COLLEGE
OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Faculty
Vita Form
Personalities of the South
Who's Who in the South and Southwest
Directory of American Scholars
Dictionary of International Biography
Willis H. Truitt
Initial Date of USF
Employment/Rank September 1968,
Assistant Professor
Rank (eff. date) 9/75,
Professor -- Tenured (eff. date) 9/72
Department/Program & College
Philosophy-Arts & Letters
Education
Institution Field
of Study Degree Date
George Washington Univ.
Other Education
Employment
Place Position/Title Time
Period
Areas of
Specialization
Aesthetics, Social Philosophy, Phil. of Technology
Honors,
Awards, Biographies
Contemporary Writers
NEH Fellow, 1973
2000 Outstanding Scholars of the 20th
Century
Professional
Service
Member, American Philosophical Association
Founding Member, Society for the Philosophy of
Technology
Member and Program Consultant, American Society for
Aesthetics
Founding Member, American Institute for Marxist
Studies
Member, British Society for Aesthetics
Founding Member, International Max Raphael Society
Member,
Grant Referee, Canadian Research council
Dissertation External Reader,
Referee and Consultant for:
Allyn Bacon Publishing Co.,
Boston, Cornell University Press; Reidel Publishers, Haven Publishers,
McGraw-Hill, University Presses of Florida; Porter Sargent Publishers, Boston; Journal
of Aesthetic Education; Philosophical Forum Journal of the History of
Ideas
President, United Faculty of Florida-USF, 1975-77
Vice President, United Faculty of Florida-USF,
1974-75
Chapter and State Officer, American Federation of
Teachers, local 1880, 1971-74
Member, State Executive Council, United Faculty of
Member, State Steering Committee, United Faculty of
Chair, Ph.D. Dissertation Committee, Dept. of
English, USF
External Reader, Ph.D. dissertation committee,
Editorial reviewer for Cornell University Press,
1980-81
Member of Ph.D. examination committee,
Local head of Arrangements Committee for Annual
National Convention of the American Society for Aesthetics at USF, 1981
Member, Editorial Board of Science and nature,
a Journal of Marxist Philosophy for the Natural Sciences
Discussant, Conference on Medicine and Health Care
Delivery Systems in Various Foreign Countries, Naples Institute, March 1980
Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee,
Chair, section on "Art, Politics, and Technology",
National Convention, American Society for Aesthetics,
Member, Editorial Advisory Committee,
Program committee, American Society for Aesthetics,
1982
Chair, section on "Technology and
Architecture," American Society for Aesthetics (annual meeting) Oct. 1982,
Associate Editor, Science and Nature: A Journal of
Marxist Philosophy for Scientists, 1983-1988.
Organizer and Coordinator, Southeast Marxist Scholars
Conference,
Member, Board of Directors of the Foundation for
Scientific and Educational Cooperation with
External promotion reviewer, Department of Theater,
External Promotion reviewer, Dept. of Philosophy,
Member, Editorial Board, Science and Nature 1986-1988.
Member, Editorial Board, Continuum
1986-present.
Chair, Session on "atomism and Holism in the
Vienna Circle Philosophy of Science,"
Chair, session on "Art and Pornography,"
American Society for Aesthetics,
Referee, Nature, Society and Thought,
1989-1990.
Chair, Main Session, American Society for Aesthetics,
November 1990,
Referee, Nature, Society and Thought 1990-1991.
Referee, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism,
1990-1991.
Referee, Hypatia, 1990-1991.
Referee, Nature, Science, and Thought,
1991-1992.
Referee, Faculty Promotion case, Dept. of Philosophy,
University of South Alabama, 1991-1992.
Arranged lecture of Professor Shestakov, "Three
Nights in
General Editor of the series, "Russian and East
European Studies in Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Culture," 1991.
Reviewer,
Editorial Consultant on texts in Philosophy,
Chair of Plenary Session, first Moscow International
Conference on Comparative Philosophy, June 2002.
Reviewer of paper, Florida Philosophical Review,
Summer 2003.
