Jean Kazez Fall 2007 - Phil. 3333 - Meaning of LIFE - Webpage Spring 2008 - Phil. 3377 - Animal Rights - Webpage
jkazez@smu.edu Philosophy Dept. Southern Methodist University,  Dallas, TX my blog about the book	WELCOME I received a PhD in philosophy from the University of Arizona (1991), where my main interests were philosophy of mind and philosophy of language.   Some day I may return to those deeply mysterious subjects.  Right now I'm interested in tangible questions about the way we live.  What counts as a good human life?  Is there one necessary ingredient or many?  Is morality always our first priority?  I'm also interested in "the good life" for animals--what is that?  Should we live in a way that allows animals to live good lives too?  How are animals different from people?  Do they have minds like ours?
	WRITING My book The Weight of Things:  Philosophy and the Good Life (Blackwell 2007) delves into an extremely simple question--what makes a person's life go well?  I discuss happiness, self-expression, religion, autonomy; whether morality is first priority; living with disabilities; how fundamental choices get made, and many other topics.  The book explores philosophy from Plato to the present, but also draws on literature, movies, history, biography, and personal experience. Currently I'm working on a book about animals with a very broad scope. It covers ancient ideas about the place of animals in the order of things, animal minds, ethical dilemmas, Native American myths about animals...in short, "the animal conundrum" from every angle.  I also write essays that are both topical and philosophical.  They have appeared in Free Inquiry, The Philosopher's Magazine, Philosophy Now, as well as the webzine The Mother's Movement Online. I have an article about academia and motherhood in the forthcoming anthology Mama Phd (Rutgers 2008).  Links to essays (which used to be here) are now on my blog.
	TEACHING I have been teaching at SMU for 15 years; as an adjunct starting when my kids were born in 1997.  I regularly teach a course on the good life titled "The Meaning of Life" and a course on animal rights.  In past years, I've taught Ethics and Literature, Ancient Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy and Gender, etc. Before coming to SMU I taught for a year at the University of Texas at Austin.