Dr. Gregg D. Caruso is Associate Professor of Philosophy at CCC and Editor-in-Chief
of Science, Religion and Culture (a peer-reviewed scholarly Journal). He received his B.A. in Philosophy from William
Paterson University and his M.Phil and Ph.D. in Philosophy from the City University
of New York, Graduate Center. He is the author of Free Will and Consciousness: A Determinist Account of the Illusion of Free Will (2012) and the editor of Exploring the Illusion of Free Will and Moral Responsibility (2013), Science and Religion: 5 Questions (2014), and Neuroexistentialism: Meaning, Morals, and Purpose in the Age of Neuroscience (forthcoming). In 2012 he was awarded the Regional Board of Trustees Excellence in
Teaching Award.
Dr. Caruso's research interests include philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and
metaphysics, with a particular interest in consciousness and free will. His most recent
work focuses on the problem of free will and the phenomenology of freedom. In particular,
he argues that our subjective feeling of freedom, as reflected in the first-person
phenomenology of agentive experience, is an illusion created by certain aspects of
our consciousness. His broader work engages issues at the intersection of the behavioral,
cognitive, and neurosciences. He is especially interested in theoretical accounts
of consciousness and what recent developments in the behavioral, cognitive, and neurosciences
can tell us about human agency and free will. He is also interested in exploring the
implications of free will skepticism for ourselves, society, morality, meaning, and
the law. In particular, he is an optimistic skeptic maintaining that, not only can
we preserve meaning, morals, and purpose without belief in free will and desert-based
moral responsibility, but that we would be better off without such beliefs. Dr. Caruso's
other interests include science and religion, ethics, social and political philosophy,
and issues related to moral responsibility.
Additional activities: President of Southwestern Philosophical Society (SWPS), contributor to the blog Flickers of Freedom, Assessing Editor for The Journal of Mind and Behavior, Editorial Advisory Board for Southwest Philosophy Review, member of the Justice Without Retribution Network, and TEDx speaker.
FAVORITE COURSE TO TEACH
Introduction to Philosophy
PERSONAL GLIMPSE
As a dedicated teacher and trained philosopher, Dr. Gregg D. Caruso believes teaching
philosophy is simple; He strives each and every day to engage, challenge, and inspire
active learning and personal growth in his students. Dr. Caruso's personal motto,
which he repeatedly tell his students, is that “It is not my job to tell you WHAT
to think, rather it is to get you TO think.” The primary goal of philosophy, a goal
that he is passionately committed to, is to provide students with the skills necessary
to analyze and think critically about life’s most important issues. Dr. Caruso strongly
believes that education is the solution to many social problems, and that the critical
thinking skills involved in philosophy are general skills that will benefit students
in every facet of daily life. This is why he wakes up each morning with one goal in
mind; to facilitate learning, and to provide students with the tools necessary to
make informed decisions, synthesize ideas, critically evaluate issues, and live meaningful
and productive lives.
Honors
CCC Regional Board of Trustees Excellence in Teaching Award
Awarded by the Faculty Assembly of Corning Community College for "Outstanding Service
by a New Faculty Member"
Writing Fellowship, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Graduate Teaching Fellowship, Brooklyn College
- Neuroexistentialism: Meaning, Morals, and Purpose in the Age of Neuroscience. Caruso, Gregg D. and Owen Flanagan (eds.) New York: Oxford University Press (2016). 2016
- Science and Religion: 5 Questions. Caruso, Gregg D. (ed.) (2014). New York: Automatic Press/VIP. 2014
- Exploring the Illusion of Free Will and Moral Responsibility. Caruso, Gregg D. (ed.) (2013). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 2013
- Free Will and Consciousness: A Determinist Account of the Illusion of Free Will. Caruso, Gregg D. (2012). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 2012
- Free Will Skepticism and Meaning in Life (co-authored with Derk Pereboom)- Neuroexistentialism: Meaning, Morals, and Purpose
in the Age of Neuroscience, eds. Gregg D. Caruso and Owen Flanagan. New York: Oxford
University Press (2016) 2016
- Neuroexistentialism: An Overview (co-authored with Owen Flanagan)--Neuroexistentialism: Meaning, Morals, and Purpose
in the Age of Neuroscience, eds. Gregg D. Caruso and Owen Flanagan. New York: Oxford
University Press (2016) 2016
- Free Will Skepticism and Its Implications: An Argument for Optimism Justice Without Retribution, (ed.) Elizabeth Shaw. 2015
- Introduction: Exploring the Illusion of Free Will and Moral Responsibility Exploring the Illusion of Free Will and Moral Responsibility, ed. Gregg Caruso, Lanham,
MD: Lexington Books (2013). 2013
- Compatibilism and the Folk Psychology of Free Will An Anthology of Philosophical Studies, Vol. V, ed. Patricia Hanna, Athens, Greece:
ATINER (2011): 215-226. 2011
- Sensory States, Consciousness, and the Cartesian Assumption Descartes and Cartesianism, eds. Nathan Smith and Jason Taylor, Cambridge Scholars
Press (2005): 177-199. 2005
- Free Will Eliminativism: Reference, Error, and Phenomenology Philosophical Studies (2015). 2015
- If consciousness is necessary for moral responsibility, then people are less responsible
than we think Journal of Consciousness Studies (2015) 2015
- Precis of Neil Levy's Consciousness and Moral Responsibility Journal of Consciousness Studies (2015) 2015
- Kane is Not Able: A Reply to Vicens' Self-Forming Actions and Conflicts of Intention Southwest Philosophy Review (2015): 31 (2). 2015
- Precis of Derk Pereboom's Free Will, Agency, and Meaning in Life Science, Religion and Culture (2014): 1 (3): 178-201. 2015
- (Un)just Deserts: The Dark Side of Moral Responsibility Southwest Philosophy Review (2014): 30 (1): 27-38. 2015
- The Folk Psychology of Free Will: An Argument against Compatibilism Kriterion: Journal of Philosophy 26 (2012): 56-89. 2012
- Consciousness and Free Will: A Critique of the Argument from Introspection Southwest Philosophy Review 24, 1 (January 2008): 219-231. 2008
- Realism, Naturalism, and Pragmatism: A Closer Look at the Views of Quine and Devitt Kriterion: Journal of Philosophy 21 (2007): 64-83. 2007
- A Defense of the Adverbial Theory Philosophical Writings 10, Spring (1999): 51-65. 1999
- Necessity, Truth and Existence in Descartes’ Second Meditation The Carlton University Student Journal of Philosophy 17, 1 (1997). 1997
- “A Review of David Cockburn’s An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind” Metapsychology 6, 26 (2002). 2002
- A Review of Nicholas Humphrey’s How to Solve the Mind-Body Problem Philosophical Writings 18, Autumn (2001): 51-53. Reprinted in Metapsychology 5, 46
(2001). 2001
