Michael M. Kazanjian teaches college philosophy at Triton College. He is revising toward the third edition of his third book, Unified Philosophy: Interdisciplinary Metaphysics, Cyberethics, and Liberal Arts. He has made presentations at philosophy, sociology, and political science conferences.
What excites you about philosophy?
It is the foundation of general education. Metaphysics and ethics underlie city or urban planning through human factors engineering and cybernetics. Interdisciplinary metaphysics as structure and limits is an isomorph or homology raising to a higher level of abstraction the traditional spectrum of positivism to existentialism.
What is your favorite thing that you’ve written?
My favorite piece is my third book, Unified Philosophy: Interdisciplinary Metaphysics, Cyberethics, and Liberal Arts.
What are you most proud of in your professional life?
I am most proud of writing, teaching, and learning.
What are you working on right now?
I am revising my book toward a third edition including the following:
- redefining metaphysics as structure and limit, which underlies positivism through subjectivity,
- integrating the six special ethical theories,
- showing philosophy as basic to liberal arts.
Student and faculty orientations ought have philosophy as a precapstone, and as senior general education capstones. They should try to express metaphysical position through set theory language. Dissecting Husserl’s prereflective lifeworld into geographic and method, each of which is lifeworld (prereflective), reflections, and reflection or atomism-alone, I propose co-analysis as bridging the continental-analytic divide. I did a piece for the Teaching Beat of the APA Blog on this topic.
What topic do you think is under explored in philosophy?
Philosophy’s relation to human factors engineering, cybernetics, set and fuzzy set theories, metaphysics’ interdisciplinary nature, and liberal arts, which orient my text book Unified Philosophy: Interdisciplinary Metaphysics, Cyberethics, and Liberal Arts is under explored. Husserl’s notion of lifeworld ought be dissected into geographic and methodologic taxonomies. Philosophy, especially metaphysics, ought be more abstract or general as structure and limits instead of just positivism through subjectivity. Metaphysics ought more explicitly relate to merelogy and henology.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
My third book, Unified Philosophy: Interdisciplinary Metaphysics, Cyberethics, and Liberal Arts is my greatest accomplishment.
Name a trait, skill or characteristic that you have that others may not know about.
Researching as much as possible all fields outside philosophy, and how philosophy relates to them is a skill. Mary Midgley and A.N. Whitehead make important contributions in that effort.
What’s your most treasured memory?
My childhood in Julia C. Lathrop Chicago Pubic Housing, commuting occasionally to Chicago’s Erie House, studying in Schneider Elementary School, and graduating unexpectedly in almost three years as class valedictorian from Lane Tech High School, Chicago, is one of my most treasured memories.
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
My days and nights blur. I am not a 9 to 5 worker. Life is not a 9-5 reality.
This section of the APA Blog is designed to get to know our fellow philosophers a little better. We’re including profiles of APA members that spotlight what captures their interest not only inside the office, but also outside of it. We’d love for you to be a part of it, so please contact us via the interview nomination form here to nominate yourself or a friend.
Dr. Sabrina D. MisirHiralall is an editor at the Blog of the APA who currently teaches philosophy, religion, and education courses solely online for Montclair State University, Three Rivers Community College, and St. John’s University.
