William O. Stephens (born 10 June 1962), is an American

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and scholar of

Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting tha ...

. He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...

after retiring from teaching at their Omaha Campus in 2020.

Biography

Stephens was born in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

and grew up in

West Lafayette West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister c ...

where he attended West Lafayette Senior High School and began his study of ancient civilizations and Latin."Biography"
William O. Stephens. He studied Philosophy at the

College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Church ...

for two years before transferring to

Earlham College Earlham College is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. The college was established in 1847 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and has a strong focus on Quaker values such as integrity, a commitment to peace and social ...

, where he earned his undergraduate degree. Stephens completed his graduate work at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

, studying under

Charles H. Kahn Charles H. Kahn (born May 29, 1928) is a classicist and professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. His work is focused on early Greek philosophy, up to the times of Plato. His 1960 monograph on Anaximander was still as o ...

Alexander Nehamas Alexander Nehamas ( el, Αλέξανδρος Νεχαμάς; born 22 March 1946) is a Greek-born American philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy and comparative literature and the Edmund N. Carpenter II Class of 1943 Professor in the Huma ...

, and

Martin Ostwald Martin Ostwald (January 15, 1922 – April 10, 2010) was a German-American classical scholar, who taught until 1992 at Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania. His main field of study was the political structures of Ancient Greece. ...

. He received his doctorate in Philosophy in 1990. In August 1990, he joined the faculty at Creighton University where he received the

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University i ...

Teaching for Tomorrow award in 2005. During his tenure at Creighton, Stephens published four books and numerous articles on topics including Stoic ethics,

Epicureanism Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by ...

, philosophical

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianis ...

, personhood, and sex and love. He has also written on being a Stoic and a

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

fan, and on the similarities the Jedi philosophy in

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

shares with

. He presented on phobias, terrorism, and Stoic fearlessness at Stoicon in Toronto, Canada, October 14, 2017, and on a Stoic approach to travel and tourism at Stoicon in London, England, September 29, 2018. He is frequently interviewed about topics in Stoicism.

Vegetarianism

Stephens authored an influential paper examining five arguments for vegetarianism. These were the arguments from distributive justice, environmental harm, sexual politics, moral consideration for animals, and the prudential argument from health. He concluded that compassion, humility, and integrity make working toward a meatless diet virtuous.Stephens, William O. ''Five Arguments for Vegetarianism''. In Susan Jean Armstrong, Richard George Botzler. (2003). ''The Animal Ethics Reader''. Routledge. pp. 201-208.

Selected publications

Books *
Marcus Aurelius: A Guide for the Perplexed
'. London: Continuum, 2012. . *
Stoic Ethics: Epictetus and Happiness as Freedom
'. London: Continuum, 2007. . *
The Person: Readings in Human Nature
'. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2006. . *
The Ethics of the Stoic Epictetus, An English Translation, Revised Edition
', William O. Stephens, New York: Peter Lang, 2021. . Papers
''Five Arguments for Vegetarianism''
(''Philosophy in the Contemporary World'', 1994)
''Fake Meat''
(''Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics'', 2018)
''Public Health, Ethical Vegetarianism, and the Harms of the Animal Food Industry''
(''Archives in Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology'', 2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, William O. 1962 births Living people American animal rights scholars American philosophers American vegetarianism activists College of Wooster alumni Creighton University faculty Earlham College alumni People from Lafayette, Indiana University of Pennsylvania alumni

Biography

Vegetarianism

Selected publications

See also

References