University
Service
Member, College Morale Committee, Arts and Letters,
1971-72
Acting Chairman, Dept. of Philosophy, 1972-73
College Planning Committee, Arts and Letters, 1973-74
Chair, Faculty Advisory Committee, Dept. of
Philosophy, 1971-75 (exc. 1973)
College Review Board, Arts and letters, 1974-75
Academic Personnel Council, University, 1973-76
Member, Dean Search Committee, Arts and Letters,
1974-76
Member, Faculty Advisory Committee, Dept. of
Philosophy, 1976
College Review Board, Arts and letters, 1976-77
Member, College Graduate Committee, Arts and letters,
1971-72
Graduate Coordinator, Dept. of Philosophy, 1971-1976.
Occasional guest lecturer in:
Dept. of Physics
Dept. of Philosophy
Art Department
Dept. of Economics
Dept. of Political Science
Senior Seminars
Dept. of history
Bachelor of Independent
Studies Program
Iranian Student Association
Revolutionary Student
Brigade
Speakers for the Philosophy Club: Ruth Anna Putnam,
Wellesley; Richard Miller, Cornell; Ned Block, MIT Member, BIS Committee (university wide)
Lecture, "The Political Origins of Scientific
Thought", College Lecture Series
Lecture, "Equity, Equality and Freedom",
Conference on Equity in the Tax Structure,
Speakers for the Philosophy
club: Misu Vajda, Robert S. Cohen
Acquired new permanent position for Department of
Philosophy
Initiated planning for cooperative doctoral program
with
Member, Thesis Committee, Dept. of Political Science,
USF, 1980-81
Member, Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action
Steering Committee on Racism and Discrimination, USF, 1980-81
Chairman, Arrangements Committee for the Annual
National Convention of the American Society for Aesthetics, USF, Oct. 1981
Lecturer,
Arranged lecturers to address faculty in the
Philosophy Club, R. Miller Cornell University; E. Marquit, University of
Minnesota, A. Berleant, C.W. Post, LIU, J.W.N. Watkins London School of
Economics Lecture, "The Politics of Art", a series of films and
lectures on "Arts in the Weimar Republic" sponsored by the USF
Theater Department, the Goethe Institute (Atlanta), and the Florida Arts
Council, May 1981
Lecture, "Economic Determinism" to the
Lecture, "Philosophy of Technology"
presented at
Lecture, "Fascism and Science", to the
faculty,
Lecture, "Marxism and the Arts," Warner
Southern College,
Member, Steering Committee on Racism and
Antisemitism,
Member, Honors Thesis Committee, Dept. of Political
Science,
Chair and panelist, Conference on Racism and Antisemitism,
Organizer and Coordinator, Southeast Marxist Scholars
Conference, USF, March 1983
Member, Oral Exam Committee, MA Accounting
Member, Promotion Committee, Dept. of Religious
Studies, USF, 1984
Lecturer, Dept. of Psychology Graduate Program,
"Ethics," summer 1989.
Assisted Art Dept. with visiting soviet artists,
March 1991.
Member, MA thesis committee for the
Department Service, Director of Graduate Studies
1990-present.
Committee member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee,
Member, university Publications Council, 1998-2002
Dept. Tenure and Promotion Committee 2001-2003
Faculty advisor to student Free Thinkers Club, 2002
Community
Service
Lectures:
"Technological Control and Controlled
Technology,"
"Freedom and Security," FEH Program
"Public Rights vs. Private Interests,"
"The Value of Higher Education," FEH
program on "The Value of Higher Education," recorded June 1976
"Capitalism vs. Socialism,"
"Marxism and Religion,"
"Marxism and Ethics,"
"Proposals for Future Cities,"
"Conference on Race Relations,"
"Restoration of Capitalism in the Soviet
Union,"
"The Arts in Social Perspective,"
"The Soviet Leadership," Donal Graves,
State Department,
"Racism and Neofascism",
Lecture, "Marxism and the Arts," Warner
Southern College,
"Marx on Religion,"
"Marxism and Religion," Amity House,
Worker, Jesse Jackson primary campaign,
"Politics of Science,"
"Anti-Communism, Anti-Sovietism, and
Peace," Amity House,
Respondent on WFLA radio talk show on events in
Interviewed on WUSF television program on
international affairs titled
"Through the
Interviewed on WFLA television on events in the
Reviews for local newspaper:
"The Necessity of Revolt," Blaustein and
Zangrunando, Civil Rights and the American Negro,
"No U.S.-China Reconciliation Likely,"
Elegant, The Center of the World,
"Teachers and Power," Robert Brown,
Teachers and Power,
15 radio and television appearances on topics
including ethics, politics, and art in
and
Publications
- Edited Books
Political Ideologies, anthology, MacMillan Co.,
Inc. (with J.A. Gould) 1974, in fifth printing.
