Robert Arp       Curriculum Vitae      


Ontology Research Group (ORG)
Ontology, Logic and Technology Unit (OLT)
University at Buffalo
National Center for Biomedical Ontology (NCBO)

ADDRESS:

New York State Center of Excellence
in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences
701 Ellicott Street, Suite B2-158
Buffalo, New York 14203
USA

rarp@buffalo.edu
Office: (716) 881-7905
Cell: (850) 509-4503
Fax: (716) 849-6890
  

Robert Arp received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Saint Louis University in November, 2004. His dissertation, renamed Scenario Visualization: An Evolutionary Account of Creative Problem Solving, was published by MIT Press in 2008. His areas of specialization include Philosophical Ontology, Philosophy of Biology, and Philosophy of Mind. He is a Research Associate with the National Center for Biomedical Ontology and works with the Ontology Research Group at the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences doing research in foundational ontology and ontology development related to the biomedical domain. 		 



ONTOLOGY, What is It?

  • Click HERE for various meanings of 'Ontology'.
  • Click HERE for slides of a talk I gave at a University at Buffalo Genetics and Genomics Meeting (November 27, 2007) concerning the various meanings of 'Ontology' titled, "Ontology: Not Just for Philosophers Anymore."
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    Education

      Ph.D. in Philosophy, Saint Louis University (St. Louis, MO), 2004
      M.A. in Philosophy, The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC), 1993: Basselin Scholar
      B.A. in Philosophy, The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC), 1992: Basselin Scholar
     

    Selected Publications

    BOOKS

  • Basic Formal Ontology and Its Applicability in Bioinformatics, with Barry Smith and Andrew Spear, in preparation.
  • Scenario Visualization: An Evolutionary Account of Creative Problem Solving, MIT Press, 2008.
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    BOOK CHAPTERS

  • “Philosophical Ontology," "Domain Ontology," and "Formal Ontology," in Key Terms in Logic, J. Williamson and F. Russo (eds.), Continuum Press, forthcoming.
  • “Ontology and Radiology," with Rethy Chhem, Cesare Romagnoli, and James Overton, in Scholarship in Radiology Education, R. Chhem, K. Hibbert, and T. Van Deven (eds.), Springer, forthcoming.
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    EDITED VOLUMES

  • Information and Living Systems: Essays in Philosophy of Biology, co-edited with George Terzis, MIT Press, in preparation.
  • Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Biology, co-edited with Francisco Ayala, Blackwell Publishers, in preparation.
  • Philosophy of Biology: An Anthology, co-edited with Alexander Rosenberg, Blackwell Publishers, in preparation.
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    PAPERS IN REFEREED JOURNALS


    Philosophy of Science and Biology

  • "Checks and Balances: The Welcomed Tension between Philosophy and Science," with Jamie Watson, The Quarterly Review of Biology (2008) 83: 1-12.
  • “Philosophical Ontology," "Domain Ontology," and "Formal Ontology," The Reasoner (2007) 1: 12.
  • "Life and the Homeostatic Organization View of Biological Phenomena," Cosmos and History, forthcoming.
  • "Homeostatic Organization, Emergence, and Reduction" Philosophia Naturalis, forthcoming.
  • "The Cider House Rules and the Issue of Abortion," in Bioethics and Film, Sandra Shapshay (ed.), Johns Hopkins (2008) 121-135.
  • "Evolution and Two Popular Proposals for the Definition of Function," Journal for General Philosophy of Science (2006) 37: 2-12.
  • "Frege, As-If Platonism, and Pragmatism," Journal of Critical Realism (2005) 4: 1-27.
  • "The Pragmatic Value of Frege’s Platonism for the Pragmatist," Journal of Speculative Philosophy (2005) 19: 22-41.
  • "Re-thinking Hobbes’s Materialistic and Mechanistic Projects," Hobbes Studies (2002) 15: 3-31.

