Skip to main content

Scot Yoder

Associate Professor

C220 Snyder Hall
517-353-8695
yodersco@msu.edu

 

Image shows Scot Yoder

 

Education

PhD in Philosophy, Michigan State University
MA, Bowling Green State University
BA, Goshen College

 

Biography

Scot Yoder has a BA from Goshen College, an MA from Bowling Green State University, and a PhD in Philosophy from Michigan State University. He taught at Seton Hall University before returning to MSU as a faculty member in the Department of Philosophy in 2001, and has been with RCAH since it’s inception in 2007. Scot’s academic interests are in healthcare and environmental ethics, American pragmatism, and religious naturalism. Scot has served as both an Assistant and Associate Dean in RCAH and has led several MSU programs in Costa Rica, including one for the RCAH.  "The Ethics of Ecotourism and Sustainable Development in Costa Rica" is designed for RCAH students, featuring ethics, language immersion, and civic engagement. 

Past Courses Taught

RCAH 111 -- Writing in Transcultural Contexts: Nature, Culture, and Writing (Fall 2019) 
RCAH 150 – Introduction to the Arts and Humanities 
RCAH 346 – Topics in the Humanities: The Ethics of Being and Becoming Human 
RCAH 346 – Topics in the Humanities 
Religion without God? Topics in Religious Naturalism 
RCAH 492 – Senior Seminar: Issues in Higher Education 

 Recent Publications

Yoder, Scot D. “Humanism and Religious Naturalism in White’s Sacred Humanity: A Span Too Wide to Bridge,” American Journal of Theology & Philosophy 39, no. 2 (May, 2018): 19-32. 
Image shows the cover of Community Engagement Abroad, with an illustration of a watercolor landscape painting of a town. Yoder, Scot D. “Ecotourism, Religious Tourism, and Religious Naturalism,” Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture 11, no. 3 (2018): 291-314. 
Yoder, Scot D. “Pragmatism, Pedagogy, and Community Service Learning", Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 22, no. 2 (2016). 
Whitley, Cameron T and Yoder, Scot D. “Developing Social Responsibility and Political Engagement: Assessing the Aggregate Impacts of University Engagement on Associated Attitudes and Behaviors,” Education, Citizenship and Social Justice 10, no. 3 (2015): 217-233. 
Yoder, Scot D. “Emergence and Religious Naturalism: The Promise and Peril,” American Journal of Theology & Philosophy 35, no.2 (2014): 152-171. 
Yoder, Scot D. “Making Space for Agnosticism: A Response to Dawkins and James.” American Journal of Theology & Philosophy 34, no.2 (2013): 135-153. 
Yoder and Delgado, “Ethics of Ecotourism and Sustainable Development” Character Clearinghouse (2011). 

  

Presentations

  • “Imagining Moral Bioenhancement through Fiction and Philosophy” Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, Berlin, Germany, June 2023. 
  • “Developing Communities: Integrating Community Engagement into Residential Colleges” with Niki Rudolph, 5th Residential College Symposium, Oklahoma City, OK, November 2018. 
  • “Updating James: ‘The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life’ 125 Years Later” Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, Berlin, Germany, June 2018. 
  • “Neo-Pragmatism and Religious Naturalism: What Rorty and Rue Might Learn from Each Other” American Academy of Religion, Boston, MA, November 2017. 
  • “Ecotourism, Religious Tourism, and Religious Naturalism” Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, Manitou Springs, CO, June 2016. 
  • “Ethically Responsible Community Engagement Practices in the International Setting” with Vincent Delgado.  NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 2016 Annual Conference, June 2016. 
  • “Earthworks as an Aesthetic Strategy for Religious Naturalism” with Emily Nott. Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, Manitou Springs, CO, June 2014. 
  • “Service as Text: A Useful Metaphor for Civic Engagement?” Michigan Campus Compact 2014 Civic Engagement Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, February 2014. 
  • “The Promise and Peril of Emergence” Highlands Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, Manitou Springs, CO, June 2012. 
  • “Three Concepts of Agnosticism,” American“Imagining Moral Bioenhancement through Fiction and Philosophy” Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, Berlin, Germany, June 2023. 
  • “Developing Communities: Integrating Community Engagement into Residential Colleges” with Niki Rudolph, 5th Residential College Symposium, Oklahoma City, OK, November 2018. 
  • “Updating James: ‘The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life’ 125 Years Later” Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, Berlin, Germany, June 2018. 
  • “Neo-Pragmatism and Religious Naturalism: What Rorty and Rue Might Learn from Each Other” American Academy of Religion, Boston, MA, November 2017. 
  • “Ecotourism, Religious Tourism, and Religious Naturalism” Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, Manitou Springs, CO, June 2016. 
  • “Ethically Responsible Community Engagement Practices in the International Setting” with Vincent Delgado.  NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 2016 Annual Conference, June 2016. 
  • “Earthworks as an Aesthetic Strategy for Religious Naturalism” with Emily Nott. Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, Manitou Springs, CO, June 2014. 
  • “Service as Text: A Useful Metaphor for Civic Engagement?” Michigan Campus Compact 2014 Civic Engagement Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, February 2014. 
  • “The Promise and Peril of Emergence” Highlands Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, Manitou Springs, CO, June 2012. 
  • “Three Concepts of Agnosticism,” American Philosophical Association Pacific Division, Seattle, April 2012. Philosophical Association Pacific Division, Seattle, April 2012.