for Dialogue
Reviewer for Philosophical Quarterly
Reviewer for Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant reviewed 7/18)
Reviewer for the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology.
Reviewer for the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology.
Search Committee, tenure-track position Assistant Professor in Philosophy, Philosophy Department, College of Staten Island, Fall 2014—Spring 2015.
Search Committee, tenure-track position Assistant Professor in Philosophy/Comparative Religions, Department of History, Philosophy & Geography, Missouri Western State University, Fall 2008.
Director, Third Annual Galileo’s Legacy Conference addressing issues in the humanities and sciences, February 8, 2008, Missouri Western State University.
Topic for 2008 meeting: Neuroscience and Free Will.
Session Chair, 53rd Annual Meeting of the Florida Philosophical Association, 2007, Tallahassee, FL.
Faculty Senate Salary Committee, Missouri Western State University, Fall 2007—present.
Presenter, Seminar on Writing Successful Grants, April 27, 2007, Missouri Western State University.
Co-Director, Second Annual Galileo’s Legacy Conference addressing issues in the humanities and sciences, April 16-18, 2007, Missouri Western State University.
Topic for 2007 meeting: Global Warming.
Strategic Planning Committee, Missouri Western State University, Spring 2007—present.
Invited Panelist, “Forum on the Ethics of Stem Cell Research” for the philosophy club held on October 26th 2006, Northwest Missouri State University.
Invited Panelist, “Forum on Amendment 2: The Missouri Stem Cell Initiative” held on October 20th 2006, Missouri Western State University.
Invited Panelist, “Rich and Poor: A Panel Discussion of the Ethics of Income Disparity” for the philosophy club held on April 4th 2006, Northwest Missouri State University.
Co-Founder and Co-Director, First Annual Galileo’s Legacy Conference addressing issues in the humanities and sciences, February 23-25, 2006, Missouri Western State University.
Topic for 2006 meeting: Evolution and Intelligent Design.
Member of the Ethics Board at Heartland Health Regional Medical Center, Saint Joseph, MO, Fall 2005—present.
Recruitment Committee, Department of History, Philosophy, and Geography, Missouri Western State University, Fall 2005—present.
Session Chair, Annual Meeting of the American Philosophical Association, Pacific Division, 2004, Pasadena, California.
Professional Development
FacultyParticipant, CUR Dialogues, March 8-10, 2007, Alexandria, VA. Seminar on grant writing held by the Council of Undergraduate Research.
Editor/Writer, Tallahassee-Red Hills Independent Media Center, July 2002–January 2004.
Participant, Florida State University Department of Philosophy Peer Review Program, Spring 1999–Fall 2001.
Participant, Florida State University Teaching Assistant Conference (Program for Instructional Excellence), Fall 1998.
Professional Memberships
American Philosophical Association
References
Professor Alfred Mele
William H. & Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy
Department of Philosophy
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1500
(850) 644-0217
almele@mailer.fsu.edu
Professor Dan Haybron
Department of Philosophy
Saint Louis University
St. Louis, MO 63108
(314) 977-3150 (w)
haybron@gmail.com
Professor Eddy Nahmias
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Department of Philosophy
Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3965
(404) 413-6109
enahmias@gsu.edu