William O. Stephens, Ph.D.

Professor of Philosophy
Professor of Classical & Near Eastern Studies
Creighton University
2500 California Plaza
Omaha NE 68178

e-mail: stphns AT creighton DOT edu
http://www.amazon.com/Marcus-Aurelius-Guide-Perplexed-Guides/

Courses on the Web	Other Essays and Articles	Offices	Presentations
Publications	Book Reviews	References	Media Presentations
Books	Current Projects	Education	Memberships
Journal Articles	Awards	Service	Courses Taught

Courses on the Web

HRS 100: Beginnings of the Christian Intellectual Tradition	Fall 2011, Fall 2010
RSP 104: Honors Introduction to the Culture of Collegiate Life	Fall 2008
PHL 107: Critical and Historical Introduction to Philosophy	Spring 2011, Fall 2009
PHL 201: Introduction to Logic	Fall 2007
PHL 250: Philosophical Foundations for Ethical Understanding	Fall 2011, Summer 2004
PHL/ERG 255: Energy, Ethics, and Environment	Spring 2012
PHL 320-B: God & Persons: Philosophical Reflections	June 2012, Spring 2012, Spring 2010, Fall 2008
CNE 300: Introduction to the Ancient Mediterranean World	Fall 2008
HRS 318: Sources & Methods: Animals, Persons, and Ethics	Spring 2010, Spring 2009, Spring 2007
HRS 347: Sources & Methods: Stoics in Film and Literature	Spring 2012
PHL/EVS 354: Environmental Ethics	Fall 2008
PHL 359: History of Ethics	Spring 2011, Spring 2008
PHL/CNE 370: History of Classical Greek Philosophy	May 2012, Fall 2010, Spring 2009
PHL/CNE 371: History of Hellenistic Philosophy	Fall 2011, Spring 2008
Honors Philosophy Seminar: Aristotle (past Honors curriculum)	Fall 2003
PHL/CNE 410: Stoicism	Fall 2009, Fall 2006
PHL 454: Environmental Philosophy	Spring 2007
PHL/CNE 460: Plato & Platonism	Spring 2001
CNE/GRK/LAT 498: Senior Capstone Seminar	Spring 2011

Curriculum Vitae

EMPLOYMENT

Creighton University Professor of Philosophy and of Classical & Near Eastern Studies, March 2005 to present
Creighton University Associate Professor of Philosophy and of Classical & Near Eastern Studies, March 1997 to February 2005 (tenured March 1996)
Creighton University Assistant Professor of Philosophy, August 1990 to March 1997

FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS and AWARDS

Creighton University Kripke Center for the Study of Religion & Society 2010 fall cycle grant: Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed
Creighton University Graduate School 2010 Summer Faculty Research Fellowship: Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed
Creighton University Academic Development and Technology Center eFellowship Fall 2009 to Spring 2010
Creighton University Graduate School 2008 Research Initiative Grant: Lessons in Liberation: Epictetus as Educator
Creighton University Kripke Center for the Study of Religion & Society 2008 spring cycle grant: The Providential Tourist: Epictetus on Journeys
Creighton College of Arts & Sciences Diversity Program stipend as facilitator of the Diversity and the Environment Faculty Reading Group 2007–08
Cardoner Program Vocation Fellowship Creighton University, summer 2005 to spring 2006
Winner of the Omicron Delta Kappa Teaching for Tomorrow Award, Creighton University, February 7, 2005
Nominee for the Omicron Delta Kappa Teaching for Tomorrow Award, Creighton University, January 30, 2002
Creighton University Office of Institutional Research & Assessment 2002 summer assessment grant for the Philosophy Dept. Assessment Committee
Visiting Scholar at the Department of Classics, University of California, Berkeley, January 13 to December 18, 1999
Affiliated Scholar at The Ethics Center, University of South Florida (100 Fifth Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL), August 24 to December 22, 1998
Creighton University Graduate School 1998 Summer Faculty Research Fellowship: Socrates and Stoic Heroism in Epictetus
Center for Hellenic Studies Summer Scholar, June 25 to August 6, 1997, Washington, D.C.
William F. Kelley, S.J. Outstanding Service Achievement Award for the Waste Reduction Advisory Committee of Creighton University, Sept. 26, 1996
US WEST Academic Development and Technology Fellowship, Creighton Univ. summer 1995. View my 12.5 minute exit interview (.wmv file).
National Endowment for the Humanities travel stipend to participate in: Duty, Interest & Practical Reason: Aristotle, Kant & the Stoics, organized by the Program in Classics, Philosophy & Ancient Science, University of Pittsburgh, March 18–20, 1994
Creighton College of Arts & Sciences 1993 Summer Faculty Development Grant: How to Write Philosophy Papers: A Manual
Creighton University Graduate School 1992 Summer Faculty Research Fellowship: Epictetus’ Ethics of Stoic Love and Happiness as Freedom

