David Denby

Contact Info: Department of Philosophy Miner Hall, room 114 Tufts University Medford, MA 02155 617-627-4931 Email Prof. Denby Office Hours: Tue & Thu 10:30-11:45am, or by appt.

Senior Lecturer
Metaphysics, Philosophy of Language, Ethics

Biography

David Denby grew up in Gloucestershire in South West England. He and his wife, Anya, have three young boys and two old dogs. In his endless leisure hours, he likes to run and to read Welsh.

He joined the Tufts Philosophy Department in 1996 while finishing his dissertation on the metaphysics of modality. His research focuses on metaphysics, especially modality, properties and ontology. He also dabbles in other areas of metaphysics and in the philosophy of language, mind and Ethics. Currently, he is working on papers on mereology and on whether modal talk need be taken to be quantificational.

David teaches courses on many areas of philosophy and at all levels.

Education

Ph.D. University of Massachusetts/Amherst
B.Phil. University of Oxford (UK)
B.A (Hons, first class). University College, London (UK)

Academic Employment

• MIT (Cambridge, MA): Visiting Lecturer: Fall, 2006; Fall, 2008
• Tufts University (Medford, MA): Lecturer: Spring 1996-Fall 2002; Senior Lecturer: Spring 2003-present
• Suffolk University (Boston, MA): Lecturer: Summer 1996-Spring 2003
• Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH): Visiting Lecturer: Fall 1995
• Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (Lynchburg, VA): Visiting Lecturer: Spring 1995
• University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Amherst, MA): Teaching Assistant: Fall 1990-Fall 1993; Teaching Associate: Spring 1994-Fall, 1994
• North Central Correctional Facility (Gardner, MA): Instructor: Fall 1992

Recent Papers

• "Generating Possibilities". Philosophical Studies Vol. 141, No. 2 (November, 2008), pp. 191-207
  (also available via SpringerLink online).
• "A Note on Analyzing Substancehood". The Australasian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 85, Issue 3, 2007,
  pp. 473-84.
• "In Defence of Magical Ersatzism". Philosophical Quarterly Vol. 56, No. 223 (April 2006), pp. 161-74.
• "The Distinction Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Properties". Mind Vol. 115, No. 457 (January 2006),
  pp. 1-17.
• "Determinable Nominalism". Philosophical Studies Vol. 102, No. 3 (February 2001).

Courses taught frequently

• Phil 1: Introduction to Philosophy
• Phil 39: Knowing and Being
• Phil 24: Ethics
• Phil 33: Logic
• Early Modern Philosophy
• Phil 43: Liberty, Justice, Equality

Courses taught occasionally

• Phil 133: Philosophy of Language
• Phil 120: Metaphysics
• Phil 195: Topics in Rationalism
• Phil 92: Descartes to Kant
• Contemporary Moral Issues
• Medical Ethics
• Reason and Argument (informal reasoning)
• Philosophy of Science
• Phil 192: Seminar: The Metaphysics of Modality
• Philosophy of Mind

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