1. Home
  2. Colleges
  3. College of Arts and Sciences
  4. Philosophy Department
T. Allan Hillman

T. Allan Hillman

Associate Professor of Philosophy
Early Modern Philosophy, Metaphysics, Leibniz

Research Interests

  • Early Modern Philosophy
  • Metaphysics
  • History of Philosophy [esp. Medieval, Early Analytic]
  • Ethics
  • Philosophy of Religion

Bio

My research interests for the past several years have focused on two figures: the early modern philosopher G.W. Leibniz (1646-1716) as well as the medieval philosopher John Duns Scotus (1266-1308). Both are incredible metaphysicians, and I enjoy exploring the subtle (and oftentimes not-so-subtle) implications their ideas have for value theory, theoretical as well as practical, and Christian theology. About me in general? Born in southern Mississippi, I attended MSMS in Columbus, MS, followed by Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. Bitten by the philosophy bug (serious infection, antibiotics did no good at all) I then pursued advanced degrees at Ole Miss (M.A.) and then Purdue University (Ph.D.). Hired at South in ’08 I regularly teach Introduction to Philosophy (PHL 110), Renaissance-Enlightenment Philosophy (PHL 245), Renaissance Political Philosophy (PHL 310) and Liability and Punishment (PHL 337), though other course offerings make the unpredictable appearance. When not engaged with life at South, I am chasing (or being chased by) my two little ones, Audrey and Dominick. I read avidly (mostly History, Science Fiction, and Classical Literature) and love 80s action movies (especially the now forgotten classic Big Trouble in Little China).

Publications

  • Scotus & God’s Arbitrary Will: A Reassessment,” (co-authored with Dr. Tully Borland) American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, 91 (3); 2017.

  • “Faulkner the Stoic: Honor and the Snopeses in The Snopes Trilogy,” Philosophy & Literature, 39 (1A); September 2015, 260-279.

  • “Leibniz and Luther on the Non-Cognitive Component of Faith,” Sophia 52 (2): June 2013, pp. 219-234.

  • “Leibniz and the Imitation of God: A Criticism of Voluntarism” (co-authored with Dr. Tully Borland), Philosophy & Theology 23(1); 2011, pp. 3-27.

  • “Leibniz on the Imago Dei” in Oxford Studies in Early Modern Philosophy Volume V (eds.) Daniel Garber & Steven Nadler (Oxford University Press, 2010), pp. 171-213

Courses

  • College of Arts & Science 100: The Moral Reality of War (Fall 2014)
  • REL 100 Introduction to the Study of Religion (Online)
  • Philosophy 110: Introduction to Philosophy (Every semester)
  • Philosophy 131: Introduction to Ethics (Summer 2010, Fall 2013)
  • Philosophy 245: Renaissance-Enlightenment Philosophy (Spring only: 2009-15)
  • Philosophy 333: Biomedical Ethics (Spring 2014)
  • PHL/CJ 336 Legal Theory (Spring 2017)
  • PHL/CJ 337 Liability & Punishment (Fall 2016)
  • Philosophy 345: Post-Kantian Anglo-American Philosophy (Fall 2014)
  • Philosophy 351: Philosophy of Religion (Fall 2009, Fall 2012)
  • Philosophy 390: Special Topics – Truth (Spring 2010)
  • Philosophy 390 (Honors): Special Topics – Goodness and the Ultimate
    Nature of Reality in Medieval Philosophy (Fall 2011)
  • Philosophy 390: Special Topics – Existentialism & the Philosophy of
    Literature (Summer 2013, Fall 2014)
  • Philosophy 431: Advanced Ethics – Metaethics (Fall 2008)
  • Philosophy 431: Advanced Ethics – Contemporary Political Philosophy (Fall 2011, Fall 2013)
  • Philosophy 461: Senior Seminar – Metaphysics (Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017)
  • Philosophy 494: Directed Study – Religious Epistemology (Fall 2010, Spring 2015)
  • Philosophy 494: Directed Study – Free Will & Predestination in Christian Thought (Spring 2013)
  • Philosophy 494: Directed Study – Just War, Realism & Military Ethics (Fall 2014)