EDUCATION

The University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) Sept. 1984 – May 1990
Ph.D. in philosophy received May 1990
University Teaching Fellowship Sept. 1984 – May 1990
Dissertation: Stoic strength: An examination of the ethics of Epictetus
Supervisor: Charles H. Kahn, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Pennsylvania
Other committee members:
    Alexander Nehamas, Edmund N. Carpenter Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy, and Professor of Comparative Literature, Princeton University
    John M. Cooper, Henry Putnam University Professor of Philosophy, Princeton University
    R. Jay Wallace, Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Berkeley

Earlham College (Richmond, Indiana) Sept. 1982 – June 1984
B.A. in philosophy received June 1984     Honors Received: Phi Beta Kappa (Delta Chapter of Indiana)
                                                                                                Departmental Honors in Philosophy
                                                                                                College Honors
                                                                                                Georgia M. Watkins Scholarship in Greek & Latin

The College of Wooster (Wooster, Ohio) Sept. 1980 – June 1982

AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION Classical Greek Philosophy, Hellenistic and Roman Philosophy, and Ethics

AREAS OF COMPETENCE History of Ethics, History of Modern Philosophy, Philosophy of the Person, Ethics and Animals, Environmental Philosophy, and Logic

LANGUAGES (reading knowledge) Classical Greek, Latin, and German

PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS

Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed. London: Continuum, © 2012, ISBN 978-1-4411-2561-3 hb; ISBN 978-1-4411-0810-4 pb.
Stoic Ethics: Epictetus and Happiness as Freedom.* London: Continuum, Studies in Ancient Philosophy, © 2007, ISBN 0-8264-9608-3 hb.
The Person: Readings in Human Nature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, © 2006, ISBN 978-0-13-184811-5 pb.
Adolf F. Bonhöffer, The Ethics of the Stoic Epictetus: An English translation† (with a biography of A.F.B. by Constantine Ritter), William O. Stephens, translator. New York: Peter Lang, © 1996, ISBN 0-8204-3027-7 hb; 2nd edition © 2000, ISBN 978-0-8204-5139-8 pb.

* Reviewed in:

Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2010.08.08, by Eve A. Browning

Ancient Philosophy XXIX, no. 2, Fall 2009: 468–471, by Rory Goggins

Notre Dame Philosophical Review 2009.05.14, by Ricardo Salles

† Reviewed in:

   Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2001.08.41, by Scott M. Rubarth

   Journal of Hellenic Studies 120 (2000): 170–171, by Christopher Gill

   Ancient Philosophy XX, no. 2 (Fall 2000): 521–524, by Robert J. Rabel

   Classical Review 50, no. 1 (2000): 154–155, by George Boys-Stones

   Journal of the History of Philosophy XXXVII, no. 4 (Oct. 1999): 671–673, by Eric Brown

   Electronic Antiquity 3, no. 7 (May 1997), by Brad Inwood

JOURNAL ARTICLES

“The Mereology of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus,” History Research (ISSN 2159-550X) [forthcoming; accepted for publication March 19, 2012]
“The Ideal of the Stoic Sportsman,” (with R. Feezell) The Journal of the Philosophy of Sport XXXI, no. 2 (2004): 196–211.
“If Friendship Hurts, an Epicurean Deserts: A Reply to Andrew Mitchell,” Essays in Philosophy 3, no. 1 (Jan. 2002).
“Real Men Are Stoics: An interpretation of Tom Wolfe’s A Man in Full,” The Stoic Voice Journal 1, no. 3 (April 2000). ISSN 1529-2835.
“Masks, Androids, and Primates: The Evolution of the Concept ‘Person’,” Etica & Animali 9, Special issue on Nonhuman Personhood (1998): 111–127.
“Epictetus on How the Stoic Sage Loves,” Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy XIV** (1996): 193–210.
** reviewed in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 97.6.12 by Brad Inwood
“The Simile of the Talus in Cicero, De Finibus 3.16.54,” (with B. S. Hook) Classical Philology 91, no. 1 (Jan. 1996): 59–61.
“Straying and Spaying: What Do Cats Care About?” Between the Species: A Journal of Ethics 11, no. 3 & 4 (Summer/Fall 1995): 111–113.
“Five Arguments for Vegetarianism,” Philosophy in the Contemporary World 1, no. 4 (Winter 1994): 25–39.
“Stoic Naturalism, Rationalism, and Ecology,” Environmental Ethics 16, no. 3 (Fall 1994): 275–286.
“The Argument from Marginal Cases: Is Speciesism Defensible?” (with R. Feezell) Contemporary Philosophy 16, no. 4 (July/Aug. 1994): 7–16.
“The Fate Debate: Stoic Responses to Contemporary Reflections,” Contemporary Philosophy 15, no. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1993): 1–5.

