Present Professional Position:
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Long Island University

Office Address:
16 Southwoods Road, Syosset, NY 11791-2901

Phone: 516-364-2178

Email: dsprintz@me.com

Blog: https://davidsprintzen.com/blog

Scholastic and Professional Honors:

** Queens College: Phi Beta Kappa, Honors in Philosophy, Magna Cum Laude
** Penn State: National Defense Education Act Fellow
** C.W. Post College of L.I.U.: Trustees Award For Scholarly Achievement

Professional Activities:

1. Member of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association (APA).
2. Member of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy.
3. Organizer of all the sessions of the Radical Caucus meetings at the Eastern Division of the APA from 1980-1982.
4. Member of the Camus Studies Association.
5. Member of the Sartre Society.
6. Regular Guest Lecturer at the Hutton House Lecture Series at LIU-Post, 2007-present.
7. Guest Lecturer at The Frick Estate Lecture Series, 2019.

Community Service:

1. Member of the Board of Directors of Syosset’s Concern About its Neighborhood, 1974-1996.
2. Founder and Co-Chair of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, 1979-1999; Board Secretary, 1999-2019.
3. Participant on Governor Cuomo’s Commission on the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, 1983-4.
4. Produced and hosted a regular radio program, “The View From The LIE”, on WBAI-FM and WUSB-FM for two years in the mid-1980s.
5. Founder and past President of the Research and Education Project of Long Island, 1984-1992; Executive Director, 1992-2005; Board Secretary, 2005-2019.
6. Recipient of “One In A Million” Award, 1993.
7. Recipient of Newsday’s Leadership Award, 1993.
8. Member of the Board of the New Directions Research Institute, 2002-2011.
9. Founder and Executive Board member of Jobs With Justice on Long Island, 2003-present.
10. Recipient of “Sustainability Pioneer” Award from Vision Long Island, 2007.
11. Recognized as a Founder by Sustainable Long Island, May 6, 2008.
12. Honored for community activism by Jobs With Justice on Long Island, August 6, 2008.
13. Judge in Long Island “Ethics Bowl,” 2012, 2013, 2014.
14. Recipient of “The Muriel Neufeld Ethical Humanist Award,” 2014.
15. Recipient of the Social Justice Leadership Award, presented by the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, May 2015.
16. Member of the New York State Community Equity Agenda since 2017, and the Long Island Ethical Humanist Society’s representative since 2019.

College Activities:

1. Vice-Chairman of the C. W. Post Faculty Council, 1972-3.
2. Member of the Executive Board of the C. W. Post Collegial Federation, 1975-1981; twice served on the Negotiating Team.
3. Advisor to the student newspaper, Post Pioneer, in early 1970s.
4. Participant on the Task Force on Higher Education of the New York State United Teachers, 1976.
5. Vice-President of the Long Island University Faculty Senate, 1977-1979.
6. Chairperson of the C. W. Post Department of Philosophy, 1978-1980.
7. Coordinator of the ad-hoc Committee of Concerned Faculty, 1994-6.
8. Founder & Co-Director of the Institute For Sustainable Development at Long Island University, 1997-2005.

Professional Speaking Engagements:

1. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 1971 and 1982.
2. Center for the Administration of Justice, American University, 1973-5.
3. Denison University, 1975 and 1982.
4. Bellport Unitarian Church, 1976.
5. Long Island Philosophical Society, 1975 and 1977.
6. Long Island Metaphysical Society, 1976.
7. “Ventures in Research,” C. W. Post College, LIU, 1977.
8. Conference of Academic Unionists, at several occasions in late 1970s.
9. Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association, on several occasions.
10. Socialist Scholars Conference, 1985 and 1986.
11. Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, Queens, Bergen County, Riverdale, Suffolk, and New York on numerous occasions.
12. University of Louisville, 1988.
13. National Board meeting of the American Ethical Union, 1988.
14. Socialist Scholars Conference, 1990.
15. International Conference on “Albert Camus and Europe,” sponsored by the Council of Europe and the Camus Society in Strasbourg, France, Nov. 1990.
16. Bergen Community College, “Existentialist Perspectives on the Modern World: The Philosophy of Albert Camus,” Feb. 1992.
17. “At Issue”, News Twelve Debate in which I opposed the Head of the Long Island Pro-NAFTA Coalition, Fall 1993.
18. Texas A&M, “Contested Terrain: the Sartre-Camus Confrontation”, Fall 1995.
19. “Contested Terrain: the Sartre-Camus Controversy,” a panel presentation at the Sartre Society of North America, Denison University, Granville, Ohio, Oct. 1995.
20. “Earth Under Siege: the increasing cost of economic growth”, Keynote Address for the first annual Theme Year program at C. W. Post Campus of LIU, Oct. 1996.
21. “The Challenge of Sustainability”, a panel presentation at the 2nd national conference of the Radical Philosophy Association, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana, Nov. 1996.
22. “Earth Under Siege,” at the New York Society For Ethical Culture, July 26, 1997.
23. “Ethics, Sustainability, and Our Community With The Biosphere,” at the Bergen Ethical Society, September 14, 1997.
24. “Using Your Education To Save The Earth,” A Merit Lecture at C. W. Post College, October 20, 1997.
25. “A Tragic Vision for a New Millennium: the Contemporary Relevance of Albert Camus,” at the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, Boston, August 1998.
26. Panelist on the Sartre-Camus controversy at the meeting of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association in Atlanta, December 2001.
27. Organizer and panelist of “McD 70/50: a conference celebrating the life and work of Professor John J. McDermott,” held at C.W.Post College from June 21-23, 2002.
28. After dinner speaker at a conference honoring Professor Ronald Santoni, at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, October 2002.
29. “Ethical Dilemmas of Democratic Politics,” at the Long Island Ethical Humanist Society, October 9, 2005.
30. “Problems and Prospects: thoughts on addressing the current challenges facing our country,” at the Bellport Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, October 16, 2005.
31. “John Dewey and Ethical Culture,” a presentation to the Leaders of the American Ethical Union, at their Annual Conference, at C.W. Post Campus, June 2007.
32. Expert Federal Panelist on sustainable development for ATSDR’s Brownfields Redevelopment Project, Louisville, KY, October 3, 2007.
33. “Philosophical Perspectives and Practical Consequences of Religious Humanism,” Sunday Morning Platform address to the New York Society for Ethical Culture, June 15, 2008.
34. “Camus’ Stranger,” an address at Bloomfield College, November 2008.
35. Presentation on Critique of Western Philosophy and Social Theory, at the Sherman Public Library, February 25, 2010.
36. Organized and participated in a panel discussion on “Strategies for Combating the Radical Right,” at the Left Forum, March 20, 2010.
37. “Reflections on American Experience and Culture,” at the Ethical Culture Society of Northern Westchester, December 12, 2010.
38. Author Meets Critique Session on Critique of Western Philosophy and Social Theory, at the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, Spokane, WA, March 11, 2011.
39. “The Ethical Vision of Albert Camus,” at the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, May 15, 2011.
40. “Making Sense of American Politics,” at the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, July 3, 2011.
41. Holley Lecture, “Making Sense of Our Life,” at Bloomfield College, April 3, 2012.
42. Commentator on papers on C.S. Peirce, and John Dewey at the 2014 annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy.
43. Commentator on Ron Aronson’s Hope In Trouble, North American Sartre Society, November 2015
44. “Living The Good Life,” talk to Molloy College adults, January 20, 2017.
45. “On American Philosophy,” talk at the Gold Coast Library, January 17, 2018.
46. “Making Sense of Recent Elections,” talk at the South Huntington Public Library, January 24, 2018.
47. “Manifest Destiny,” talk at the Syosset Public Library, March 1, 2018.
48. “The American Dream,” talk at the Elmont Library, April 6, 2018.
49. “The Good Life: how to think about what really matters,” a talk at the Huntington Public Library, July 12, 2018.
50. “The American Dream,” a talk at the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, October 15, 2018.
51. “Where Do We Go From Here?,” a talk at the Bethpage Library, February 4, 2019.
52. “McDermott: In Memorial,” McDermott Memorial Session, at the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, March 2019.
53. “American Nations,” a talk at the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, April 25, 2019.
54. “The Good Life: how to think about what really matters,” at the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, Sept. 4, 2019.
55. “Reflections on the Progressive Path Forward,” at LI Network for Change, Sept. 8, 2019.
56. “Democracy Under Siege,” a talk at the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, September 19, 2021; on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/@davidsprintzen958
57. “Today’s Relevance of Camus, Sartre, and Their Conflict.” at the North American Sartre Society, November 2022.
58. Served as an expert on the life and thought of Albert Camus for ‘Hindsight,’ a dramatized docu-series, produced by SOWI Productions for Al Jazeera Podcasts. June 2023.
59. “Ontological Emergence and Human Freedom,” a talk at the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, March 2024.