Introduction to Existentialism, anthology, Dickenson,
(with J.A. Gould) 1974
Science, Technology, and Freedom, anthology, Houghton
Mifflin, (with T.W.G. Solomons), 1974
Dialectical Contradictions, (with
Dialectical Perspectives, (with D. DeGrood and H.
Parsons), Grunner Publishers, 1984.
Locke's Ethics, (with R.C. Weatherford) Haven Publishers, 1989
Publications
- Authored Books
Marxist Ethics: A Short Exposition, International Publishers,
Reflections on Postmodernism, Lexington Book – Rowman
and Littlefield, in press 2005
From Stanislavsky to Gorbachev, Stenbert, 1995.
Semiotics of Narration Apocalyptic Realism, Howell, 1994.
Pavel Kohout und die Metamorphosen des
Sozialistischen Realismus, Ambros, 1993.
Mainstreams in Aesthetics, Haven Publishers,
General Editor, Russian and East European Studies in Aesthetics
and Philosophy Culture, Peter Lang Publishers.
Publications
- Articles in Refereed Journals
"Human Nature and the Cooperative Impulse:
Biological Foundations of Cooperation," (with Anne J. Truitt), Journal
of Human Relations, XIV, 4 (1966), pp. 378-390.
"Human Nature and the Cooperative Impulse:
Philosophical and Anthropological Approaches," Journal of Human
Relations, XV, 1 (1967), pp. 580-594.
"The Crisis in Marxist Aesthetics," Interdiscipline
(India, Fall, 1967), pp. 1-20.
"Ethos and National History as Formative Factors
in the Revolutionary Movements of the Developing World," (read in
absentia, International Seminar of Peace and Peace Research, Agra University,
Varansi, India, March, 1968), Interdiscipline (India, 1969), pp. 47-51.
"Mr. Raxandall's Revisionism: Marxism and
Aesthetics," Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, (Fall, 1971).
"A Marxist Theory of Aesthetic Inquiry: The
Contribution of Max Raphael," Journal of Aesthetic Education,
(Spring, 1971).
"Art Against Ideology," (review article) Journal
of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, (Spring, 1971).
"Ideology Expression and Mediation," Boston
Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. XV/1974, D. Reidel Publishing
Co., pp. 468-497, Boston, 1974. ("For Dirk Struik").
"Toward an Empirical Theory of Art," British
Journal of Aesthetics, (Summer, 1971).
"Emerging Ideologies and the Concept of
Dialectic," Diogenes, (Jan. 1971): in French, English, German,
Italian, Arabic.
"The Anthropological Foundations of Aesthetic
Culture," Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress of Aesthetics,
Acta Universitatus Upsaliensis, vol. 10, Uppsala, Sweden, 1972.
"On Liberating the Aesthetic Consciousness: The
Environmental Issue," Arts and Society, (January, 1972).
"Free Art for Free Men," Structurist,
(Number 11, 1972).
"Lukacs," Philosophical Forum,
(Spring-Summer, 1972).
"The Disintegration of Visual and Verbal
Imagery," Structurist, (No. 12, 1973) with Irving Deer.
"Notes Toward a Theory of Culture," Left
Curve, No. 2 (Fall 1974), pp. 20-28. (invited by the editor)
"Notes Toward a Theory of Culture," Left
Curve, No. 3 (Winter-Spring 1975), pp. 36-40 (invited by editor).
"On Revolutionary Art," Praxis, 2,
Winter 1976, pp. 81-90.
"Values in Science," Philosophy of
Technology Annual, I, 1976-77.
"Realism," Journal of Aesthetics and Art
Criticism, Winter 1978.
"Art and Values," published in Proceedings of the Society of
Aestheticians, Art and Literary Critics,
"P. Soleri's Eco-politics: a commentary-critique
of H. Skolimowski" Research in Philosophy and Technology, Vol. III,
1980.
"Max Raphael," Dictionary of Marxist
Aestheticians,
"Dialectics and the Primacy of Human Labor Power
- A Reply to Nielsen," in the annual Research in Philosophy and
Technology, vol. 5, 1982-1983.
"The Myth of Creativity," in Revolutionary
World, Summer 1983.