REVIEW ARTICLE

“A Stoicism for Our Time?” a review of Lawrence C. Becker, A New Stoicism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998. International Journal of the Classical Tradition 6, no. 3 (Dec. 1999): 438–446.

REVIEWS

Musonius Rufus, Lectures and Sayings. Cynthia King (trans.), W. B. Irvine (preface). Lulu, 2010. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2011.11.47.
The Cambridge Companion to Galen. Edited by R. J. Hankinson. Cambridge University Press, 2008. The Classical Bulletin 85, no. 1, Summer 2010: 121–123.
The Philosophy of Epictetus. Edited by Theodore Scaltsas & Andrew Mason. Oxford University Press, 2007. Ancient Philosophy XXIX, no. 2, Fall 2009: 477–483.
Epictetus’ Handbook and the Tablet of Cebes: Guides to Stoic Living. By Keith Seddon. New York & London: Routledge, 2005. Ancient Philosophy XXVIII, no. 2, Fall 2008: 460–466.
Stoicism and Emotion. By Margaret R. Graver. University of Chicago Press, 2007. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2008.07.56.
Dumb Beasts and Dead Philosophers: Humanity and the Humane in Ancient Philosophy and Literature. By Catherine Osborne. Oxford University Press, 2007. Social Theory and Practice 34, no. 1 (Jan. 2008): 139–145.
Don’t Worry, Be Stoic: Ancient Wisdom for Troubled Times. By Peter J. Vernezze. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2005. Ancient Philosophy XXVII, no. 2, Fall 2007: 452–455.
The Philosophers of the Ancient World: An A-Z Guide. By Trevor Curnow. London: Duckworth, 2006. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2007.07.28.
The Roman Stoics: Self, Responsibility, and Affection. By Gretchen Reydams-Schils. University of Chicago Press, 2005. Ancient Philosophy XXVI, no. 2 (Fall 2006): 438–443.
Food for Thought: The Debate over Eating Meat. Edited by Steve F. Sapontzis. Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2004. Journal of Philosophy, Science & Law 6 (March 20, 2006).

The Cambridge Companion to the Stoics. Edited by Brad Inwood. Cambridge University Press, 2003. The Classical Journal 100, no. 4 (April–May 2005): 430–434.
Simplicius, On Epictetus’ “Handbook 1–26 and 27–53.” Tad Brennan & Charles Brittain (trans.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2002. Ancient Philosophy XXIV, no. 2 (Fall 2004): 519–523.
Die Funktion der Dialogstruktur in Epiktets Diatriben. By Barbara Wehner. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2000, and Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic guide to life. By A. A. Long. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Ancient Philosophy XXIII, no. 2 (Fall 2003): 472–481.
Forgiveness and Revenge. By Trudy Govier. London and New York: Routledge, 2002. Essays in Philosophy 4, no. 2 (June 2003).
Epictetus: A Stoic and Socratic Guide to Life. By A. A. Long. Oxford University Press, 2002. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2002.11.03.
Cato’s Tears and the Making of Anglo-American Emotion. By Julie Ellison. University of Chicago Press, 1999. International Journal of the Classical Tradition 8, no. 2 (Dec. 2001): 319–322.
To Eat Flesh They Are Willing, Are Their Spirits Weak? Vegetarians Who Return to Meat. By Kristin Aronson. Pythagorean Publishers, 1996. Between the Species (August 2002).
Epictetus, Discourses. Book I. Robert F. Dobbin (trans. intro. comment.). Oxford University Press, 1998. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 1999.11.21.
Logic and the Imperial Stoa. By Jonathan Barnes. Brill, 1997. Journal of the History of Philosophy XXXVII, no. 2 (April 1999): 357–359.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations. R. Hard (trans.), C. Gill (ed.). Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1997. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 1998.6.23.
Stoic Studies. By A. A. Long. Cambridge University Press, 1996. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 1997.11.20.
Essays on Hellenistic Epistemology and Ethics. By Gisela Striker. Cambridge University Press, 1996. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 1997.6.9.
The Case for Vegetarianism. By John L. Hill. Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. Environmental Ethics 19, no. 2 (Summer 1997): 221–224.
The Discourses of Epictetus. R. Hard (trans.), C. Gill (ed.). Everyman, 1995. Ancient Philosophy XVII, no. 1 (Spring 1997): 268–273.
Introducing New Gods: The Politics of Athenian Religion. By Robert Garland. Cornell University Press, 1992. Ancient Philosophy XV, no. 2 (Fall 1995): 598–601.
Animal Minds and Human Morals: The Origins of the Western Debate. By Richard Sorabji. Cornell University Press, 1993. International Journal of the Classical Tradition 1, no. 4 (March 1995): 147–150.
Lukrez, der Kepos und die Stoiker. By Jürgen Schmidt. Peter Lang, 1990. Ancient Philosophy XIV, no. 2 (Fall 1994): 461–463.
Why me? A Philosophical Inquiry into Fate. By Michael Gelven. Northern Illinois University Press, 1991. Man and World 26, no. 3 (Sept. 1993): 351–354.

