Nancy E. Snow is a professor of philosophy specializing in

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

. Her recent courses include Introduction to Ethics and Topics in the History of Philosophy. Prior to her move to

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

, she was a professor of philosophy and director of the Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. Prior to her move to

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

, she was a professor of philosophy at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

Education and career

Snow received a bachelor's degree from the

in 1980, and a master's in philosophy, also from Marquette, in 1982. She went on to receive a doctorate from 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 ...

in 1988. Snow accepted an appointment as an assistant professor of philosophy at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

in 1987, before accepting an appointment as an assistant professor of philosophy at Marquette in 1989, where she has remained since. She was promoted to associate professor in 1996, and later promoted to full professor. While at Marquette, she served as the Director of Core Curriculum from 2002-2005. While at Marquette, she has driven efforts to improve the quality and diversity of courses the campus offers, especially in the realms of gender and sexuality, believing teaching to be a critically important role of the academic. She is the current associate editor for ethics and philosophy for '' The Journal of Moral Education'', and is currently on the editorial boards of both ''

Ethical Theory and Moral Practice ''Ethical Theory and Moral Practice'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of philosophy, established in 1998 and published five times a year by Springer Science+Business Media. It publishes articles in English, focusing on ethics ...

'' and ''

The Journal of Value Inquiry The ''Journal of Value Inquiry'' is a peer-reviewed philosophical journal focused on value studies. It was founded in 1967 by James Wilbur. The journal publishes essays, letters, book reviews, interviews, dialogues, reports, and news. According t ...

''.

Research areas

Her research has ranged widely, but has mostly focused on

moral psychology Moral psychology is the study of human thought and behavior in ethical contexts. Historically, the term "moral psychology" was used relatively narrowly to refer to the study of moral development. This field of study is interdisciplinary between th ...

and on

virtue ethics Virtue ethics (also aretaic ethics, from Greek []) is a philosophical approach that treats virtue and moral character, character as the primary subjects of ethics, in contrast to other ethical systems that put consequences of voluntary acts, pri ...

. She has served as an editor of or on the editorial boards of a number of major journals, and has written or been primary editor of four books (as well as a large number of peer-reviewed papers.) While Snow's research has dealt with issues in the

philosophy of law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

philosophy,

feminist ethics Feminist ethics is an approach to ethics that builds on the belief that traditionally ethical theorizing has undervalued and/or underappreciated women's moral experience, which is largely male-dominated, and it therefore chooses to reimagine ethi ...

business ethics Business ethics (also known as corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business c ...

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

, freedom, and

determinism Determinism is the Metaphysics, metaphysical view that all events within the universe (or multiverse) can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes ov ...

, she has focused particularly on

virtue A virtue () is a trait of excellence, including traits that may be morality, moral, social, or intellectual. The cultivation and refinement of virtue is held to be the "good of humanity" and thus is Value (ethics), valued as an Telos, end purpos ...

ethics and specific virtues. She has also attempted to, wherever possible, bring psychology in to conversation with philosophy so as to buttress philosophical arguments. She also has a heavy interest in bringing other outside fields in to conversation with western philosophy, including anthropology, literature, theology, and other philosophical traditions such as the eastern philosophical traditions inspired by figures such as

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

Publications

Snow has written or been the primary editor of four books. She authored ''Virtue as Social Intelligence: An Empirically Grounded Theory'', and edited ''Stem Cell Research: New Frontiers in Science and Ethics'', ''Legal Philosophy: Multiple Perspectives'', and ''In the Company of Others: Perspectives on Community, Family, and Culture''.

''Virtue as Social Intelligence: An Empirically Grounded Theory''

In ''Virtue as Social Intelligence: An Empirically Grounded Theory'', Snow points out that contemporary approaches to

do not engage in a meaningful way with psychology, and thus remain vulnerable to the philosophical situationist challenge. In her book, Snow attempts to lay out an empirically grounded theory of virtue, hoping to avoid the challenges posed by philosophical situationists. Throughout the book, Snow examines in an empirically grounded way issues surrounding virtue, including advancing an empirical argument as to why virtue is in fact a good thing, and actively trying to counter the arguments of philosophical situationists. Snow considers virtue as a particular form of social intelligence, one that distinguishes itself from other forms of social intelligence by its motivation (care for the well-being of others.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snow, Nancy Living people American women philosophers Marquette University faculty Marquette University alumni University of Notre Dame alumni Writers from Wisconsin Virtue ethicists Moral psychologists Philosophers from Wisconsin 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers Scholars of diplomacy Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American women 21st-century American women