Dean W. Zimmerman is an American professor of philosophy at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

specializing in

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

and

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known Text (literary theo ...

Education and career

Zimmerman received his bachelor's degree from Mankato State University in 1987 in French, philosophy, and English. He went on to receive a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1990 and then a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree from the same institution in 1992, where he worked with

Jaegwon Kim Jaegwon Kim (September 12, 1934 – November 27, 2019) was a Korean-American philosopher. At the time of his death, Kim was an emeritus professor of philosophy at Brown University. He also taught at several other leading American universities ...

and

Roderick Chisholm Roderick Milton Chisholm ( ; November 27, 1916 – January 19, 1999) was an American philosopher known for his work on epistemology, metaphysics, free will, value theory, deontology, deontic logic and the philosophy of perception. Richard and ...

. He taught at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

prior to joining Rutgers University, where he is also now Director of the Rutgers Center for the Philosophy of Religion. Zimmerman was hired to Rutgers at the same time as John Hawthorne and Ted Sider. Zimmerman is a Christian and a member of the

Society of Christian Philosophers The Society of Christian Philosophers (SCP) was founded in 1978. The society is open to anyone interested in philosophy who considers himself or herself a Christian. Membership is not restricted to any particular "school" of philosophy or to any b ...

. He also serves on the board of advisors of the Marc Sanders Foundation, which awards prizes for outstanding work in philosophy.

Philosophical work

Zimmerman is an influential figure in contemporary metaphysics, and has worked on issues in the philosophy of time, on personhood and material constitution, the metaphysics of mind. In philosophy of religion, Zimmerman has worked on divine foreknowledge and human free will, and God and time. He has defended emergent

substance dualism Substance may refer to: * Matter, anything that has mass and takes up space Chemistry * Chemical substance, a material with a definite chemical composition * Drug, a chemical agent affecting an organism Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ' ...

. He is also a keyboardist for the band Jigs and the Pigs.

Selected publications

Articles
''Dualism in the Philosophy of Mind''
In John Corcoran. ''Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd Edition'' (Macmillan, 2006)
''From Experience to Experiencer''
In Mark Baker and

Stewart Goetz Stewart Goetz is an American philosopher and writer. Goetz obtained a PhD in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. He a professor in Philosophy and Religion at Ursinus College. He has defended substance dualism. Goetz is a member of the B ...

. ''The Soul Hypothesis'' (Continuum Press, 2011) Books * ''Metaphysics: The Big Questions'' co-edited with

Peter van Inwagen Peter van Inwagen ( ; born September 21, 1942) is an American philosopher. He is the John Cardinal O'Hara Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and a research professor of philosophy at Duke University each spring. He previousl ...

(Blackwell, 1st ed. 1998, 2nd ed. 2008) * ''The Oxford Handbook of Metaphysics'' co-edited with Michael Loux (OUP, 2003) * ''Persons: Human and Divine'' co-edited with

(OUP, 2007) * ''Contemporary Debates in Metaphysics'' co-edited with

Ted Sider Theodore "Ted" Sider is an American philosopher specializing in metaphysics and philosophy of language. He is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University. Family Sider is the son of theologian Ronald Sider. He is the partner of ...

and

John Hawthorne John Patrick Hawthorne (born 25 May 1964) is an English philosopher, currently serving as Professor of Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne, and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. He is r ...

(Blackwell, 2008) * '' Oxford Studies in Metaphysics'' co-edited with Karen Bennett (OUP, 2008–2014) * ''God in an Open Universe'' co-edited with

William Hasker R. William Hasker (; born 1935) is an American philosopher and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Huntington University. For many years, he was editor of the prestigious journal '' Faith and Philosophy''. He has published many jour ...

and

Thomas Jay Oord Thomas Jay Oord (born 1965) is a theologian, philosopher, and multidisciplinary scholar who directs doctoral programs in Open and Relational Theology at Northwind Theological Seminary and directs the Center for Open and Relational Theology. He form ...

(Pickwick, 2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, Dean 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers American Christian writers American philosophers of mind Analytic philosophers Analytic theologians Brown University Graduate School alumni Christian philosophers Dualists American philosophers of religion American metaphysicians Rutgers University faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni

Education and career

Philosophical work

Selected publications

See also

References