Dr. Joseph LaPorte
Professor of Philosophy616.395.7621jlaporte@hope.edu

Joseph joined the Hope faculty in 1998, coming from Amherst, Massachusetts, where he finished his graduate work. He teaches philosophy of science, metaphysics and epistemology for the philosophy curriculum. Joe also enjoys teaching interdisciplinary courses for core credit at the college.
AREAS OF Expertise
Joe writes in the philosophical areas he teaches, especially the philosophy of biology and the philosophy of language.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., philosophy, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1998
- M.A., philosophy, University College London, 1993
- B.A., philosophy, summa cum laude, Franciscan University of Stubenville, 1991
sELECTED PUBLIcations
Books
- , Oxford University Press, 2013
- Rigid Designation and Theoretical Identities has been , June 19, 2013
- Print reviews have appeared elsewhere. The are available online
- Natural Kinds and Conceptual Change, Cambridge University Press, 2004
- The are available online
- Natural Kinds and Conceptual Change has been reviewed in over a dozen professional journals, including , June 1, 2004
Articles
- “Modern Essentialism for Species and its Animadversions,” The Routledge Handbook of Evolution and Philosophy, edited by Richard Joyce, Routledge, 2017
- “,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006; revised substantially in 2016
- “Theoretical Identity Statements, their Truth, and their Discovery,” in The Semantics and Metaphysics of Natural Kinds, edited by H. Beebee and N. Sabbarton-Leary, Routledge, 2010
- The collection is reviewed at
- “Is There a Single Objective, Evolutionary Tree of Life?,” The Journal of Philosophy, 102, 2005