Benjamin Keoseyan

Biography

Benjamin Keoseyan is a Visiting Instructor of Philosophy at Pepperdine University and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Arizona. His dissertation, supervised by Julia Annas, is entitled Plato and the Greek Origins of Nomocracy. It explores the origins of constitutionalism in Plato and Early Greek philosophers, with a focus on the Rule of Law and legal entrenchment. He recently published an article which explains how the disparate fragments of Cicero’s famous political dialogue—the De Republica—form a cohesive literary unity which is consistent with Ciceronian Academic skepticism. His other research interests include legal and political philosophy, and environmental ethics. He has enjoyed teaching courses on Plato, Aristotle, Early Modern philosophy, logic, environmental ethics, and the philosophy of happiness, and is thrilled to teach the Foundations of Reasoning course at Seaver College, where he will try his best to make Socrates proud. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Hispanic Studies from Seaver College in 2017 before completing an M.A. in philosophy at Northern Illinois University in 2019. He is a proud survivor of U.C. Berkeley’s Intensive Ancient Greek Workshop and is passionate about Classical languages, but still enjoys reading César Vallejo and Jorge Luis Borges from time to time. He enjoys cooking for his beloved wife and two children, and is an avid jiu jitsu practitioner.

Education

• University of Arizona, Ph.D. in Philosophy, minor in Classics, ABD
• Northern Illinois University, M.A. in Philosophy, 2019
• Pepperdine University, B.A. in Hispanic Studies, minors in Philosophy and Creative Writing, summa cum laude, 2017