Matthew Goodwin, Ph.D.
Matthew is co-founder of Sedona Philosophy, offering guided hikes, retreats, and tours in Sedona, Grand Canyon National Park, and other must-see places in northern Arizona since. Originally from Ohio, he has been exploring Arizona since 2010. Matthew has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Southern Illinois University (2007), an M.A. in Philosophy from University of South Carolina (1998), and a B.A. in Philosophy and English from Ohio University (1995). He has taught courses on environmental ethics, philosophy of art, media ethics, and technology and human values at Northern Arizona University, Coconino Community College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, St Cloud State University, and Missouri State University.
Community Presentations
“Dams, Mines, and Hotels: Media and Misinformation Affecting the Grand Canyon,” AZ Humanities AZ Speaks presentation:
- Sedona Public Library in the Village, Sedona, AZ, June 30, 2023.
- Coolidge Public Library, Coolidge, AZ, January 11, 2023.
- Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, January 4, 2023.
- Casa Grande Public Library, Casa Grande, AZ, February 4, 2022.
- Flagstaff Public Library (online), Flagstaff, AZ, January 10, 2022.
“Why Arizona Dark Skies Matter,” AZ Humanities AZ Speaks presentation:
- Oro Valley Public Library, Oro Valley, AZ, September 22, 2023.
- Surprise Art and Culture Commission, Surprise, AZ, May 23, 2023.
Verde Valley Archaeology Center and Museum, Camp Verde, AZ, February 25, 2023. - Burton Barr Central Library, Phoenix, AZ, December 3, 2022.
- Surprise Art and Culture Commission (online), Surprise, AZ, March 9. 2022.
“A Philosophy of Light and Space: Introducing James Turrell’s Roden Crater Art Project,” AZ Humanities AZ Speaks presentation, Chandler-Gilbert Community College (online), Chandler, AZ, April 5, 2021.
“The Roden Crater Project and the Brilliance of Sustainability,” The Cosanti Foundation’s Presentation of the Living with the Land Virtual Lecture Series (online), October 10, 2020.
“Is it ‘Global Warming’ or ‘Climate Change’? The Philosophy of Communicating Climate Science,” AZ Humanities AZ Speaks presentation:
- Chandler-Gilbert Community College (online), Chandler, AZ, April 22, 2021.
- Coolidge Public Library, Coolidge, AZ, November 13, 2019.
- Wickenburg Public Library, Wickenburg, AZ, October 25, 2019.
“The Roden Crater Project and the Brilliance of Sustainability,” The Cosanti Foundation’s Presentation of the Living with the Land Virtual Lecture Series (online), October 10, 2020.
“Climate and Moral Responsibility in Arizona,” League of Women Voters Greater Verde Valley, Sedona, AZ, May 1, 2019.
“The Land Ethic: Aldo Leopold in Arizona,” AZ Humanities AZ Speaks presentation:
- Prescott Public Library, Prescott, AZ, November 17, 2019.
- Dusenberry-River Library, Tucson, AZ, April 12, 2019.
“Why Dark Skies Matter,” Red Rock State Park, Sedona, AZ, July 8, 2019.
“Climate and Moral Responsibility in Arizona,” AZ Humanities AZ Speaks presentation:
- Saguaro Library, Phoenix, AZ, April 27, 2019.
- Joel Valdez Main Library, Tucson, AZ, April 13, 2019.
- Patagonia Public Library, Patagonia, AZ, March 8, 2019.
- Mohave Community College, Havasu City, AZ, February 28, 2019.
- Copper Queen Library, Bisbee, AZ, January 9, 2018.
“Climate Change and Moral Responsibility,” League of Women Voters Greater Verde Valley, Sedona, AZ, May 1, 2019.
“Global Warming: A Philosophical Approach,” Keep Sedona Beautiful, Sedona, AZ, April 12, 2017.
“Sustainability Issues in Arizona,” Arizona Humanities Speaker Series, Copper Queen Library, Bisbee, AZ, May 26, 2015.
“James Turrell’s Roden Crater Project,” ARTiculate, Snowdrift Artspace, Winslow, AZ, April 17, 2015.
“Sustainability Issues in Arizona,” Arizona Humanities Speaker Series, Prescott Public Library, Prescott, AZ, December 4, 2014.
“A Philosophy of Light and Space: James Turrell’s Roden Crater Art Project,” NAU Summer Seminar Series, La Posada Hotel, Winslow, AZ, May 7, 2013.
Community Facilitation
Philosophy in the Public Interest Salon, “Why Dark Skies Matter: A Moral and Philosophical Account,” July 26, 2015, at the home of Terence and Robin Roche, Flagstaff, AZ.
Pros and Cons of a Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument, NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café, Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ, September 9, 2015.
Changing the Climate around Climate Change, NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café:
- Sedona Public Library, Sedona, AZ, May 4, 2015.
- East Flagstaff Community Library, Flagstaff, AZ, May 6, 2015.
Should Northern Arizona be Adapting to Climate Change Now? If so, how? NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café at Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ
What is Sustainability and What are the Costs and Benefits? NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café:
- Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ, November 17, 2014.
- Yavapai College Sedona Center, Sedona, AZ, November 19, 2014.
Should Northern Arizona be Adapting to Climate Change Now? If so, how? NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café:
- Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ, October 20, 2014.
- Yavapai College, Sedona Center, Sedona, AZ, October 22, 2014.
How Does the Cost of Water Impact Growth and the Environment? NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café at Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ, December 10, 2013.
Water Conservation and Catchment, NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café at Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ, November 17, 2013.
Aesthetics and Preservation, NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café at Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ, October 16, 2013.
