Welcome


During the spring semester, I can be found in Morton Hall 334 between the hours of 10:30-12:30 on Mondays and from 12:45-2:00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I may also be in my office on Thursdays form 12:45-2:15, but only when Faculty Senate does not meet. If my door is open, you are welcome to come in. You may also make an appointment to see me outside of these hours.

The most reliable and quickest way to contact me is email at heikesd [at] uah [dot] edu, but if you must phone, my number is 824-2335.

About me

October 2010

I have been at UAH since 1998. Before that, I received my Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, my M.A. from Baylor University, and my B.A. from the University of Kansas. I also spent some time at the University of Houston, during which time my primary studies were in art and not philosophy.

When I am not doing philosophy, I like to be outdoors with my two dogs and two cats, all of whom are quite beloved and all of whom enjoy taking walks in the woods (yes, the cats walk with us).

Research

My research focuses around problems with rationality and objectivity. I am a defender of both. I am fond of saying things like, “that’s just wrong” or “one ought to think this.” These statements are not necessarily absolutist (there can be grey area in both ethics and epistemology), but I’m not ready to give into relativism just yet. So, I toil away at trying to argue for a conception of objectivity that can allow for subjectivity and to argue for a conception of rationality that can be substantively normative and allow for a great deal of flexibility in empirical content. I have just finished on a book on the nature of reason and papers that do things such as taking philosophical lessons from the empirical sciences of anthropology and psychology and such as arguing for a virture conception of rationality as a feminist theory of rationality. I also have this weird idea about Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason having a certain mystical element that results from his bumping up against the limits of philosophy, but it's getting less weird over time. Finally, I am working on a new book that looks at canonical philosophers from a feminist perspective.

 

Teaching

If you are interested in taking any of my courses, please check out the class links on the left hand side of the page. I try to post syllabi and other information that students may find helpful in signing up for classes. Keep in mind that while I try to keep the syllabi accurate and updated, none of the syllabi posted on this site are official. Official syllabi are those handed out during the first day of class.