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Dr. Lewis Pearson

Interim Dean, College of Arts, Sciences and Business

Bio

Previously worked as a rehab specialist, a microbiology lab assistant, a computer lab assistant, a math tutor, and an English tutor. Was accepted to two medical schools, but declined them when I realized I was called to physicianship of the soul (i.e., philosophy), not of the body (medicine). Father of nine children, plays soccer at Fort Wayne Sport Club, former atheist, former dabbler in Eastern religions, adult revert to the Catholic faith. Big pro-wrestling fan.

My primary hope for my students is that they are better people, in the deepest senses of “better,” for having taken on the challenges presented in my classes:  stronger in mind, more reflective in their relationships, more mature in virtue, and better disposed toward living in the Truth. After all, philosophy is the practice of the love of wisdom, and that involves the pursuit of, and ultimately the conforming of one’s soul to, Truth and Life.

Areas of Interest

  • Ancient Greek Philosophy
  • Medieval Philosophy
  • Modern Philosophy
  • Asian Philosophy
  • Philosophy of Religion
  • Catholic Intellectual Tradition
  • Ethics
  • Logic
  • GK Chesterton

Selected Publications

  • Audiobook:  A Short Guide to Plato’s Republic.  Recorded and Engineered by Sean Rollins at Marble Lounge Records, University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, IN.  Recording and sound engineering, March – October 2021.  Distribution and marketing in progress.
  • Book Chapter:  “Vulcans Without Chests:  Spiritual Disorders Portrayed in Star Trek.”  In Science Fiction and the Abolition of Man.  Pickwick Publications.  2017.
  • Book Review:  Review of Matthew Linck’s Wakefulness and World:  An Invitation to Philosophy.  In Interpretation:  A Journal of Political Philosophy, Volume 48, Issue 2, Winter 2022.
  • Journal Publication:  “How a Non-Franciscan Discovered a Personal Love for St. Francis.”  In The AFCU Journal:  A Franciscan Perspective on Higher Education.  Volume 13, Number 1, pp. 62-71.  May 2016.


Selected Presentations

  • The Ten Thousand Places Podcast co-host (with Justin Aquila and Alex Giltner) and content editor.  Seasons 1-2 originally on SpokeStreet Media and Redeemer Radio.  Subsequent Season(s) (including Seasons 1-2) on OSV Podcasts.
  • “Using the Book of Wisdom (and the Silmarillion) to Spot the Fairly Ubiquitous But Often Ignored Danger of Literal Idolatry.”  Panel presentation given at the annual Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture, with the 2022 theme being “Art and Understanding.”  October 26-28, 2022.
  • Invited workshop leader “Understanding gifts & discernment” for the “Rest in the Storm” Young Adult Retreat at St. Felix Catholic Center in Huntington, IN, sponsored by St. Charles Borromeo Parish Youth & Young Adult Ministry.  September 26, 2021.
  • Invited special guest speaker for Truth in Charity, with Bishop Rhoades weekly radio show with Kyle Heimann, on the topic of arguments for the existence of God.  Redeemer Radio.  July 1, 2020.
  • “Scientific Questions in the Light of Faith.”  Workshops on faith and reason for Catholic School Mission Day at Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, IN, at the request of the Office of Catechesis of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne—South Bend.  September 7, 2018.
Dr. Lewis Pearson