Philosophy Professor Probes Faith, Reason

Westmont alumnus Jerry H. Gill ’56, adjunct professor of philosophy, religious studies and humanities at Pima Community College in Tucson, Ariz., explores the relationship between faith and reason in a free, public lecture, “Faith and/or Reason,” Friday, Sept. 14, at 3:30 p.m. in Adams Center 216.

Gill, professor emeritus of philosophy and religious studies at the College of St. Rose in Albany, N.Y., will focus his talk on Blaise Pascal’s statement, “The heart has reasons that reason knows not of.” He will also consider Michael Polanyi’s idea of tacit knowledge, which is the type of knowledge that’s relies on intangible factors, such as personal intuitions, and is difficult to articulate with language.

After graduating from Westmont, Gill earned a master’s degree at the University of Washington, a Master of Divinity from New York Theological Seminary and a doctorate in philosophy of religion from Duke University.

He has authored 20 books, including “Deep Postmodernism: Whitehead, Wittgenstein, Merleau-Ponty and Polanyi,” “Enduring Questions: Traditional and Contemporary Voices” and “If a Chimpanzee Could Talk and Other Reflections on Language Acquisition.” He has published more than 100 articles in professional journals such as Mind, Theology Today, Philosophy Today, Religious Studies and Process Studies.

He has also taught at Seattle Pacific University, Rhodes College, Eckerd College, Eastern University, Barrington College and Dongbei University of Finance and Economics.