Dr. Hope Fitz Professor of Philosophy
Personal Information I am a comparative philosopher, and my main area of expertise is South Asian and Western comparative philosophy. Research At present, I am working on a manuscript entitled, Ahimsa: A Way of Life. This is a work in which I explore in depth, Gandhi's notion of ahimsa: as an attitude underlying one's actions; as a means to God; and as the driving force of satyagraha. I will be doing research on this book in India, at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, during the Summer of 2001.
Books Published 1. 2001 - Intuition: Its Nature and Uses in Human Experience. This book has just been published by Motilal Banrsidass.) 2. 1995 - New Essays in the Philosophy of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Delhi, India: Indian Books Centre. (An article which I wrote was published in this anthology.) (Please see #5, "Articles Published".) Articles Published 1. February 2002 – “Kant’s Categorical Imperative,” by Dr. Hope K. Fitz and Dr. Margaret Jewett, published in Journal of Religious Studies, Panjabi University, Patiala, India. 2. January 2001 - Book review From Socrates to Wittgenstein, written
at the behest of the editor of Journal of Religious Studies. 3. January 2001 - "Kant and Gandhi: Nonharm and Love," paper sent at the request of the editor of Journal of Religious Studies, Panjabi University, Patiala, India. 4. 1996 - "Gandhi's Ethical/Religous Tradition" (A Mode of Thought and Practices Which Have Influenced Many Contemporary Thinkers) published in The Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. XXVII, Spring-Autumn, Nos. 1 and 2, Punjabi University, Patiala [Panjab], India. This is a revised copy of a paper which was delivered on a panel entitled "Inventing Traditions," in the program "Philosophy and Religion in the Asian Context," at the American Philosophical Association, Central Division, St. Louis, Mo., May 5-7, 1995. 5. 1995 - "The Nature and Significance of Intuition in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, and in the Philosophical Writings of Radhakrishnan," published in The Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. XXVI, Spring-Autumn, Nos. 1 & 2, Panjabi University, Patiala [Panjab], India. This paper was first delivered at the Association of Asian Studies (AAS), in Los Angeles, Ca., at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, March 25-29, 1993. A revised and expanded version of the paper was delivered at the American Academy of Religion, New England Region Meeting, in Boston, April 23, 1993. 6. 1991 - "The Role of Self-Discipline in the Process of Self-Realization," an article written by Dr. Bala Sunder Rai Bhalla and me, published in The Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. XIX, Spring, No 1, Panjabi University, [Patiala], India. 7. 1990 - "The Mystical Experience From a Heideggerian Perspective," an article published in The Journal of Religious Studies, Panjabi University, Patiala [Panjab], India, Vol. XVIII, Spring, No.1. 8. 1989 - "The Nature and Significance of Intuition" (A view Based on a Core Idea Held By Radhakrishnan), an article published in the Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research, Vol. VI, Number 3, May-August, New Delhi, India. 9. 1987 - "Intuition: Its Nature and Uses," an article published in the Moksa Journal, U.S.A., Volume IV, Number I: November. 1. February 9, 2001 - Members of the Peace and Human Rights Committee at Eastern Connecticut State University, ECSU President David Carter, Vice-President Dimitrios Pachis, and Dean Beverley Anderson, will meet with Dr. L. Eudora Pettrigrew (Chair, IAUP/UN Commission on Disarmament Education, Conflict Resolution and Peace) in order to discuss ideas having to do with the future development of a Peace Center on campus. 2. February 26, 2000 - Directed a conference on Peace & Human Rights at Eastern, sponsored by the ECSU Peace and Human Rights Committee and the Philosophy/Ideas Club. This event was co-sponsored by the Dean's Office of the School of Arts & Sciences, as part of the Millennium Activities. 3. 1999-Present - Started a Peace and Human Rights Committee on campus comprised of professors, students, and several staff. Other Professional
Activity 1. May 2001 - Invited to address the Asian Pacific American Group (APAG) of Pfizer at Groton, CT. 2. 2000-Present - Serving as one of the Secretaries for the World Association for Vedic Studies, Inc. (WAVES). We are planning a conference for September 2001 which will take place in Boston, MA. 3. October 2000 - Presented a paper entitled, "Gandhi's Ahimsa: Its Effects on Conflict and Violence" at the 12th Vedanta Congress, Miami University, Oxford, OH. 4. July 2000 - Presented a paper entitled, "Gandhi's Ahimsa: Its Effects on Conflict and Violence." The theme of the conference was "Contemporary Views on Indian Civilization," and the conference was held in Hoboken, NJ. 5. January 2000 - Presented a paper entitled, "Ghandi and Kant: Nonharm and Love/'Boundaries of the Self'/Conflict and Violence" at a conference on "Ethnicity and Violence", Panjabi University, Patiala, India. Teaching Special Topics Courses 1. Spring 2001 - "Birth of Western Thought" (co-taught with Professor Christopher Vasillopulos). No one knows the
origins of philosophy. Perhaps no one will ever know. Nevertheless it seems
that Western philosophy arose in Greece. Certainly, if it is the case that if
we take philosophy to be the rational inquiry into the nature of the universe
and all the things in it as it may be comprehensible to human reason and
intuition, then the philosophical spirit, as we know it in the West, arose in
Greece when poetical and mythological accounts of these matters no longer
satisfied the most skeptical of the Greeks. By the sixth
century B.C., there arose an entire tradition of
"scientific-philosophical" thought, largely concerned with
cosmological issues. By the fifth century, B.C., mostly in Athens, attention
began to focus more on man and less on the heavens, first in tragedy, then in
dialogues, and finally in formats that dominate universities to this day. The
measure of man was indeed man, as Protagoras said, but what is man? What is
measurement? How do we know what we claim to know? After the advent of these
philosophical questions, the world has never been the same. In this course,
the faculty, Dr. Hope Fitz and Dr. Christopher Vasillopulos (with lectures by
Dr. Lee Langley and Dr. Dimitrios Pachis) will present the following
subjects, and the students and faculty will discuss them. Dr. Langley (Professor Emeritus
from ECSU) will lecture on the Bronze Age which will set the stage for the
prehistorical way of life and modes of thought. Dr. Dimitrios Pachis
(Vice-President of Academic Affairs at ECSU) will lecture on the ancient
Greek language, and the importance of language in the development of Greek
culture. Dr. Christopher Vasillopulos will
lecture on the Social and Political structure of Athens with emphasis on
tragic modes of thought. Dr. Hope Fitz and Dr. Vasillopulos
will both lecture on the philosophies of ancient Greece, focusing on Plato
and Aristotle. They will also discuss the influence of Greek thinking upon
the world. 2. Spring 2000 - "Peace and Nonviolence" (focused on the writings of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama, and other peace activists). This course was also taught at CLIRS (retired teachers at the University of Connecticut), Summer 2000. 2. Spring 1999 - "Nietzsche" (co-taught with Professor Christopher Vasillopulos). Courses Currently Taught Western Non-Western |
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Logical Inquiry |
Asian Philosophies* |
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Ethics* |
Ethics has some Non-Western content. |
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South Asian Philosophy |
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Modern Western Philosophy |
Peace and Nonviolence (Gandhi's Notions of Ahimsa and Satyagraha, and how they effected Martin Luther King and other political thinkers of this century.) |
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Perspectives (an Introductory Course)* |
Perspectives has some Non-Western content. |
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Creativity |
Creativity has some Non-Western content. |
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Contemporary Moral Problems |
Course on Contemporary Moral Problems has some Non-Western content. |
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*These courses are offered by me each semester.
Interesting Links
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