MAGAZINE ARTICLES

“A Philosopher-Emperor’s Approach to Conflict Management,” Creighton University Magazine, Spring 2012: 20–21.
“Philosophy as Therapy for the Soul,” (with M. A. Brown) Creighton University Magazine, Winter 2006: 30–35.
“To Cheer Without Fear: Could a Cubs Fan Be a Stoic?” (with R. Feezell) Creighton University Magazine, Winter 2004: 22–27.
“The Rebirth of Stoicism?” Creighton University Magazine, Winter 2000: 34–39.

PEDAGOGICAL MANUAL

How to Write Philosophy Papers: A Manual for Beginning Philosophy Students (Creighton University, 1993).

MANUSCRIPT IN PROGRESS

Lessons in Liberation: Epictetus as Educator
Chapter 1. Musonius Rufus, Epictetus, and Flavius Arrianus (planned)
Chapter 2. τὰ ε̉φ’ ημι̃ν and τὰ ου̉κ ε̉φ’ ημι̃ν: The Logic of Freedom (planned)
Chapter 3. Epictetus on Stoic Heroism (in progress; earlier version: “Socrates: Epictetus’ Stoic Hero”)
Chapter 4. Epictetus’ Zoo: The Use of Animal Examples in Stoic Pedagogy (in progress)
Chapter 5. Epictetus’ Games: The Stoic Sport Metaphor (earlier version in J. of the Phil. of Sport XXXI as “The Ideal of the Stoic Sportsman”)
Chapter 6. The Providential Tourist: Epictetus on Journeys (earlier version in From Ancient Greek to Asian Philosophy, Hoppe & Weed eds. [Athens, 2007])
Chapter 7. Bugbear and Open Door Policy: Epictetus on Death (in progress)
Chapter 8. The Stoic Lover, Educator, and Liberator (earlier version in OSAP XIV as “Epictetus on How the Stoic Sage Loves”)

PAPERS UNDER REVIEW AND IN PROGRESS

“The Stoics on Habit” essay in proposed book Automated Action: Essays on Habit from Aristotle to Bourdieu, edited by Adam Hutchinson & Tom Sparrow (Fordham University Press)
review of James Ker, A Seneca Reader: Selections from Prose and Tragedy (Bolchazy, 2011) (for Bryn Mawr Classical Review)
“Epictetus’ Heracles: A Note on Diss. 1.6.28–36” working paper
“Manliness and Stoicism in Tom Wolfe’s A Man in Full” working paper
“Therapy for the Fearful Self: Stoicism vs. Terrorism” germinal paper

