CONTACT
Email: ddenicol@gettysburg.edu
Website: https://www.drdenicola.com/
EDUCATION
EdD Harvard University, 1973
MEd Harvard University,1968
BA Ohio University, Phi Beta Kappa, 1967
ACADEMIC FOCUS
Ethics, Epistemology, Emotions, Philosophy of Education
DeNicola’s research has focused on theoretical and applied ethics, epistemology (especially the ethics of knowledge and ignorance), philosophy of education, and theories of emotions. His recent publications include:
- Understanding Ignorance: The Surprising Impact of What We Don't Know (MIT Press, 2017), which received the 2018 PROSE Award for philosophy from the Association of American Publishers, was designated an “Outstanding Academic Book” of 2018 by CHOICE, and has been translated into Turkish and Chinese.
- Learning to Flourish: A Philosophical Exploration of Liberal Education (Continuum/Bloomsbury, 2012), nominated for the Scheffler Prize of the American Philosophical Association.
- Moral Philosophy, A Contemporary Introduction (Broadview, December 2018), a second edition of which will be released in 2026.
DeNicola has also edited A Reader in Moral Philosophy (Broadview, 2019) and has authored numerous book chapters, articles, and review essays on such topics as: liberal education, expertise and democracy, the impact of post-truth culture, art and morality, supererogation, the relation of scientific theory and instrumentation. He has addressed a broader public in various online venues such as Aeon and Zocalo.
Daniel R. DeNicola served as Provost of Gettysburg College (1996-2006); as Vice President for Program Development, leading both the Eisenhower Institute and the Leonard Bernstein Center for Learning (2006-07); and as chair of the Department of Philosophy (2015-2018). His earlier career years were at Rollins College (1969-1996), where he also held various academic administrative posts, including nearly a decade as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. He has held visiting Fellow appointments at Harvard and Lancaster University (UK). For Gettysburg’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, he served as secretary, then as president.
DeNicola taught advanced courses such as Choice, Chance, Luck, and Fate; Emotion;
Philosophy of Place; Ethics & Economic Life; and the Philosophy of Color. He taught both the Senior Seminar on Ignorance, and First-Year Seminars such as Secrets & Lies and Designer Genes & the Ethics of Human Enhancement. In 2013 and 2019, he directed Gettysburg’s London Seminar, retiring in January 2020.
DeNicola received Gettysburg’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2006. At Rollins College (FL), he directed an NEH Summer Seminar, received several recognitions for “outstanding teaching,” and was awarded the Rollins Medal of Honor.