Gaining perspective:
Professor examines philosophy with Christian worldview

He might have been a Johnny-come-lately, but Jonathan Evans made the most of his one year at Huntington University, benefiting from the wisdom and tutelage of faculty and meeting his future wife, Laura (Jones, '95).

Jonathan, a 1993 grad, grew up in Westchester County, New York, with music rather than metaphysics on his mind. He started playing the cello in the third grade and subsequently added the French horn, trumpet, percussion instruments, and electric and double bass to his repertoire.

After high school, Jonathan was drawn to the conservatory at Wheaton College, where he majored in instrumental music for three years before transferring to Huntington University. At the time, his father, Dr. Roger Evans, was associate dean of the Graduate School of Christian Ministries at Huntington, but Jonathan's decision to come to Huntington was based on much more.

"I sat in on some philosophy classes at Wheaton, and I really liked them." Jonathan says. "Then, I thought, 'Hey, I could teach philosophy!'" It wasn't that Jonathan had lost his penchant for music; he just didn't want to make it his life's work. And, he felt God wanted something else of him.

At Huntington, Jonathan enjoyed the personal attention he received from faculty, especially Dr. William Hasker, now professor emeritus of philosophy, and Dr. Paul Michelson, professor of history.

"The conversations I had with Dr. Hasker really aided my understanding of the issues I was working with, but also enabled me to see how the process of philosophy should be carried out," Jonathan says. "These are experiences that have helped me to be successful in my graduate work. To this day, Dr. Hasker and I get together to talk about philosophical issues and other matters of importance whenever possible, either at professional conferences or when I'm in the Huntington area. The courses I took with Michelson were first-rate, and I feel I developed as a scholar by taking them."

Jonathan went on to earn a master's degree at Northern Illinois University and is currently teaching at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln while he puts the finishing touches on his doctoral dissertation.

"My primary focus is the history of philosophy, with special emphasis on medieval figures and late ancient figures, although I do a lot of contemporary issues as well," Jonathan says. "My dissertation deals with medieval and late ancient views on human freedom and how it can be reconciled with God's foreknowledge or with certain problems in logic. What makes this dissertation exciting to me is the broad range of issues I'm able to cover in it from various branches within philosophy."

Does he subscribe to the thoughts of any particular philosophers? "Since I'm working on a historical project the influences aren't quite as strong, say, as if I were writing on some contemporary issue," Jonathan says. "But if I had to cite influences, clearly Aristotle would be an important influence as he generates a lot of the debates that I'm interested in. I'm not sure he's got the right views, but his presentation of the issues is first-rate. As for contemporary thinkers, I'm very partial to David Lewis and Jaegwon Kim in the same way as I am to Aristotle. I don't tend to agree with their views, but their discussion of problems is quite illuminating."

Jonathan says small classes helped him make big gains during his year at Huntington. "I think Huntington gave me greater academic flexibility, and the smaller faculty-to student ratio allowed me to pursue issues with faculty further than might otherwise have happened at a larger institution," he says.

Philosophy from a Christian point of view has advantages; Jonathan has developed respect for people and their opinions, even when he doesn't necessarily agree. "Gaining the Christian perspective I received at Huntington University—and also Wheaton College before that—has affected my vision about how philosophy should be done," Jonathan says. "Even when you find an opposing—or in some cases hostile—view being held by another person, the Christian philosopher has a duty to treat the other person with respect and, if possible, enter into healthy dialogue to defend one's own views as well as possible. This is something that my professors at Huntington seemed to value highly."