LECTURES & CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

“Epictetus on Stoic Heroism” to be presented at the 37th Annual European Studies Conference at the University of Nebraska–Omaha, October 4–6, 2012, Omaha, Nebraska.
“Is It Lonely At the Top? The Memories of a Stoic Emperor” a Faculty Friday talk presented at Creighton University, February 3, 2012, Omaha, Nebraska.
“Bugbear and Open Door Policy: Epictetus on Death” presented to the Department of Classics & Religious Studies and the Department of Philosophy of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, November 15, 2011, Lincoln, Nebraska.
“The Late Stoics on Habit” presented at the 36th Annual European Studies Conference at the University of Nebraska–Omaha, October 7, 2011, Omaha, Nebraska.
“Death, Beauty, and Logos: The Memoranda of Rome’s Philosopher-King” presented at the 37th Conference on Value Inquiry at Creighton University, April 15, 2011, Omaha, Nebraska.
“How to Eat Ethically” presented as the Second Annual Ethics Lecture at the University of Evansville, November 15, 2010, Evansville, Indiana.
“Death, Beauty, and Logos: The Memoranda of Rome’s Philosopher-King” presented to the Western Civilization Program of Providence College, November 1, 2010, Providence, Rhode Island.
“The Mereology of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus” presented to the Missouri Valley History Conference, March 5, 2010, Omaha, Nebraska.
“Bugbear and Open Door Policy: Epictetus on Death” presented to the Iowa Philosophical Society 65th Annual Meeting, Cornell College, October 18, 2008, Mount Vernon, Iowa.
“Bugbear and Open Door Policy: Epictetus on Death” presented to the University of Nebraska–Omaha Philosophy Program Colloquium, April 4, 2008, Omaha, Nebraska.
“Bugbear and Open Door Policy: Epictetus on Death” presented to the University of Nevada Las Vegas Philosophy Department Colloquium, December 1, 2006, Las Vegas, Nevada.
“The Providential Tourist or Epictetus on How a Stoic Travels” presented to the Athens Institute for Education and Research International Conference on Philosophy, June 2, 2006, Vilia, Greece.
“Epictetus on Death: The Bogeyman Only Frightens Children” presented to the Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy Workshop, at the University of Chicago, November 30, 2005, Chicago, Illinois.
“Kantian Animals and the Virtues of Eudaimonism” a commentary on H. Fieldhouse, “Animals as Subjects in Kant’s Kingdom of Ends,” presented to the Society for the Study of Ethics and Animals, at the American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, April 29, 2005, Chicago, Illinois.
“Too Manly by Half? Stoicism in Tom Wolfe’s A Man in Full” (with G. Bakewell) presented to the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, January 11, 2004, Honolulu, Hawaii.
“Beastly Virtues: Animal Exempla in Seneca and Epictetus” presented to the panel on Roman Virtues, Vices and Cultural History at the American Philological Association Meeting, January 5, 2004, San Francisco, California.
“To Cheer without Fear: The Stoic Sportsman” presented to the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, January 14, 2003, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Commentary on Sabine Grebe, “The Transformation of the Husband/Wife Relationship during Exile: Letters from Cicero and Ovid” presented to the Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love, at the American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, April 25, 2002, Chicago, Illinois.

Commentary on A. J. Mitchell, “Friendship Amongst the Self-Sufficient: Epicurus” presented to the Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love, at the American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, April 22, 2000, Chicago, Illinois.

“Real Men Are Stoics: An interpretation of Tom Wolfe’s A Man in Full” presented to the Nebraska Beta Chapter of Phi Sigma Tau, the National Honor Society in Philosophy, March 28, 2000, Creighton University.

“The Manliness of Stoicism in Tom Wolfe’s A Man in Full” presented to the Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World, at the conference on Time, History, and Social Change, August 13, 1999, Estes Park Center, Colorado.

“Epictetus’ Use of Animal Examples” presented to the UCB Department of Classics graduate seminar on Epictetus led by A. A. Long, Irving Stone Professor of Literature and Professor of Classics, at the University of California, Berkeley, March 31, 1999.

“Stoic Happiness?” presented at The Ethics Center of the University of South Florida, December 2, 1998, St. Petersburg, Florida (abstract published in Fall 1998 Newsletter).

“Epictetus on Death and Suicide, or Why Halloween Doesn’t Frighten Stoics” presented at the University of South Florida Philosophy Department Colloquium, October 30, 1998, Tampa, Florida.

“Masks, Androids, and Primates: The Evolution of the Concept ‘Person’” presented to the Society for the Study of Ethics and Animals with commentary by Kent Baldner, Western Michigan University, at the American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, May 7, 1998, Chicago, Illinois.

“Environmentalism and Vegetarianism” delivered at Earth Day Omaha, Heartland of America Park, Omaha, April 26, 1998.

“Epictetus on the Irrationality of Fearing Death and Reasons for Suicide” presented at the Iowa State University Philosophy Department Colloquium, February 26, 1998, Ames, Iowa.

“Epictetus on the Irrationality of Fearing Death and Reasons for Suicide” presented at the conference on Global and Multicultural Dimensions of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy, sponsored by the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy and the Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science, October 24-26, 1997, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York.