Selected Publications:

1. “The Poetics of the Human Condition,” Main Currents in Modern Thought, Vol. 29, No. 4, March-April 1973, with Alan Rosenberg.
2. “Heroism and Immortality,” Crosscurrents, Vol. XXIV, No. 1, Spring 1974, with Alan Rosenberg.
3. Review of Dewey and His Influence, Transactions of the C. S. Peirce Society, Vol. XI, No. 2, Spring 1975
4. Comments on “China’s Economic Strategy,” Monthly Review, Vol. 27, No. 10, March 1976.
5. “Tools, Maps, and Ideas,” Ventures in Research, Series Five, Spring 1978.
6. The Drama of Thought: an inquiry into the place of philosophy in human experience, University Press of America, 1978.
7. “Academic Unionists Confront Reaganomics,” In These Times, Nov. 1982.
8. “Confronting Armageddon,” Newsday, 1982
9. Camus: a critical examination, Temple University Press, 1988.
10. “Any Way Out of the School Cost Burden?”, Viewpoints article, Newsday, 1991.
11. “A LI Economic Authority?”, Viewpoints article, Newsday, 1991.
12. “Needed: Turn Down the Volume Laws,” Viewpoints article, Newsday, 1991.
13. “Albert Camus” in The Routledge Dictionary of Twentieth Century Political Thinkers, Edited by Robert Benewick and Philip Green, Routledge Press, Nov. 1992.
14. “Ethical Theory and Social Strategy” in Ethics and the Environment, Edited by Richard Hart, University Press of America, 1992.
15. “Nassau Needs Part-Time Legislators,” Viewpoints article, Newsday, 1994.
16. “Democrats Can’t Win by Moving Right,” Viewpoint article, Newsday, Dec. 22, 1994
17. “Long Island 2020: A Greenprint For A Sustainable Long Island”, Director of the Research and Education Project’s Campaign For Sustainable Development which produced this draft plan, in which I played a major role.
18. “Let’s Nourish LI’s Home-Grown Economy”, with Dr. Scott Carlin, Viewpoints article, Newsday, Jul 18, 1996.
19. “Albert Camus,” in Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward Craig, Routledge, 1997.
20. “Stop Urbanizing the Clogged Nassau Hub,” Viewpoints article, Newsday, Nov. 17, 1998.
21. “Leading a Drive ‘on the Democratic Left,'” Viewpoints article, Newsday, March 22, 1999.
22. Sartre and Camus: A Historic Confrontation, translation and commentary, with Prof. Adrian Van Den Hoven, Humanity Books, 2004.
23. “Celebrating 25 Progressive Years on Long Island,” Long Island Press, March 25-31, 2004, p. 16.
24. “A Reasonable Compromise in Difficult Times,” Viewpoints article, Newsday, April 3, 2009.
25. Critique of Western Philosophy and Social Theory, Palgrave-Macmillan, 2009.
26. “Albert Camus,” in the International Encyclopedia of Ethics, Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
27. “A Commentary of Ronald Dworkin’s Religion Without God”, in Essays In the Philosophy of Humanism, Vol. 21 (2), 2013.
28. “Progressives Should Be Pleased By What Bernie Sanders Has Done So Far”, April 30, 2016:
29. “McDermott In Memorium,” William James Studies, Vol. 15, No.1, Spring 2019, pp. 22-26.
30. “Sartre and Camus: a much misunderstood relation,” in Brill’s Companion To Camus: Camus Among The Philosophers, Brill NV, Leiden, 2020, pp. 248-267.
31. “Ontological Emergence and Human Freedom,” Journal of Speculative Philosophy, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2022.
32. Human Emergence and Our Place in the Natural World, Palgrave-Macmillan, New York, 2024.