Elizabeth Tyler, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

I specialize in East Asian philosophy and 20th century Continental philosophy with a special interest in feminist philosophy and philosophical psychology. My research focuses on relational models of the self. My recent research projects include: 1) how relational theories of the self and an investigation of historical discourses of femininity can shed light on the phenomenon of intimate partner violence, 2) how the first person experience of PTSD can be illuminated by employing concepts from Buddhist philosophy, and 3) how women's internalized perceptions of bodily weakness – at least when it comes to comparisons with men – affect women’s overall feelings of autonomy and competence.

Education

2014: Ph.D. in Philosophy, University of Oregon
2006: B.A. in Philosophy, Seattle University

Research Interests

Asian Philosophy, especially Kamakura era and 20th century Japanese Buddhist Philosophy
20th century Continental Philosophy
Philosophical Psychology
Feminist Philosophy
Existentialism

Recent Courses

PHI 2229: Asian Philosophy
PHI 3230: Buddhist Philosophy: Masters of Mindfulness in China and Japan
PHI 2206: Philosophy of Love and Sex
FYS 1231: The Examined Life
PHI 2232: The Power of Pretty
SIS 2034: The Quest for Authenticity (a survey of Existentialism)
PHI 4492: Thesis in Philosophy

Selected Publications

The Logic of Ambiguity: A Buddhist Perspective on the Experience of Time in PTSD.
Janus Head: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature, Continental Philosophy, Phenomenological Psychology, and the Arts. Ed. John Pauley (February 2020).
Nishida's Bow: Evaluating Nishida's Wartime Actions. Comparative and Continental Philosophy, 11.1 (March 2019).
The Vulnerability of the Relational Self: The Implications of Ideals of Gender and Romance for Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence. Women's Studies: An Inter-Disciplinary Journal. Ed. Wendy Martin, 47.1 (January/February 2018).
The Other Within: The Relational Self in Nishida's Corpus. Frontiers in Japanese Philosophy. Volume 8. Nagoya, Japan: Nanzan Institute for Religion & Culture, 2016.
Reading Nishida through Shinran: Absolute Nothingness, Other Power, and Religious Consciousness. Journal of Buddhist Philosophy. Ed. Gereon Kopf, 2, (2016).
Being-in-the-World and Schizophrenia: Three Phenomenological Approaches to Self-Experience in Schizophrenia. Psychology and the Other: A Dialogue at the Crossroad of an Emerging Field. Ed. David Goodman and Mark Freeman. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Nishida and the Historical World: An Examination of Active Intuition, the Body, and Time. Comparative and Continental Philosophy, 6.2 (Fall 2014).
Compassion (karuna). Co-authored with Mark Unno. Oxford Bibliographies in Buddhism. Ed. Richard Payne. New York: Oxford University Press.

Clubs and community involvement

Women's Studies Minor Advisor
Faculty Advisor for the Phenomenal Women Club
Faculty Advisor for the Philosophy Club

"My courses approach philosophy as a practice. I design my courses in such a way to open up a space in which students can develop the ability to think critically about their own lived experience in light of the readings."

Elizabeth Tyler, Ph.D. Associate Professor