Commentary on Laura Duhan Kaplan “Love’s Longing Fulfilled: Metaphysical Comfort and Plato’s Symposium” presented to the Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love, at the American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, April 24, 1997, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“Animal Virtues and Human Vices: Epictetus’ Philosophical Zoology” presented at the Northern Illinois University Philosophy Department Colloquium, April 11, 1997, DeKalb, Illinois.

“Socrates, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Epictetus on the Rationality of Fearing Death” presented at the Purdue University Philosophy Department Colloquium, March 6, 1997, West Lafayette, Indiana.

“Epictetus on Animalitarianism” presented to the Society for the Study of Ethics and Animals with commentary by Alan Schwerin, Monmouth University, at the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division Meeting, December 28, 1996, Atlanta, Georgia.

“Socrates: Epictetus’ Stoic Hero” presented to the Australasian Society for Ancient Philosophy at its conference at Massey University, August 31, 1996, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

“Four Ancient Perspectives on Everyday Death” presented to the Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World, at the conference on Philosophy and Everyday Life, August 12, 1996, Estes Park Center, Colorado.

Commentary on Clifton B. Perry "Students, Teachers, and Carnal Knowledge,” the Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference, October 27, 1995, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

“Five Arguments for Vegetarianism,” presented to the Society for the Study of Ethics and Animals with commentary by Brian A. Luke, Univ. of Dayton, at the American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, April 28, 1995, Chicago, Illinois.

“Can a Stoic Love?” presented to the Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love with commentary by Martha C. Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Professor of Law and Ethics, University of Chicago Law School, at the American Philosophical Association Central Division Meeting, April 27, 1995, Chicago, Illinois.

“Environmental Ethics,” a talk given to the Environmental Justice Workshop sponsored by the Nebraska State Recycling Association, April 26, 1995, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska.

Commentary on Lilly-Marlene Russow, “What Do Animals Care About?” presented to the Society for the Study of Ethics and Animals, at the American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting, March 30, 1995, San Francisco, California.

Commentary on John Ferguson Heil, “Why is Aristotle’s Brave Man So Frightened? The Paradox of Courage in the Eudemian Ethics” presented at the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division Meeting, December 28, 1994, Boston, Massachusetts.

“Five Arguments for Vegetarianism” presented to the Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World, with commentary by Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, University Center for Human Values, Princeton University, at the conference on Philosophy and Cultural Diversity, August 16, 1994, Estes Park Center, Colorado.

“The Argument from Marginal Cases: Why Speciesism is Indefensible” Willard Environmental Ethics Symposium, April 15, 1993, The University of Nebraska at Omaha.

“Was Socrates a Stoic?” presented at the Central States Philosophical Association Meeting, October 16, 1992, The University of Kansas, Lawrence.

“The Fate Debate: Stoic Responses to Contemporary Reflections,” presented at the Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference, October 9, 1992, Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas.

“Stoic Love,” presented at the International Association for Greek Philosophy Fourth International Conference, on Hellenistic Philosophy, August 28, 1992, Rhodes, Greece.

“Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence,” presented to the Nebraska Beta Chapter of Phi Sigma Tau, the National Honor Society in Philosophy, October 10, 1990, Creighton University.