"Ideology and Ethics," The Philosopher
in the Community: Essays in Memory of Bertram Morris, edited by Berel Lang
and William Sackstedder, 1985.
"A Note on 'The Dilemma of Quantum
Mechanics'," Dialogos, No. 49, 1987.
"Anmerkung zur Sowjetischen Philosophie," Durch,
2/1987,
"Art and Values," Annales Universitatis
Mariae Curie - Sklavdowska,
"On Art and Science," Nature and Science,
Nos. 9/10, 1989.
"Partisanship, Universalism and the Dialectic of
Moral Consciousness," Proceedings of the First International Symposium
of Universalism,
"On the Question of Technological
Determinism," Nature, Society, and Thought, vol. 2/4, 1990.
"Lenin and the Problems of Socialist Art -- An
American Perspective," Lenin and the Problems of Socialist Art, A.
Zis, ed., Nauke Publishers,
"The Dialectics of Moral Consciousness" in Artifacts,
Representations, and Social Practice, C. Gould and R.S. Cohen,
eds., Kluwer Academic Publishers, December 1993.
"Neo-Pragmatism in Contemporary American
Philosophy," Darshana International, Jan. 1995.
Neopragmatism and the New Aesthetic, the Second Death
of Philosophy,” K Gavroglu, et al. (Eds.) Science, Mind and Art, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1995.
Productive Practice, Social Theory, and Aesthetics, Journal of Aesthetic
Education, Summer, 1998.
“Relativism, Truth, and Moral Knowledge”, International
Readings on Theory, History, and Philosophy of Culture, St. Petersburg,
Russia, Russian Academy of Science and UNESCO, Spring 2002, pp. 73-78
“Predecessors of Postmodernism”, Problems of
Philosophy, #3, Jan. 2003,
“Heidegger on Language and Culture” Language and
Culture, Vol I, No. 6,
Publications - Articles in Non-Refereed Publications
editor, The Meaning of Meaning, R. Borsodi,
Extending Horizons Books,
editor, Dialectical Sociology, P. Bosserman,
Extending Horizons Books,
editor, The Black Power Revolt, Extending
Horizons Books,
contributing editor, Social Work and Social Change,
S. Dasgupta, Extending Horizons Books,
"Theories of Meaning," Indian Research
Journal in Philosophy,
Book
Reviews
"Resurgence of Utopias," a review article
on several books about utopias, Journal of Human Relations, XV, No. 3
(1967), pp. 272-275.
Automation, Alienation, and Anomie, Technology and
Culture,
March 1971.
Marcuse: An Exposition and a Polemic, A. McIntyre, Journal
of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Summer 1971.
Writer and Critic, G. Lukacs, Journal of Aesthetic Education,
Spring-Summer, 1972.
Mutual Aid in the Arts, T. Brunius, Journal of
Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Spring 1974.
Justice, Human Nature, and Political Obligation,
The Art of Social Conscience, von Blum, Journal of
Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Summer 1977.
"Business and Preservation,'
"Genetic Alchemy" by S. Krimsky in Science
and Nature, vol. 4, 1983.
Review of Hugh Curtler, What is Art? Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism,
Summer, 1984.
Philosophy of Music, Ernst Bloch, Journal of Aesthetics and Art
Criticism, 1988
Fiction and Society in the Age of Pushkin, William Todd Mills, III, Journal
of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Summer, 1988.
Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, a
Portrait of Twenty-Five Years, Marx W. Wartofsky and Robert S. Cohen, eds., Science
and Nature, No. 9, 1988.
