Associate Professor
Ph.D. University of Illinois-Chicago
richard.montgomery@mail.wvu.edu

Specializations:

Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Science, Philosophy of Science

Professional Bio: Dr. Richard Montgomery completed a B.A. with majors in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Arizona in 1973.  He completed an M.A. in Philosophy in 1982 and Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1984, both from University of Illinois at Chicago (formerly University of Illinois at Chicago Circle), where he also completed graduate courses in cognitive psychology.   Dr. Montgomery specializes in the philosophy of science, focusing on the philosophy of the cognitive sciences.  He has published articles in Synthese, Nous, Philosophy of Science, Philosophia, Proceedings of the Philosophy of Science Association, Journal of Southern Philosophy and Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior.  His major publications include "Explanation and Evaluation in Cognitive Science" published in Philosophy of Science [62, 2 (June 1995), 261-282] and "Grades of Explanation in Cognitive Science" published in Synthese [114, 3 (March 1998), 463-495]. During Fall 1997 he was a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh.  He currently serves on the editorial board of consultants for American Philosophical Quarterly.      

Dr. Montgomery has been at West Virginia University since 1989.  At WVU he has taught PHIL 306, Philosophy of Mind, PHIL 310, Philosophy of Science, PHIL 248, History of Modern Philosophy, PHIL 130, Current Moral Problems and PHIL 170, Introduction to Critical Reasoning.  Since 1995 he has also served as Chair of the Department of Philosophy, Director of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program, and Director of the Humanities Program.  Beginning in 1997 he assumed administrative responsibility for the Religious Studies Program as well.