Politics, International Relations & Philosophy

After studying jazz at Berklee College of Music in Boston, U.S.A., I began studying philosophy at University College London in 1993, where I graduated with a BA (hons.) in 1996, an M.Phil. (on intentionality) in 1998, and a Ph.D. (on consciousness) in 2001. In 2001-2 I was a Teaching Fellow at UCL and a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Birmingham, and then I joined the Philosophy Programme at Keele in 2002. I was Programme Director from 2007-9, and in 2011 I was elected to the University Senate and awarded a Keele Teaching Excellence Award.

My main research interests are in reconciling the world-view of physicalism with the existence of consciousness, the history of this problem, and in understanding what, if anything, unifies philosophical inquiry. Much of my work to date has been about Richard Rorty, since he had similar interests in the philosophy of mind and metaphilosophy: I have published a book, Rorty and the Mirror of Nature (Routledge 2007) and a four-volume edited collection, Richard Rorty: Critical Assessments of Leading Philosophers (Routledge 2009). I am currently writing a book about metaphilosophy.

For more information, including downloads, go to the 'Philosophy' part of my personal website:

http://www.jamestartaglia.com/

My research specialisms are: 

• Philosophy of Mind
• Metaphilosophy
• Metaphysics
• The philosophy of Richard Rorty

Here is a paper that can be read online:

Philosophy Between Science and Religion

For downloads of my publications, go to the 'Philosophy' part of my personal website:

http://www.jamestartaglia.com/

CURRENT RESEARCH STUDENTS

PhD

• George Carpenter (Philosophy of Consciousness)
• Allan Gonzalez (Philosophy of Consciousness)

M.Phil.

• Matthew Sharp (Nietzsche and Heidegger on Nihilism)
• Oliver Wright (Carnap and Pragmatism)

UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING

The modules I am teaching in 2013-14 are: 

• 10 Problems of Philosophy (year 1, sem 2)
• Philosophy of Mind (year 2, sem 2)
• Metaphysics (year 3, sem 2)
• Rorty and the Mirror of Nature (year 3, sem 2)

 Books

• Richard Rorty: Critical Assessments of Leading Philosophers (London: Routledge 2009)

'The first of the four volumes (‘Mind, Language, and Truth’) covers Rorty’s eliminative materialism in the philosophy of mind, his Davidsonian rejection of conceptual schemes in the philosophy of language, and his rejection of objective truth. Volume II (‘Metaphilosophy and Pragmatism’), meanwhile, assembles the best assessments of his pessimistic metaphilosophy, and his distinctive conception of pragmatism. The third volume (‘Philosophers’) brings together the key scholarly work on Rorty’s highly original—but endlessly disputed—interpretations of other philosophers, while the final volume in the collection (Volume IV: ‘Themes’) explores Rorty’s views as applied to a diverse range of topics, from feminism to environmentalism and bioethics.' (Routledge press release)

• Rorty and the Mirror of Nature (London: Routledge 2007)

‘The book is clearly written and fair-minded throughout … it seems clear about its audience and will be useful for a sophisticated study of Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature and also of interest to those who already have a good deal of background and familiarity with Rorty.’

– David Hiley, University of New Hamphire, USA

‘This is well written, clear, accessible, sharp and pitched at the right level. It strikes the right balance between the detailed exploration of particular arguments, and setting Rorty’s book in a wider intellectual context.’

– Matthew Festenstein, University of York, UK

'There are many admirable qualities to Tartaglia’s work. He has read Rorty extensively. He has a first-rate understanding of philosophy. And his writing is remarkably clear and lucid.'

- Richard Rumana, William Paterson University, USA

Albums

I have recorded a number of jazz albums; my latest is Dark Metaphysic, which features trombone star Annie Whitehead and two wild vocalists singing some very philosophical lyrics. It is available from both iTunes and Amazon, where you can download a track for less than a pound.

'[A] fun mix of girl group new wave, free jazz and retro funk.'

- Jazzwise Magazine

'The philosophical references accumulate pretty fast and furious—there's a piece dedicated to conceptual artist Bruce Nauman (…) as well as a song about Hermes Trismegistus (…) the musicians prove they have something significant to say.'

- Allaboutjazz.com

 'Dark Metaphysic is a highly distinctive record; funk music doesn’t normally deal in such esoteric subject matter. There is some great playing on these idiosyncratic tunes with some fine horn solos and a pulsating groove from an exemplary rhythm team.'

- Thejazzman.com

'Although this album's accompanying press release describes Dark Metaphysic as a 'unique synthesis of jazz-funk, the avant-garde and conceptual art' (...) it can be readily approached and enjoyed under the first heading, jazz-funk, alone.'

- Vortexjazz.co.uk