Gary Chartier is Distinguished Professor of Law and Business Ethics and Associate Dean of the Zapara School of Business at La Sierra University. His work explores issues in philosophical theology, ethics, and legal and political philosophy. He received a BA from La Sierra University in 1987 and a PhD from the University of Cambridge in 1991; the University of Cambridge presented him with earned higher doctorate, an LLD, in 2015.
What is your favorite thing that you’ve written?
Discerning God Incarnate, a forthcoming philosophy of religion monograph that parallels what I’d originally intended to write as a Ph.D. dissertation close to four decades ago. It’s been great to revisit the topic and to produce something no doubt clearer, crisper, and more thoughtful than what I’d have generated in the days of yore.
What is your favorite sound in the world?
A melody played adroitly on a well-tuned harpsichord. My wife’s voice?
What do you like to do outside work?
Connect with friends. Enjoy long-arc television, biography, genre and philosophical fiction, spicy food, folk-rock, and interminable conversation; explore politics, human psychic and social dynamics, and the esoteric, the quirky, and the arcane.
What is your favorite book of all time? (Or top 3). Why? To whom would you recommend them?
Hugh Prather and Gayle Prather, I Will Never Leave You. Raw, vulnerable, unadorned reflection on the dynamics of adult love and what’s needed to sustain it. I’d share it with anyone who wants to nourish a marriage or other life-partnership. William C. Placher, Unapologetic Theology. Extraordinarily clear and helpful tour of a broad range of developments in philosophy, religion, anthropology, and related fields. I’d share it with anyone coming to the study of philosophy or theology. Lastly, Lawrence Durrell, the Alexandria Quartet. Exquisitely beautiful and evocative depiction of a now lost world. I’d share it with anyone who loves words.
What is your favorite film of all time? (Or top 3). Why? To whom would you recommend them?
Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan. Witty, droll, socially observant. I’d recommend this film to anyone who enjoys entering unfamiliar social worlds and hanging out with quirky smart people.
What’s your top tip or advice for APA members reading this?
Prize flourishing relationships over being—and being acknowledged as—right.
What advice do you wish someone had given you?
Stop judging and start loving.
What would your childhood self say if someone told you that you would grow up to be a philosopher?
What’s a philosopher? Followed by: this doesn’t seem surprising at all.
When did you last sing to yourself, or to someone else?
Sometime in the last 48 hours. I like singing and I like composing songs.
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
07:30-09:00 AM.
What are your goals and aspirations outside work?
Deepening connections with friends. Moving past my own penchant for self-sabotage.
If you could only use one condiment for the rest of your life, which condiment would you pick and why?
La Victoria Salsa Brava.
What cause or charity do you care about most?
Peace. Antiwar.com.
What would you like your last meal to be?
Loaded nachos.
Jessica Castellani
Jessica Castellani had a unique high school experience attending Toledo School for the Arts, where she played in a percussion ensemble and steel drum band for six years. She earned her dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Religious Studies from the University of Toledo. Her primary focus was ‘the Self’ and the mystical experience of losing it. She earned her Master of Art in Philosophy from the University of Toledo as well, with a specialization in Comparative Philosophy, Eastern Studies, and Continental Philosophy. She has taught World Religions and Introduction to Philosophy at The University of Toledo both in person and virtually. She is a member of the Buddhist Temple of Toledo, tutors students, and has worked in the service industry for over a decade. In her free time likes to spend time outside and with her pets, friends, and family.
