Prof. Eaton became interested in philosophy at a young age and used his fascination with science fiction and time travel to spur his studies into the subject further. He obtained a BA from Western Illinois University, followed by an MA and a PhD from Southern Illinois University. He then taught for a year at the University of Tennessee at Martin before he went on to becoming an Associate Professor of Early Modern Philosophy at Georgia Southern University. He has been teaching philosophy for over twenty years and is currently serving as interim chair at Georgie Southern University.
His research interests include Early Modern Philosophy, Contemporary Analytic Metaphysics, History and Philosophy of Science, and Philosophy of Film. Prof. Eaton’s teaching is influenced by Paula Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968), and he believes that philosophy is an activity involving a sense of wonder about the universe. When it comes to teaching his students, he tries to provoke their intellectual curiosity by initiating a dialogue with them where they learn from each other. He enjoys demonstrating how philosophy, even in its most abstract issues, can be linked to their lives.
Prof. Eaton is also interested in connections between early modern philosophy and contemporary analytic metaphysics, with some of his favourite philosophers being René Descartes, Daniel Garber, and Tom Stoneham. He has also authored the book Boyle on Fire: The Mechanical Revolution in Scientific Explanation in 2004, which explores the scientific revolution and 17th century mechanical philosophy by examining Boyle’s work using a common method of experiment during that time: Fire Analysis, as well as its successes, shortcomings, and how these led to the mechanical-model explanation and its role in modern-day science.
