Dr Todd Mei
Contact Details
E-Mail: t.s.mei@dundee.ac.uk
Telephone: (0)1382 384541
Room Location: 3.09, Tower Extension
Biography
Dr Todd Mei obtained his bachelors degree in English literature from the University of California, Berkeley. After making a feature-length independent film with co-director Steve Edwards and editor Alan E. Bell, he worked as a claims adjuster for Chubb & Son and as a general manager for Boulders climbing gym. In 2008, he received his PhD under the supervision of Professor Jeremy Carrette (Kent) in the philosophy of human work. From 2008 to 2012, Dr Mei was a lecturer in the philosophy and religious studies departments at the University of Kent.
Personal interests include birthday challenges, climbing, windsurfing and the occasional archaeological excavation (if his trowelling skills are up to scratch).
Research and Teaching
Dr Mei is currently undertaking research in two areas: the philosophy of economics and the relation between Continental and analytic philosophy.
His approach to the philosophy of economics involves the application of phenomenology and hermeneutics (Heidegger and Ricoeur) to questions of value, exchange, use and ethics. Most of his focus tends to be on the nature of land as a distinct factor of production, the generation of ground rent, and the ethical-political implications of rent as an unearned value and form of taxation. Economists of interest to Dr Mei’s research include the classical economists, Henry George, Philip Mirowski, Amartya Sen and Nicolaus Tideman.
With respect to the relation between Continental and analytic philosophy, Dr Mei attempts to read the interrelation between the two in terms of a shared feeling or mood that can be described as a fundamental distrust of reality which, in turn, leads to their respective forms of coping with and/or attempts to resolve this distrust.
Dr Mei currently teaches ancient Greek philosophy and the philosophy of religion. In the past, he has taught modules on aesthetics, epistemology, existentialism, philosophy of art and political economy.
Publications
Books
- Heidegger, Work, and Being (Series in Continental Philosophy) (London: Continuum, 2009), 177 pp.
Edited Books
- From Ricoeur to Action: The Socio-Political Significance of Ricoeur’s Thinking (Series in Continental Philosophy), ed. with David Lewin (London: Continuum, 2012), 265 pp.
Invited Articles and Chapters
- “Ricoeur and the Symbolism of Sainthood: From Imitation to Innovation,” in Postmodern Saints, ed. by Colby Dickinson (London: Continuum/T&T Clark, forthcoming).
- “Introduction”, in From Ricoeur to Action: The Socio-Political Significance of Ricoeur’s Thinking, ed. by Todd Mei and David Lewin (London: Continuum, 2012).
Articles and Chapters
- “Ricoeur Economicus: Can Market Exchange Involve Mutual Recognition?” in Paul Ricoeur and the Task of Political Philosophy, ed. by Dan Stiver and Gregory Johnson (Lexington Books, in press (November 2012)).
- “An Economic Turn: A Hermeneutical Reinterpretation of Political Economy with Respect to the Question of Land,” Research in Phenomenology, 41:3 (2011), 297–326
- “The Pre-eminence of Use: Reinterpreting the Relation between Use and Exchange in Aristotle’s Economic Thinking,” The Journal of the History of Philosophy, 47:4 (2009), 523–548
- “Heidegger and the Appropriation of Metaphysics,” The Heythrop Journal, 50:2 (March 2009), 257–270
- “Economy of the Gift: Rethinking the Role of Land Enclosure in Political Economy,” Modern Theology, 25:3 (July 2009), 441–468
- “Heidegger and Teilhard de Chardin: The Convergence of History and Future,” Modern Theology, 24:1 (January 2008), 75–100
- “Justice and the Banning of the Poets: The Way of Hermeneutics in Plato’s Republic,” The Review of Metaphysics, 60 (June 2007): 755–78
- “Insurance in Between: A Critique of Liability Insurance and Its Principles,” Literature and Theology, 21:1 (March 2007), 82–98
- “Form and Figure: Paul Ricoeur and the Rehabilitation of Human Work,” The Journal of French Philosophy, 16:1&2 (Spring and Fall 2006), 57–70.
- “Commitment and Communication: The Aesthetics of Receptivity and Historicity,” Contemporary Aesthetics, 4 (2006), online journal at http://www.contempaesthetics.org/.
Outreach Publications
- “The Thoughtlessness and Homelessness of Land Monopoly,” Land and Liberty (forthcoming).
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