Associate Professor of Philosophy
C. Calhoun Lemon Fellow of the Rutland Institute for Ethics
email: kcs@clemson.edu
web: http://people.clemson.edu/~kcs/
Dr. Smith came to Clemson in 1998. He received his M.S. in Zoology (Evolutionary Genetics) from Duke University in 1992, followed by his Ph.D. in Philosophy in 1994. He clings stubbornly to the idea of the Renaissance man, and actually seems to believe that the humanities have something interesting to say to the sciences and vice versa. This eclectic orientation can be seen in his research on a wide array of interdisciplinary topics, including the concept of genetic disease; the relationship between religious faith and scientific reasoning; the ethical implications of new biotechnologies; complex systems in developmental and evolutionary biology; the origins and nature of life and, most recently, philosophical issues surrounding the search for life on other planets. His work has been published in numerous professional journals including The Journal of the American Medical Association, The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, Biology and Philosophy, and Philosophy of Science. He is also something of a talking head and regularly does interviews for the press, including a recent appearance on CNN Presents: Is there Anybody Out There? Kelly is, however, a teacher first and foremost, and is proud of having sown Socratic seeds of confusion in classes ranging from seminars on Kant and Biotechnology and various other offerings as his mood and availability allow. His regular teaching rotation currently includes Introduction to Philosophy (PHIL 101), Logic (PHIL 102), Science and Values (PHIL 326), Environmental Ethics (PHIL 345), Medical Ethics (PHIL 346), Philosophy and Biology (PHIL/BIOSC 485/685), seminars in Kant, Aristotle and The Philosophical Foundations of Science and Calhoun Honors seminars such as The Lure and Fear of Biotechnology.