Summary
David Rondel earned his Ph.D. from the department of philosophy at McMaster University in 2009. His areas of research specialization include egalitarianism, theories of distributive justice, Marx and Marxism, and American pragmatist political theory (particularly the work of William James, John Dewey and Richard Rorty). David has published widely in these areas. In addition to numerous articles and book chapters, he is the author of Pragmatist Egalitarianism (Oxford University Press, 2018), the editor of the Cambridge Companion to Rorty (Cambridge University Press, 2021) and co-editor of Pragmatism and Justice (Oxford University Press, 2017) and Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will: The Political Philosophy of Kai Nielsen. Another co-edited volume, The Moral Psychology of Anxiety, is slated to be published sometime in 2023. He is currently working on a book project exploring the some of the connections between philosophy and anxiety.
Research interests
- Social and political philosophy
- Philosophy of law
- Ethics (theoretical and applied)
- American pragmatism
- History of ethics and political philosophy
- Philosophy of emotion
Recent publications
Books
- The Cambridge Companion to Rorty (Cambridge University Press, 2021)
- Pragmatist Egalitarianism (Oxford University Press, 2018)
- Pragmatism and Justice (Oxford University Press, 2017)
- Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will: The Political Philosophy of Kai Nielsen (University of Calgary Press, 2012)
Articles
- “William James and the Metaphilosophy of Individualism.” Metaphilosophy 52, no.2 (2021). pp. 220-233.
- “Pragmatist Egalitarianism Revisited: Some Replies to my Critics.” Contemporary Pragmatism 16, no.4 (2019). pp. 337-347.
- “Richard Rorty on the American Left in the Era of Trump.” Contemporary Pragmatism 15 (2018). pp. 194-210.
- “How Pure Should Justice Be? Reflections on G.A. Cohen’s Rhetorical Rescue.” Philosophy & Rhetoric 49, no.3 (2016). pp. 323-342.
- “Egalitarians, Sufficientarians, and Mathematicians: A Critical Notice of Harry Frankfurt’s On Inequality.” Canadian Journal of Philosophy 46, no.2 (2016). pp. 145-162.
- “Appraising Justice as Larger Loyalty.” Contemporary Pragmatism 12, no.2 (2015). pp. 302-316.
- “Raz on Authority and Democracy.”Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review 51, no.2 (2012). pp. 211-230.
- “Deweyan Democracy Defended.” Southwest Philosophy Review 28, no.1 (2012). pp. 197-207.
- “G.A. Cohen and the Logic of Egalitarian Congruence.” Socialist Studies 8, no.1 (2012). pp. 82-100.
- “On Rorty’s Evangelical Metaphilosophy.” Philosophy & Rhetoric 44, no.2 (2011). pp. 150-170.
- “Liberalism, Ethnocentrism, and Solidarity: Reflections on Rorty.” Journal of Philosophical Research 34 (2009). pp. 55-68.
- “Equality, Luck, and Pragmatism.” Journal of Speculative Philosophy 21, no.2 (2007). pp. 115-123.
Courses taught
- PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophy
- PHIL 213: Early Modern Philosophy
- PHIL 245: Contemporary Moral Issues
- PHIL 457: Contemporary Political Philosophy
- PHIL 453: Topics in the Philosophy of Law
- PHIL 406: American Philosophy
- PHIL 712: Graduate Seminar, Liberalism and Its Discontents
- CH 203: The American Experience and Constitutional Change
Education
- Ph.D., McMaster University, 2009