julius-jay-ciaffa
Julius (Jay) Ciaffa, PhD
Associate Professor of Philosophy

Gonzaga University
Spokane, Washington, USA
Phone: 509-313-3956
E-mail: ciaffa@gonzaga.edu

Education

1982-1991 PhD in Philosophy Tulane University, Louisiana, USA
1986 MA in Philosophy Tulane University, Louisiana, USA
1980-1982 BA in Philosophy/History California State University, California, USA

Biography

Dr. Jay Ciaffa is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Philosophy Department at Gonzaga University, where he regularly teaches courses in Health Care Ethics. He currently serves on the Deaconess Hospital Ethics Committee, and he has also served as a consultant and workshop presenter for the Spokane Community Long-term Care Ethics Committee. His primary current research interest is in topics pertaining to medical futility and end of life care. His publications include articles on Heidegger, African and African American Philosophy, as well as a book entitled Max Weber and the Problems of Value-free Social Science.


Research Interest

African Philosophy, African American Philosophy, Ethics, Health Care Ethics, Philosophy of Human Nature


Scientific Activities

Teaching Experience
2009-Present Associate Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University, Washington, USA
2006-2008 Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Gonzaga University, Washington, USA
1998-2005 Associate Professor of Philosophy, Xavier University of Louisiana, Louisiana, USA
1992-1998 Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Xavier University of Louisiana, Louisiana, USA
1983-1988 Instructor of Philosophy Tulane, Loyola and Xavier Universities, Louisiana, USA
Professional Activities

Gonzaga University

2015-Present Core Executive Committee
2014-Present University Strategic Planning Committee
2014-Present Chair, Philosophy Department
2014-Present Philosophy Department Evaluation Committee
2014 Core Implementation Committee
2012-2015 Chair, Graduate Programs Committee, Academic Council
2012-2015 Elected member, University Academic Council
2011-2013 Chair, Academic Committee of the Faculty Senate
2011-2012 Chair, Philosophy Department Committee for Developing Responses to Proposed Changes to the Core Curriculum
2010-2011 Philosophy Department Evaluation Committee
2009-Present Ethics Consultant, Deaconess Hospital Ethics Committee
2008-2013 Faculty Senate
2007-2010 Ethics Consultant, Workshop Presenter, Spokane Community Long Term Care Ethics Committee
2007-2008 Ad hoc Committee to Assess Teaching Evaluation Ratings Instrument

Xavier University of Louisiana

2004 Ad hoc Committee for Revising University Planning Process
1999-2005 Chair, Philosophy Department
1999-2005 University Academic Council
1998-1999 Self-Study Steering Committee
1998-1999 Editor, University Self-Study Report
1998-1999 Institutional Effectiveness Committee
1997-1999 Rhodes Consultation Faculty Group to Examine Xavier’s Catholic Identity
1996-1997 African-American Studies Council
1995-2005 Facilitator Coordinator, ERACISM Inter-racial Community Discussion Group

Publications

  1. Review of Nathan Emmerich, Medical Ethics Education: An Interdisciplinary and Social Theoretical Perspective. Teaching Philosophy, 38, no. 3 (September 2015).
  2. “Tradition and Modernity in Postcolonial African Philosophy.” Humanitas 21, nos. 1 and 2 (2008).
  3. “The Human Genome Project: A Scientific and Ethical Overview” (with Marion Carroll). Action Bioscience.org (May, 2003).
  4. Max Weber and the Problems of Value-Free Social Science: A Critical Examination of the Werturteilsstreit (Bucknell University Press, 1998).
  5. "The Contours of African American Philosophy." Xavier Review 16, no. 1 (Spring 1996).
  6. "On Heidegger's Conception of the Interrelation between Authentic and Inauthentic Existence." Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology 18, no. 1 (January 1987).
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