Thomas J. Derdak, PhD

Senior Lecturer

Thomas Derdak is a Senior Lecturer of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago, where he has taught since 1979 while in graduate school. He received his B.A. as a double major in English Literature and Philosophy from Butler University in Indianapolis, and his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Chicago, where he studied under Paul Ricoeur, Stephen Toulmin, and Alan Donagan, and wrote a dissertation on epistemological issues in Freud, entitled Explanation and Interpretation in Psychoanalysis.

His areas of philosophical specialization are Moral Philosophy, the Ethics of Development, African Philosophy and Aesthetics. He has published articles on these and related topics. In 2018 he co-authored a book with David Ingram entitled: The Ethics of Development: An Introduction (Routledge: London, 2018).

Dr. Derdak is also the executive director and founder of Global Alliance for Africa, a not-for-profit foundation that collaborates with local schools and universities in East and North Africa to develop and manage education programs for children and youth. He travels regularly to Africa for this reason.

Education

Butler University, B.A.

University of Chicago, Ph.D.

Research Interests

The Ethics of Development, Moral Philosophy, African Philosophy, and Aesthetics