Creative Works
Grants and
Contracts
Fellowship, NEH for research in environmental
aesthetics, 1973, $8000
Project Grant, NEH (FEH) Ethics in Government and
Public Policy, 1975-present, $40,000
Stipend (to evaluate FEH project) Winter 1977, $200
National Conference on Biomedical Ethics,
Conference on Racism,
Recipient of $1000 grant from FEH for conference on
"Ethics in the Market-place," October 1980, academic organizer of the
conference
Recipient of $500 grant (with J.A. Gould) from FEH
for radio taping of interviews in conjunction with American Society of
Aesthetics, October 1981
Recipient of $2500 grant from FEH for production of
video in conjunction with the Conference on Racism and Anti-Semitism,
Professional
Papers Read
"Ethos and National History as Formative Factors
in the Revolutionary Movements of Emerging Nations," read in absentia at
the International Seminar on Peace and Peace Research, Ghandian Institute of
Studies,
"Anthropological Foundation of Aesthetic
Culture," Sixth International Congress of Aesthetics,
"On the Autonomy of Aesthetic meaning,"
South Florida Symposium on Aesthetics,
"Technology and Affective Deprivation," Conference
on New Dimensions of Historical Consciousness,"
"The Contribution of Max Raphael to Marxist
Theory of Art," American Society for Aesthetics,
"Alternatives to an Aesthetic of
Repression," American Society for Aesthetics,
"Perspectives in Art History," American
Sociological Association,
"Notes Toward a Theory of Aesthetic
Culture," Ford Foundation Conference on the Politics of Art,"
"Marxism and Art,"
"Dialectical Materialism and Philosophy of
Culture," Institute of Culture,
"Values in Science," Founding Convention of
the Society for the Philosophy of Technology,
"Art for the People,"
"P. Soleri's Eco-politics: A commentary-critique
of H. Skolimowski" for Philosophy and Technology, American Philosophical
Association. Western Division,
"How Values Shape Science,"
"Marxist Ethics,"
"Art and Values," International Symposium
on Art and Values, Society of Aestheticians, Art and Literary Critics, Varna
Bulgaria, Sept. 1979, (solicited).
"Political Origins of Scientific Thought,"
"Political Origins of Scientific Thought,"
Center for Marxist Research,
"The Myth of Creativity," Eastern Marxist
Scholars Conference,
"Dialectics and the Primacy of Human Labor
Power: a Reply to Nielsen," Society for the Philosophy of Technology,
American Philosophical Association - Pacific Division, Portland, Oregon, March
1981.
"Melvin Rader's Marxism," American Society
of Aesthetics, Pacific Division (special memorial session), April 1982.
"On the Question of Technological
Determinism,"
"On the Political origins of Scientific Thought,
A Polemic," Arts and Humanities Lecture Series: Technology and Human
Values, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, January,
1983; also at Southeast Marxist Scholars Conference, Tampa, March 1983.
"Marxist Theory of Knowledge," (national)
Marxist Scholars Conference,
"Art and Value: A Marxist Perspective,"
World Congress of Philosophy-American Society of Aesthetics Section,
"The Politics of Art," West Coast Marxist
Scholars Conference, University of California-Berkeley, April 1984.
Commentary on
Discussant, Symposium: "History and Philosophy of Science in
the U.S.S.R. Today,"
Commentary on
"Some Reflections of Recent Theses on War and
Peace," Society for the Philosophical Study of Marxism, American
Philosophy Association,
"American Aesthetics Since 1950,"
Department of Philosophy and Sociology,
"Theories of Postmodernism, A Critique of the
Work of Frederic Jameson," Research Institute of the Theory and History of
Art,
"Remarks on Recent Developments in Soviet
Philosophy."
"Recent Developments in Literary Criticism in
the
"Two Main Trends in American Aesthetics,"
International Congress of Aesthetics,
"Aesthetics in the
"Partisanship, Universalism, and the Dialectics
of Consciousness," Symposium on Universalism sponsored by the journal, Humanism
and Dialectics,
Three lectures on "American Aesthetics" at
the
One lecture on "American Philosophy Today"
at the editorial offices of Voprosii Filosofii, Moscow, USSR, June 1990.
Four lectures on "American Aesthetics," at
the Department of Aesthetics, Faculty of Philosophy, 1991.
"Post-Cognitive Directions in American
Aesthetics," International Congress of
"The Dialectics of Moral consciousness,"
World Congress of Philosophy,
“American Aesthetics in the 1990s,” Institute of the
History and Theory of Art,
“Productive Practice, Social Theory, and Aesthetics,”
International ?Association of Aesthetics,
Two lectures at a symposium on Philosophy and
Culture, University
“
“Philosophy and Postmodernism,”
“
“Aesthetic Response,”
“
“Ethics after Communism,” Institute of Philosophy,
Participant, “Roundtable Discussion on Ethics,
Two lectures on “American Aesthetics,”
“Relativity, Truth and Moral Knowledge”,
International Conference or Ontology of Dialogue” sponsored by
“The Destruction of Reason,” International Society
for Universal Dialogue,
“Some Problems of Postmodernism”, International
Conference Language and Culture,