Dr. Daniel Kirchner is a Senior Lecturer in the Lewis Honors College. He is also the Faculty Mentor for the UK Singletary Scholars. He is passionate about bringing the academic study of ethics to bear on real world problems and believes values ground human behavior. Building from a background in the history of philosophy, Dr. Kirchner has spent the last ten years developing innovative teaching in the classroom and collaborating on interdisciplinary curricula in both an environmental studies major and interdisciplinary Asia and the environment initiative, funded by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. He has experience teaching a wide range of courses in the humanities, introduction to ethics, environmental ethics, food ethics, biomedical ethics, ethical theories, and 19th century philosophy. His teaching emphasizes a historical focus on primary text material and experiential engagement with contemporary ethical issues. He aims to integrate classroom instruction with mentoring and extra-curricular experiences including internships, research, and public presentations by public intellectuals and community leaders.
Dr. Kirchner has published in The International Philosophical Quarterly, presented and chaired sessions on Hegel’s philosophy for the Society of German Idealism at Pacific meetings of American Philosophical Association, and serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Kentucky ACLU, and as President of the Board of Directors for Grace Café, a non-profit pay-what-you-can restaurant combatting food insecurity. He holds a B.A. in international relations and German (Johns Hopkins University), an M.T.S. in 19th century philosophy and theology (Harvard University), and a Ph.D. in philosophy (Indiana University).