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Faculty & Staff

Religious Studies Program

The Cal Poly Philosophy Department houses a Religious Studies program with a wide variety of courses in GE and a Religious Studies minor.

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Between the Species

Between the Species online journal logoAn online philosophy journal about the relationship between humans and animals.
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Ethics Group


Cal Poly's Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group focuses on the implications and impact of emerging sciences and technologies.
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Jacob Sparks

Assistant Professor

Ethics Bowl Coordinator

Contact Information 

Education

  • Ph.D. Applied Philosophy, Bowling Green State University
  • M.A. Philosophy, Bowling Green State University
  • B.S. Physics and Political Science, Tufts University

Professional Interests

  • Applied Ethics (Ethics of AI, Privacy, and Business Ethics)
  • Metaethics (Moral Epistemology and Moral Semantics)

Publications (selected)

  • “Anscombe’s Relative Bruteness” (2020) Philosophical News, n.18
  • “Is, Ought, and the Regress Argument” (2018) Australasian Journal of Philosophy 97(3): 528-543
  • “Moral Perception and Morally Relevant Perception” (2018) ASEBL Journal 13(1): 19-27
  • “Can’t Buy Me Love” (2017) Journal of Philosophical Research 42: 341-352

  • “Capacity, Obligation and Medical Billing” (2017) (w/ Mark Wells) Journal of Value Inquiry 52: 17-24

Presentations (selected)

  • “Privacy Not Property” Data Governance and Accountability Working Group, UCSD, 2019 Centre for Political Theory Workshop, University of Manchester, 2018
  • “Model Justice” Ethics and Broader Considerations of Technology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2019
  • “Practical Coincidence Concerns” LIPS Annual Conference; Suffolk Community College 2019;
  • “Moral Perception and Illusion” Moral Sense Colloquium III, Saint Francis College, 2017 LIPS Annual Conference; St. John’s University 2017;
  • Commentary on “On Moral Architecture” Speculative Ethics Forum; St. John’s University 2016;
  • “Is, Ought, and the Regress Argument” Felician Ethics Conference; Felician College 2016;
  • “Can’t Buy Me Love” LIPS Annual Conference; Malloy College; 2016 Invited Talk; College of Wooster 2016; Felician Ethics Conference; Felician College 2015;
  • “Capacity, Obligation, and Medical Billing” Intensive Healthcare Ethics Workshop, University of Arkansa, 2015

Courses Taught

  • Ethics, Science and Technology
  • History of Ethics
  • Business Ethics

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