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College of Arts and Humanities

Andrew Fiala

Professor

Philosophy

afiala@csufresno.edu

Education

  • Ph.D. in Philosophy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
  • M.A. in Philosophy, California State University, Long Beach, CA
  • B.A. in Philosophy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA

Courses Taught

  • Intro to Philosophy
  • Moral Questions
  • Contemporary Conflicts of Morals
  • Ethical Theory
  • Ancient Philosophy
  • 19th Century Philosophy
  • Existentialism
  • Social and Political Theory

Andrew Fiala, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy and Founding Director of the Ethics Center at California State University, Fresno.  He served as Chair of the Philosophy Department at Fresno State from 2009-2017.  Before coming to Fresno State, Fiala was Associate Professor of Philosophy and Humanistic Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.

Fiala is a dedicated teacher and prolific author.  He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books and has published more than 50 scholarly articles and book chapters. 

Fiala is former editor of the journal Philosophy in the Contemporary World.  He is past President of Concerned Philosophers for Peace.  He serves on advisory and editorial boards for Philosophy in the Contemporary World, Ethical Perspectives, and the new Journal of Pacifism and Nonviolence.

Fiala has received a number of grants and award including: a grant from the UK Arts and Humanities Council for a project on “Islam and Nonviolence” (2021-23); a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities on “Ethics, Religion, and Civil Discourse” (2011-12); an award from the American Philosophical Association for Public Philosophy (2017); and Fresno State’s Provost’s Award for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (2018). 

Fiala writes a weekly column on religion, politics, and ethics for the Fresno Bee.  More information: www.andrewfiala.com.
  • Ethics
  • Applied Ethics
  • Social and Political Philosophy
  • Philosophy of Religion
  • 19th Century Philosophy

Scholarly Books 

  • Tyranny from Plato to Trump: Fools, Sycophants, and Citizens. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield (forthcoming 2022).
  • Can War Be Justified? A Debate with co-author Jennifer Kling. New York: Routledge (forthcoming 2022).
  • Seeking Common Ground: A Theist/Atheist Dialogue, with co-author Peter Admirand. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2021.
  • Nonviolence, A Quick Immersion. New York: Tibidabo Publishing, 2020. 
    Translated into Spanish as No violencia: Una inmersión rápida (Tibidabo, 2020)
  • Transformative Pacifism. London: Bloomsbury, 2018.
  • Secular Cosmopolitanism, Hospitality, and Religious Pluralism. New York: Routledge Publishing 2016.
  • Against Religions, Wars, and States: Enlightenment Atheism, Just War Pacifism, and Liberal-Democratic Anarchism. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2013.
  • Public War, Private Conscience. London: Continuum, 2010.
  • The Just War Myth: The Moral Illusions of War. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2008.
  • What Would Jesus Really Do? The Power and Limits of Jesus’ Moral Teachings.  Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2007.
  • Tolerance and the Ethical Life. London: Continuum, 2005.
  • Practical Pacifism. New York: Algora Publishing, 2004.
  • The Philosopher’s Voice: Philosophy, Politics, and Language in the 19th Century. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2002.

Edited Books

  • The Routledge Handbook of Pacifism and Nonviolence. New York: Routledge Publishing, 2018.
  • The Peace of Nature and the Nature of Peace. Leiden, NL: Brill, 2015.
  • The Bloomsbury Companion to Political Philosophy. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015.
  • Civility, Religious Pluralism, and Education, co-edited with Vincent Biondo. New York: Routledge Publishing, 2013.

Textbooks

  • Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues, 9th edition, co-authored with Barbara MacKinnon. Cengage Learning, 2017. 
  • Introduction to Philosophy. Kendall Hunt, 2010.

Nature Writing

  • Compassion. Volume 2 of The Three Mountains. Palm and Shaw, 2021.  
  • Simplicity. Volume 1 of The Three Mountains. Palm and Shaw, 2020.