Mary Bernadette Whall

Associate Professor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
University Hall 5014
(205) 934-4805

Pronouns: she/her

Research and Teaching Interests: History of Philosophy (especially ancient Greek philosophy), Kant and German Idealism, and Existentialism

Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 3:00-3:30 p.m., or by appointment

Education:

• BS, University of Alabama at Birmingham, RN
• BA, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Philosophy
• PhD, University of Georgia, Philosophy

Dr. Whall, who received her undergraduate degree at UAB, joined the department in 1994. Dr. Whall teaches a wide variety of courses, including many she has developed herself, that fall broadly under the umbrella of intellectual history. While she teaches mostly in the western philosophical tradition, she has also developed a course which explores the classical eastern schools of thought — principally Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The central premise of her approach is that philosophical ideas are foundational to their cultural and historical context, and that by studying them we become more capable of developing a broader view of our own culturally conditioned beliefs. This, in turn, enables us to consider which of our views are well reasoned and well-grounded in facts and evidence, and which are mere cultural prejudices.