Bio

 

Brian C. Barnett attended the University of Oklahoma as a first-generation college student and McNair Scholar. After graduating summa cum laude with a B.S. in Mathematics, B.A. in Philosophy, and a minor in Religious Studies, he further pursued Philosophy at the University of Rochester on a Dean’s Fellowship, completing an M.A. and a Ph.D. under the direction of Richard Feldman, Earl Conee, and Edward Wierenga. Brian’s primary teaching and research interests are in epistemology, philosophy of nonviolence, philosophy of religion, and Eastern philosophy. Recent works include Introduction to Philosophy: Epistemology and Gandhi's Philosophy of Nonviolence: Essential Selections. He is editor of the Peace & Nonviolence category on PhilPapers.org, Interim Conflict Studies Program Coordinator at SUNY Geneseo, and a contributor to meetings of the American Philosophical Association and Concerned Philosophers for Peace. Outside of academia, Brian enjoys waterfall hiking, nature photography, and all things music.

 

Education

Ph.D. in Philosophy, University of Rochester, October 2016

• Dissertation: Higher-Order Evidence: Its Nature and Epistemic Significance 
• Committee: Richard Feldman (advisor), Earl Conee, Edward Wierenga, H. Allen Orr (chair)

M.A. in Philosophy, University of Rochester, March 2011

B.A. in Philosophy (summa cum laude), University of Oklahoma, May 2007

• Honors thesis: "On the Emergence of Time from Space"
• Advisor: James Hawthorne

B.S. in Mathematics (with distinction), University of Oklahoma, May 2007

• Minor: Religious Studies  

Supplemental trainings and certificates:

• Positive Peace Academy (Institute for Economics & Peace, Summer 2022)
  
• Advancing Cultural Competency Certificate (SUNY Geneseo, Fall 2019)
• Safe Zone Certification (for faculty allies) (SUNY Geneseo, June 2018)
• Introductory Core Workshop on Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation (with Jonathan Lewis at the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, May 2014)
• Advanced Workshop on Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation (with Dr. Bernard Lafayette and Jonathan Lewis at the Rochester Institute of Technology, July-August 2014)
• Carnegie Mellon Summer School in Logic & Formal Epistemology (June 2007)

Areas of Specialization

• Epistemology
• Philosophy of Nonviolence  
• Philosophy of Religion

Areas of Competence

• Ethics (normative and meta)
• Eastern Philosophy
  
• Logic & probability

 

 

Select Honors & Awards

• Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching (SUNY, 2022-23)
  
• Dr. David Kuebel Part-Time Faculty Teaching Award (St. John Fisher University, 2021-22)
• Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher of the Year Award (University of Rochester, 2009–10) 
• Dean’s Fellowship (University of Rochester, 2007–12)
• McNair Scholar (University of Oklahoma, 2005–07) 

 

Affiliations

• Concerned Philosophers for Peace (Spring 2017–Present)
• American Philosophical Association, Eastern Division (2004–Present)