OFFICES

Fellow of the College of Stoic Philosophers of the New Stoa, July 2008 to present.
Chair of the Committee for Defense of the Professional Rights of Philosophers, American Philosophical Association, July 2008 to June 2011.
Member of the Committee for Defense of the Professional Rights of Philosophers, American Philosophical Association, Nov. 2002 to June 2008.
President of the Creighton University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, Oct. 2004 to May 2009.
Vice President of the Creighton University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, Oct. 2003 to Sept. 2004.
Secretary-Treasurer of the Creighton University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors, Oct. 2002 to Sept. 2003.
Nebraska State Coordinator for The Humane Society of the United States (July 1998 to February 2005).
Referee for the journals Acta Analytica, Ancient Philosophy, Environmental Ethics, Harvard Theological Review, Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, Social Theory & Practice, and The Southern Journal of Philosophy.
Editorial Review Board member of the journal Philosophy in the Contemporary World: ISSN 1077-1999, Spring 1997 to present.
Referee for Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Manuscripts evaluated:
Steven M. Cahn, Reason and Religions, August 2011.
Referee for Wadsworth Publishing/Thomson Learning. Manuscripts evaluated:
Robert M. Johnson, Fundamentals of Reasoning: A Logic Book revisions for 5th edition, May 2005.
Do the Right Thing: Readings in Applied Ethics and Social Philosophy, January 2000.
Referee for Routledge. Manuscripts evaluated:
Andrew Chignell, Terence Cuneo, and Matthew Halteman’s proposal for a book Philosophy Comes to Dinner: Essays on the Ethics of Eating, September 2010.
Elisa Aaltola’s proposal for a book Introduction to Animal Ethics evaluated early July 2009.
Amy Coplan’s proposal for a book on Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner in the Philosophers on Film series, January 2008.
Referee for Broadview Press. Manuscripts evaluated:
Philip Rose’s proposal for a book Environmental Philosophy: A Comprehensive Groundwork, February 2010.
Doug Al-Maini’s proposal for an edition with translation The Discourses of Musonius Rufus, June 2009.
Referee for Oxford University Press. Manuscripts evaluated:
L. Gruen, D. Jamieson, & C. Schlottmann’s proposal for 2nd edition of Reflecting on Nature, late July 2009.
William Irvine, The Joyful Stoics, April 2006.
Referee for Baylor University Press. Manuscript evaluated:
Andrew Linzey & Tom Regan’s manuscript Other Nations: Animals and Modern Literature, July 2008).
Referee for Acumen Publishing. Manuscript evaluated:
John Sellars, Stoicism, August 2005.
Referee for McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Manuscript evaluated:
Basically Logic, December 2002.
Referee for Macmillan Publishing and St Martin’s Press.
Referee for the Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World conferences.
Referee for the second annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, Honolulu, January 8–11, 2004.
Referee for the Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference, Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 26–28, 1995.
Local Arrangements Chair of the 1994 Mountain-Plains Philosophy Conference (keynote speaker: the late James Rachels, Professor of Philosophy, University of Alabama at Birmingham) Creighton University, October 20–22, 1994.

CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY SERVICE

Faculty Associate of The Rabbi Myer and Dorothy Kripke Center for the Study of Religion & Society Spring 2007 to present.
Chair, Department of Classical & Near Eastern Studies, July 2003 to September 2006.
College of Arts and Sciences Identity and Academic Planning Committee, May 2004 to May 2005.
College of Arts and Sciences Budget Committee, May 2003 to May 2004.
University Committee on Benefits, Aug. 2003 to May 2004.
Chair, College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Development Committee, Aug. 2002 to July 2003.
Faculty Moderator for the Creighton Chess Club, Jan. 2001 to May 2007 and April 2008 to present.
Pre-Law Advising Committee: Aug. 1992 to present.
Faculty and Academic Councils: Aug. 2001 to July 2003.
Webmaster for the Department of Philosophy, 1998 to 2009.
Webmaster for the Department of Classical & Near Eastern Studies, 1998 to 2003, 2006 to 2007, 2008 to 2009.
Chair, Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility: Aug. 1997 to July 2000.
Co-founder, Waste Reduction Advisory Committee: Aug. 1994 to July 1998.
Committee on Academic Policy, Dismissals and Appeals: Aug. 1997 to July 2000.
University Committee on Student Discipline: Aug. 1994 to July 1997.
Faculty Development Committee: Aug. 1993 to July 1996.
Nebraska Easter Seal Society fund-raising event participant: June 17–18, 1995.
Faculty Advisor for the Nebraska Beta Chapter of Phi Sigma Tau, National Honor Society in Philosophy, Aug. 1991 to July 1995.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS, PRESENTATIONS, and STORIES

