Rate My Professor Allan Bäck

Allan Bäck is a Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Government at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, where he has served as faculty for many years. He earned his B.A. from Reed College and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979. In recognition of his exemplary teaching, Bäck received the Arthur and Isabel Wiesenberger Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2010, selected from nominations by students, alumni, faculty, and staff. His career includes active involvement in university committees, such as the University Curriculum Committee, and contributions to departmental events, including presentations on topics like "Islamic Ways of Knowing" and co-presenting "The Judo of Putin" with colleague Dr. Kristin Bremer.

Bäck's research focuses on Aristotle's metaphysics, including theories of abstraction, ontology, relations, perception, knowledge, and universals, as well as Aristotelian logic, Islamic philosophy—particularly Avicenna—and the philosophy of martial arts and sport. He has published extensively in these areas. Key works include the books Aristotle's Theory of Predication (BRILL, 2000), On Reduplication: Logical Theories of Qualification (BRILL), Marital Mediation: Philosophy and the Essence of the Martial Arts (1990), and Taekwondo: Fact or Fiction? (2017). Notable articles comprise "The Concept of Abstraction" (2006), "Aristotle's Abstract Ontology" (2008), "Two Aristotelian Theories of Existential Import" (2011), "Aristotelian Necessities" (1995), and "How the Fallacy of Accident Got Its Name (and Lost It)" (2015). Bäck has also contributed to discussions on Avicenna's logic, medieval philosophy, and comparative philosophy, such as explorations of imagination in Avicenna and Kant (2013). His scholarship bridges ancient, medieval, and contemporary philosophical concerns, with applications to logic, ontology, and practical disciplines like martial arts. Through his publications and presentations, Bäck has enriched the fields of Aristotelian and Islamic philosophy.