Mark Mercer, Ph.D.

Mark Mercer received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Toronto in 1991 and began teaching at Saint Mary's in September 1999. He works mainly in philosophy of mind and ethics. His current interests in the philosophy of mind concern the nature of mental states and the question how beliefs and desires can be causes and effects. In ethics, one of his projects has to do with the problem why care to promote the good or to do the right thing; another has to do with the claim that while we value some things intrinsically, nothing is intrinsically valuable. As well, since coming to Saint Mary's, Dr Mercer has developed a passion for ancient Greek philosophy. He likes each year to teach at least one course on the pre-Socratics, Plato, or Hellenistic philosophy.