Dr. Charles Bolyard

B.A. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.A. Indiana University, Bloomington
Ph.D. Indiana University, Bloomington

Office: Cleveland 210
Phone: (540) 568-2626
Fax: (540) 568-8072
E-mail: bolyarcr@jmu.edu

Research: Professor Bolyard specializes in the study of Medieval Philosophy, with particular emphasis on the epistemological and metaphysical issues debated therein. His work to date has focused on the fate of skepticism during the middle ages, ranging from Augustine’s seemingly decisive refutation of it in the patristic period, to its re-emergence as a live philosophical possibility during the scholasticism of the high middle ages (as seen, e.g., in Henry of Ghent, John Duns Scotus, and Peter Auriol). Professor Bolyard also investigates the interplay between Medieval Philosophy and the philosophy of the Ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and Early Modern periods.

In addition to standard and honors sections of Introduction to Philosophy and Critical Thinking, Professor Bolyard regularly teaches higher-level courses focusing on Medieval Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy, Self and Identity, and the Problem of Universals.

Selected Publications

• “Augustine, Epicurus, and External World Skepticism”, Journal of the History of Philosophy 44.2 (2006), pp. 157-168.
• "Medieval Skepticism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2009 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
• “Knowing naturaliter: Auriol’s propositional foundations”, Vivarium 38, no. 1 (2000) pp. 162-176.