Randall E. Auxier (born August 7, 1961) is a professor of philosophy and communication studies at
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 ...
, a musician, environmental activist, union advocate, and candidate (2018) for the United States House of Representatives, nominated by the Green Party in the 12th Congressional District of Illinois. He is a radio host for WDBX Carbondale since 2001, a widely read author of popular philosophy, and also a co-founder and co-director of th
AIPCT(The American Institute for Philosophical and Cultural Thought).
Born in
Leitchfield, Kentucky
Leitchfield is the county seat of Grayson County, Kentucky, United States. Leitchfield is a home rule-class city with a population of 6,404 as of the 2020 census.
History
The town was named for Major David Leitch, an aide to Gen. George Washin ...
, Auxier is the younger of two children, the son of a veterinarian, Charles David Auxier (1931-) and a professional church musician, Eileen Gunter Auxier (1933-2016). Educated in the public schools of Memphis, Tennessee, he grew up during and was deeply affected by, the civil rights movement. He was one of the many students who were bused to integrated schools by court orders that resulted from
Brown v. Board of Education
''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...
. Auxier was in first grade when
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
was assassinated, and the event had a continual impact on him and the region he lived in.
In philosophy, Auxier specializes in classical American thought, process metaphysics and theology, intensive logics, aesthetics, philosophical anthropology, and the philosophy of culture, of science, of religion, and of education. He teaches and writes on
Giambattista Vico
Giambattista Vico (born Giovan Battista Vico ; ; 23 June 1668 – 23 January 1744) was an Italian philosopher, rhetorician, historian, and jurist during the Italian Enlightenment. He criticized the expansion and development of modern rationa ...
,
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a G