A community discussion about the proposed development at the confluence of the Little Colorado River and Colorado River, part of the Colorado River Days, October 8, 2013, at Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ.
Sustainability Series: The Colorado River Dams, Uranium Mining around the Grand Canyon, and The Navajo Coal Burning Generating Plant. NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café at the Museum of Northern Arizona. February 19, March 12, and April 16, 2013.
Gun Control and Gun Rights: Second Amendment Issues. NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café:
- Sedona Public Library, Sedona, AZ, February 5, 2013.
- Birch Street Deli, Flagstaff, AZ, February 6, 2013.
Climate Change. NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest Hot Topics Café, November 6, 2012 at the Sedona Public Library, Sedona, AZ.
Super PACs and Elections. NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest:
- The Osher Life Long Learning Institute, Sedona, AZ, October 2, 2012
- Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ, October 3, 2012.
Tucson Book Banning, NAU Philosophy and the Public Interest at the Green Scene Café, Northern Arizona University, March 20, 2012.
Monthly Film Discussions in conjunction with The Sedona International Film Festival, Harkins Theater, Flagstaff, AZ, Fall 2010-13.
Academic Presentations
“More than Sublime: A Phenomenology of the Grand Canyon,” Southwest Seminar in Continental Philosophy, Flagstaff, AZ, May 29, 2015.
“The Art, Science, and Philosophy of the James Turrell Roden Crater Project,” the annual meeting of the American Society of Aesthetics, San Diego, CA, November 1, 2013.
“Hot Topics Café: Engage Your Community in Civil Discussions about Contentious Issues,” 21st Century Citizens: Building Bridges, Solving Problems, American Democracy Project and the Democracy Commitment National Meeting, Denver, CO, June 8, 2013.
“Surrealism and The Retrieval of the Beautiful,” Book Session Panel on Galen Johnson’s book, The Retrieval of the Beautiful: Thinking Through Merleau-Ponty’s Aesthetics, for the 50th Annual Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy conference, Philadelphia, PA, October 20, 2011.
“Science, Surrealism, and Object Fetishism,” International Merleau-Ponty Circle Conference, University of North Carolina Asheville, September 25, 2010.
“Surrealist Techniques and the Phenomenological Method,” Society for Phenomenology and Human Sciences (SPHS), George Mason University, Arlington, VA, October 31, 2009.”
“The Flexuous Lines of Anarchitecture,” International Merleau-Ponty Circle, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, September 12, 2009
“Art, Image Consciousness and Husserl’s Genetic Method,” Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP), Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, October 18, 2008.
“G: An Aesthetic Phenomenology of the Universal Gravitational Constant,” Midsouth Philosophy Conference, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, February 2008.
“Art and the Deflagration of Being: Setting Passivity Afire,” M.C. Dillon Memorial Lecture, International Merleau-Ponty Circle, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, September 2007.
“Establishing the Perceptual Bearings of Thought,” New Mexico-West Texas Philosophical Society Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, March 2007.
“Merleau-Ponty’s Aesthetic Examples: The Motifs of Art and Phenomenology,” American Society for Aesthetics Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, WI, October 2006.
“Art in Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology,” Midsouth Philosophy Conference, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, February 2006.
“Deleuze and the Matter of Film: How Cinematic Examples Turn Theory into Film,” Midsouth Philosophy Conference, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, February 2004.
“Hannah Arendt on Good Imagination: The Possibility of Violence,” Society for Phenomenology and Human Sciences (SPHS), Boston College, Boston, MA, November 2003.
“The Phenomenological Voice of Derrida in Speech and Phenomena,” Midsouth Philosophy Conference, University of Memphis, TN, February 2002.“Necessary Risk in Rawls’ A Theory of Justice,” Graduate Student Day, University of South Carolina, April 1997.
Academic Writing
“Aesthetic Ideas: Developing the Phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty with the Art of Matta-Clark.” Perception and Its Development in Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology. Edited by Kirsten Jacobson and John Russon. University of Toronto Press, 2017.
“Book Review of Ariella Azoulay’s, The Civil Contract of Photography,” SCTIW Review: Journal of the Society for Contemporary Thought and the Islamicate World, March 17, 2015.
“Of Earth and Sky: The Phenomenology of James Turrell’s Roden Crater Project.” Phenomenology and the Arts. Edited by Peter Costello and Licia Carlson. Lexington Books, 2016.
“Art and the Deflagration of Being: Setting Passivity Afire.” Phenomenology 2010, Volume 5: Selected Essays from North America Part 1: Phenomenology within Philosophy. Edited by Michael Barber, Lester Embree and Thomas J. Nenon. Bucharest: Zeta Books, 2010.
Academic Appointments
Assistant Teaching Professor of Humanities, Department of Comparative Cultural Studies, Northern Arizona University, 2022-2023.
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Humanities and Communication, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 2021-2022.
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Humanities, Coconino Community College, 2021.
Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Northern Arizona University, 2016-2020.
Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Northern Arizona University, 2013-2016.
Instructor, Department of Philosophy, Northern Arizona University, 2010-2013.
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Saint Cloud State University, 2008-2010.
Instructor, Department of Philosophy, Missouri State University, 2007-2008.
Instructor, Department of Philosophy, John A. Logan College, 2005-2007.
Education
Ph.D. in Philosophy, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 2007.
Dissertation: “The Artist and the Philosopher: The Aesthetic Phenomenological Method of Maurice Merleau-Ponty”
M.A. in Philosophy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 1998.
Thesis: “Kant and Lyotard on the Sublime”
B.A. in Philosophy and English, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 1995.