ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR of Philosophy Marc A. Hight is on leave this year with the support of a Fulbright Foundation grant at the University of Tartu in Estonia, doing research in conjunction with Professor Roomet Jakapi and teaching courses in early modern philosophy, along with a course on philosophy through science-fi ction. In addition to participating in the life of the university and learning about its educational techniques, he is scheduled to deliver papers and participate in several conferences in Europe, including Finland, Hungary, Italy, and Ireland.

During the past years, Hight has continued to work on his research at Hampden-Sydney. A scholarly monograph entitled Idea and Ontology: An Essay in Early Modern Metaphysics of Ideas has been accepted for publication by Penn State University Press and is slated to appear in 2008. The book concerns the development of theories concerning the formal nature of ideas—just what is an idea when you have one?—in the period from roughly 1600 to 1800 C.E.

In addition to the book, Hight has had several articles appear in scholarly journals, including “Berkeley and Bodily Resurrection” in the Journal of the History of Philosophy 45 (3) (July 2007: 443-58); “Why My Chair is not merely a Congeries: Berkeley and the Single Idea Thesis” in Reexamining Berkeley’s Philosophy, edited by Steve Daniel (University of Toronto Press, 2007: 82-107); “Abstraction” in the Encyclopedia of British Philosophy, edited by Anthony Grayling, Andrew Pyle, and Naomi Goulder [vol. 1 (Thoemmes Continuum, 2006)]; “Berkeley’s Half-Way House” in Philosophy Compass 1 [(2005) HI 005: 1-8]; and “Defending Berkeley’s Divine Ideas” in Philosophia 33 (1-4) (2005: 97-128).

Hight has also written a few popular pieces, including “Jails and Their Communities: Piedmont Regional Jail as a Community Model,” with Lewis Barlow and Sheila Hight, for American Jails 20 (5) (November 2006: 38- 45), which advances a model for community participation for local jails. Some of the outreach work Hampden-Sydney College has done in conjunction with Piedmont Regional Jail is highlighted in the article. He has also published “Do We Value Social Tolerance?” in Mensa Bulletin 499 (October 2006: 28-9).

At Hampden-Sydney, Hight and Associate Professor of Philosophy James D. Janowski, coordinate the College’s Ethics Bowl Team. Each year four students travel to a tournament hosted by the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges to debate pressing ethical issues with students from other private institutions in the state. Topics range from medical ethics to ethics and sport. The team has consistently done well, including a runner-up finish in the tournament a few years ago.

Hight continued to run SFS (student-facultystaff ) basketball, which is popular with many students who like to best philosophers and other faculty and staff on the court. The strategy-game club remained vibrant, meeting once a week in Hight’s home to play a strategy game called World in Flames, which typically takes an entire semester to play. The game is a strategic-level simulation of the entire Second World War. In addition to a healthy dose of fun, students develop historical, geographical, and criticalthinking skills while playing.

Hight was promoted to the rank of associate professor in 2006. He arrived at the College in 2001 with a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees awarded by Florida State University, and a Ph.D. from Syracuse University.

BEYOND THE Classroom FOR THE Classroom
Hampden-Sydney College Faculty Scholarship 2005-2008
A report by the Office of the Dean of the Faculty