“Stephens’ Fourth Book Published” Creighton College of Arts & Sciences website February 17, 2012.
“Interivew with a Stoic: William O. Stephens” by Avi Solomon http://boingboing.net/2011/11/04/interview-with-a-stoic-william-o-stephens.html, November 4, 2011.
60-second lecture on Social Networking Creighton University Honors Program February 3, 2011. My time-winning lecture (of 58.7) seconds is the sixth on the video.
“Ethicist to Chew Over Meal Choice Arguments” by Dan Latini, Evansville Courier & Press, November 15, 2010.
Spotlight interview of me by Erik Weigardt of the New Stoa: The Online Stoic Community, Registry Report, May/June 2008.
“College Bans Nietzsche Quote on Prof ’s Door” by Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Education, November 4, 2008, quotes me at the very end of the story.
“Allegations Spur Debate on What’s Kosher” by Christopher Burbach, Omaha World-Herald, September 15, 2008, includes my comments on the concept of moral taint.
Quieting Quandaries, a philosophy radio show I co-hosted with Dr. Michael Brown, aired on Dateline: Creighton on KIOS 91.5 FM.
First show July 1, 2004 (.wma file).
Second show September 30, 2004 (.wma file).
Third show December 14, 2006 (.wma file).
Scott Patterson’s interview of Dr. Michael Brown and me on what happens when we die (.wmv file) aired on Omaha’s KPTM (FOX 42) nine o’clock news December 17, 2006.
Roving Reporter Polly Stryker’s interview of me (.mp3 file) aired on the KALW 91.7 FM San Francisco Philosophy Talk series July 25, 2006.
“Revenge Served Hot” by John Keenan, Omaha World-Herald, May 15, 2005, includes my comments on Darth Vader as a tragic hero.
Gary Smolen’s interview of me on unsportsmanlike conduct (.wmv file) aired on Omaha’s WOWT (NBC 6) ten o’clock news October 13, 2003.
Prof. Wendy Wright, the Kenefick Humanities Chair, interviewed me February 20, 2003 about my book The Ethics of the Stoic Epictetus. The interview (.wmv file) is on the DVD Books that Humanize.
My lecture on ancient Greek philosophers’ concepts of infinity (.wmv file) in the “Professors’ Notes” section of the Mannheim Steamroller Fresh Aire 8 DVD by Chip Davis (American Gramaphone 2001); I also provided research on the subject.
A segment of my interview (.wmv file) about the Nebraska Vegetarian Society aired on Omaha’s ABC affiliate KETV (ABC 7) five o’clock news March 21, 1998.
My interview on Creighton Close-Up about the Waste Reduction Program I was awarded for helping to create at Creighton University aired Feb. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, 1996.

COURSES TAUGHT

LOWER LEVEL

Honors: Beginnings of the Christian Intellectual Tradition (HRS 100)

Honors: Introduction to the Culture of Collegiate Life (RSP 104)

Critical and Historical Introduction to Philosophy (PHL 107)

Introduction to Logic (PHL 201)

Philosophical Foundations for Ethical Understanding (PHL 250)

Energy, Ethics, and Environment (PHL 255)

UPPER LEVEL

Introduction to the Ancient Mediterranean World (CNE 300)

Meaning in America (PHL 309)

Honors: Sources & Methods: Animals, Persons, and Ethics (HRS 318)

God and Persons: Philosophical Reflections (PHL 320)

Honors: Sources & Methods: Stoics in Film and Literature (HRS 347)

Environmental Ethics (PHL/EVS 354)

History of Ethics (PHL 359)

History of Classical Greek Philosophy (PHL/CNE 370)

History of Hellenistic Philosophy (PHL/CNE 371)

History of Modern Philosophy (Univ. of Pennsylvania)

Honors Philosophy Seminar: Aristotle (past curriculum)

Stoicism (PHL/CNE 410)

Environmental Philosophy (PHL/EVS 454)

Plato & Platonism (PHL/CNE 460)

Directed Independent Study (PHL 495 Spring 2010 on Epicurus, Lucretius, and Marcus Aurelius)

Directed Independent Study (PHL 495 Spring 2007 on Classical Greek Philosophy)

Directed Independent Readings (PHL 493 Fall 2002 on Plato’s Timaeus & Phaedo, Epicureanism, The Simpsons and Philosophy)

Directed Independent Study (PHL 495 Spring 2001 on Porphyry and Plotinus)

Senior Capstone Seminar (CNE/GRK/LAT 498)

MEMBERSHIPS

American Philosophical Association, Central Division
Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Sigma Tau (National Honor Society in Philosophy)
Eta Sigma Phi (National Honor Society in Classics)
Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy
Society for Philosophy in the Contemporary World
Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love

REFERENCES

Charles H. Kahn, Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Classical Studies, The University of Pennsylvania
Anthony A. Long, Irving Stone Professor of Literature and Professor of Classics, University of California, Berkeley
Martha C. Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Professor of Law and Ethics, Professor of Philosophy, and Professor of Classics, University of Chicago Law School
Peter A. French, Center Director of the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, Lincoln Chair in Ethics, and Professor of Philosophy, Arizona State University
Randolph Feezell, Professor of Philosophy, Creighton University
Ronald Polansky, Professor of Philosophy, Duquesne University, Editor of Ancient Philosophy
Richard Sorabji, Emeritus Professor of Ancient Philosophy, King’s College London Honorary Fellow, Wolfson College, University of Oxford

...at the end