Autobiographical Information
I am a philosopher who graduated with my PhD in Philosophy from the University of Maryland in 2008, and then spent two enjoyable years there as a post-doctoral fellow. My advisor at that time was Dr. Paul Pietroski who is currently a professor at Rutgers University. I currently work on writing philosophical papers and books. I was since a professor for 20 years and I am now an independent scholar only now getting back into the swing or writing.
Philosophical Interests
By trade, I am a philosopher of language, specifically, a researcher on the semantics of proper names. But I have other philosophical interests too that include personal identity, free will, Kant's metaphysics, feminist theory, epistemic rationality, meta-ethics, and philosophical logic. The above sketch is of Hypatia which I should have had tattooed on my leg years ago. I also as much as I love research did not get the kind of feedback from that that I did from my students in terms of having an impact, as you will see below.
My Two Most Cherished Thank You Letters from Students
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Dear Dr. Savage,
I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for me during my senior year. You are an amazing teacher and your compassion and dedication for your students definitely did not go unnoticed. When I was dealing with my father's pancreatic cancer I had a really tough time motivating myself to even wake up in the mornings, but your class was one of the few things I was actually happy to attend.
A lot of pre-medical classes are designed to memorize and regurgitate. The whole application process reduces us to a statistic. It's really a problem in medicine today and your course helped me to escape that mindset. I really enjoyed your intro into philosophy course and the ability to reason has helped to shape my view of the world. It allowed me to cope with my father's illness and death, and it's aided me in remaining optimistic after his passing.
I was able to apply to medical school, and am currently attending LECOM Bradenton as a first year medical student! I definitely have you to thank for that both directly and indirectly. I also did a 10,000 mile road trip across the United States where I met a bunch of amazing people and spread my fathers ashes. I had gotten pretty cynical after my father's death and the application process. During the trip I reflected back on his life and explored different personal philosophies. The journey got me into a really great mindset and restored my faith in humanity. It was exactly what I needed before starting medical school. However, the desire to do the road trip and keep a journal during it I attribute to the lessons I learned in your philosophy class. Thank you!
You are a phenomenal person and you're lessons continue on past graduation. I am eternally grateful.
Sincerely,
Your Student
ps. here's a video of my motorcycle trip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znhx98GGrII&feature=autoshare
A lot of pre-medical classes are designed to memorize and regurgitate. The whole application process reduces us to a statistic. It's really a problem in medicine today and your course helped me to escape that mindset. I really enjoyed your intro into philosophy course and the ability to reason has helped to shape my view of the world. It allowed me to cope with my father's illness and death, and it's aided me in remaining optimistic after his passing.
I was able to apply to medical school, and am currently attending LECOM Bradenton as a first year medical student! I definitely have you to thank for that both directly and indirectly. I also did a 10,000 mile road trip across the United States where I met a bunch of amazing people and spread my fathers ashes. I had gotten pretty cynical after my father's death and the application process. During the trip I reflected back on his life and explored different personal philosophies. The journey got me into a really great mindset and restored my faith in humanity. It was exactly what I needed before starting medical school. However, the desire to do the road trip and keep a journal during it I attribute to the lessons I learned in your philosophy class. Thank you!
You are a phenomenal person and you're lessons continue on past graduation. I am eternally grateful.
Sincerely,
Your Student
ps. here's a video of my motorcycle trip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znhx98GGrII&feature=autoshare
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I don't know what to say. You really made my semester worth it. I was so overwhelmed halfway through, I just wanted to stop. I did stop. You never really questioned me, instead you supported me even though I was being selfish.
You really boosted my confidence as well. I have one more semester here and I'll give it my all. Start to finish. As long as i do the work it could still be good work..
When I hadn't turned in those papers I imagined failing the course, maybe i deserved to. Thanks to you I did it. I did all you asked.. I would never have done this work without you giving me the chance to. Next time ill be better. I honestly believe I will.
Thank you so much.
Happy holidays, and stay happy. You have incredible value!!
Sincerely,
Your Student
P.S. if you haven't been to the office since Wednesday the may be something waiting for you there. I didn't want to reveal it was my gift until the grades were in. Thanks again. I hope it gives your holidays a little more cheer.
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