Assistant Professor, Philosophy
Benjamin Nelson earned a PhD in philosophy from the University of Connecticut where he specialized in the history of philosophy. His research focused primarily on the skeptical arguments of David Hume, the great Scottish philosopher of the 18th century. He joined CCBC in the Fall of 2024 and continues to investigate Hume’s work alongside related topics in metaphysics and epistemology, the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature, scope, and sources of knowledge.
Professor Nelson was first drawn to philosophy by the profound questions it confronts about things like meaning, purpose, morality, skepticism and the nature of knowledge. While pursuing a career in philosophy, he became convinced of the value of philosophical training. Philosophy is well known for teaching students to think critically and communicate effectively. In addition to these vital skills, Professor Nelson emphasizes that, by opening our minds to a world of unconsidered possibilities, philosophical training works against our natural tendency toward dogmatism—the mistaken presumption that we’ve got the whole truth. His primary aim as a teacher of philosophy is to encourage the cultivation of these intellectual virtues while guiding students in the development of the tools necessary for reaching their own conclusions through sound reasoning.
Though his expertise is in the history of philosophy, Professor Nelson has wide-ranging philosophical interests that include science, art, technology, and literature. He believes that all disciplines have something to contribute to our understanding of the questions that form the core of philosophical investigations. Because we are all trying to understand the world, he believes we can—and should—learn from other fields of inquiry.