    • Philosophy of Mind

  • "An Evolutionary Account of Creativity," Arts and Neurosciences Review, forthcoming.
  • "Biological Versus Computational Approaches to Creative Problem Solving," Dynamical Psychology, forthcoming.
  • "Awareness and Consciousness: Switched-On Rheostats," Journal of Consciousness Studies (2007) 14: 101-106.
  • "Resolving Conflicts in Evolutionary Psychology with Cognitive Fluidity," Southwest Philosophy Review (2007) 35: 91-101.
  • "The Environments of Our Hominin Ancestors, Tool Usage, and Scenario Visualization," Biology & Philosophy (2006) 1: 95-117.
  • "Scenario Visualization: One Explanation of Creative Problem Solving," Journal of Consciousness Studies (2005) 12: 31-60.
  • "Selectivity, Integration, and the Psycho-Neuro-Biological Continuum," Journal of Mind and Behavior (2005) 26: 35-64.
  • "Husserl and the Penetrability of the Transcendental and Mundane Spheres," Human Studies (2004) 27: 221-239.
  • "Husserl, the Transcendental, and the Mundane," The Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology (2004) 35: 168-179.


    • Selected Presentations

    Philosophical Ontology and Biomedical Ontology

  • “Ontology and Ontologies: Some Basics,” March 2008 at University at Buffalo Discovery Seminar Series: Buffalo, NY
  • “Ontology: Not Just for Philosophers Anymore,” (slides) November 2007 at University at Buffalo Genetics and Genomics Meeting: Buffalo, NY

    • Philosophy of Science, Biology, and Mind

  • “How Bioethical Standpoints Influence Biomedical Decisions,” May 2008 at University at Buffalo Clinical Ethics in Health Care Meeting: Buffalo, NY
  • “Checks and Balances: The Welcomed Tension between Philosophy and Science,” with James Watson, March 2007 at SUNY Stony Brook Conference
  • “Resolving Conflicts in Evolutionary Psychology with Cognitive Fluidity,” November 2006 at Southwestern Philosophical Association: Nashville, TN
  • “Homeostatic Organization, Emergence, and Reduction,” October 2006 at Florida State University’s History and Philosophy of Science Colloquium
  • “Animal Minds, Human Minds, and Creative Problem Solving,” November 2005 at Southwest Minnesota State University’s Faculty Projects Presentations
  • “Evolution, Consciousness, and Creative Problem Solving,” February 2005 at Connecticut College: New London, CT
  • “Evolution, Creation, and Creationism,” August 2004, Invited Speaker at Louisiana State University (Alexandria) Rationality Conference: Alexandria, LA
  • “Segregation and Integration: The Evolutionary Basis of Consciousness,” April 2004 at Toward a Science of Consciousness: Tucson, AZ


    • Employment

    2006-2007      Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University
    2005-2006      Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Southwest Minnesota State University
    1997-2005      Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Saint Louis University
    1997-2005      Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, University of Missouri, St. Louis
     

    Courses Taught (Selected)

  • Graduate: Philosophy of Biology
  • Graduate: Realism vs. Antirealism
  • Graduate: Induction and Probability
  • Graduate: Cognition and Artificial Intelligence
  • Graduate: Evolutionary Psychology
  • Philosophy of Science
  • Philosophy of Biology
  • Philosophy of Nature: Teleology
  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Philosophy of Religion
  • Metaphysics
  • Epistemology
  • Modern Philosophy
  • Introduction to Philosophy
  • Ethics
  • Biomedical Ethics
  • Environmental Ethics


    • Grants and Awards

    2007-2008      Assisting with the John R. Oishei Foundation Grant through the University at Buffalo: Werner Ceusters, Principle Investigator
    2005-2006      Faculty Research Grant, Southwest Minnesota State University
    2003-2004      Dissertation Fellowship, Saint Louis University
    2002-2003      Fontbonne University Faculty Fellowship, Fontbonne University and Saint Louis University
    1996-2000      Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Saint Louis University
    1990-1993      Basselin Scholarship, The Catholic University of America

    Professional Service

    Reviewing for:      Wiley/Blackwell, McGraw-Hill, Thomson, Prentice-Hall, History of Philosophy Quarterly, Journal of Consciousness Studies, Polis
     
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