Rate My Professor Christopher Pynes

Christopher Pynes is Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Mathematics and Philosophy at Western Illinois University. He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Florida State University (2003), an M.A. in Philosophy from San Diego State University (1998), a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California, Santa Barbara (1996), and an A.A. in Political Science and Philosophy from Santa Barbara City College (1994). His research and teaching interests include logics, philosophy of science, moral philosophy, ethics, and logic. Pynes joined Western Illinois University in 2005 as Assistant Professor of Philosophy, was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2009, and to full Professor in 2014. Prior to WIU, he served as Lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville from 2003 to 2005. He co-directed the Program for the Study of Ethics at WIU from 2006 to 2015 and has held the Course Director position for the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville during summers from 2005 to 2011.

In addition to his academic roles, Pynes has extensive administrative experience, including serving as Chair of the Faculty Senate for five elected one-year terms (2015-2017 and 2018-2021), Interim Associate Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs since July 2024, and Interim Director of Institutional Research and Planning from January to June 2024. He has chaired numerous committees, such as the Presidential Search for WIU's 12th President, Provost Search Committee, Department Personnel Committee, and served on the American Philosophical Association's Status and Future of the Profession Committee. Pynes has received the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Excellence Award for Outstanding Service and Outstanding Teaching, multiple Professional Achievement Awards, HOPE Teaching Awards, the Centennial Honors College Award of Excellence in Mentoring, and the Florida State University Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. Since 2017, he has been Co-editor of The Philosophical Gourmet. His publications include co-edited books The Stem Cell Controversy (Prometheus, 2003; revised edition, 2006), articles such as “Seven Arguments Against Extra Credit” in Teaching Philosophy (2014), “Ad Hominem Arguments and Intelligent Design” in Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science (2012), “If Monty Hall Falls or Crawls” in European Journal of Analytic Philosophy (2013), and forthcoming “Fair and Principled Grade Exempting” in Teaching Philosophy. He has also authored encyclopedia entries on bioethics topics and book reviews in The Quarterly Review of Biology.