Associate Professor, Philosophy
Co-director of The Center for Law & Society

Office phone: (716) 375-2292
Send an email

Plassmann Hall 312

Courses at SBU

• PHIL 104: Introduction to Ethics
• PHIL 312: Symbolic Logic
• PHIL 324: Mock Trial
• PHIL 325: Philosophy of Law
• PHIL 404: Ancient & Medieval Philosophy

Courses Taught Elsewhere

• Critical Thinking
• Global Moral Issues
• Bioethics
• Data Ethics
• Introduction to Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Philosophy of Mind
• Philosophy of Religion

• Ph.D., Purdue University, 2018
• B.A., Wabash College, 2013

Gillham joined the faculty of St. Bonaventure in 2019, where he is pre-law advisor, coaches mock trial, and co-directs the Center for Law & Society. Gillham’s primary devotion is teaching, although he maintains an active research agenda in ethics and ancient philosophy.

Selected Publications

• Gillham, Alex R. (Forthcoming). “Four Problems for the Pregnancy Rescue Case.” Journal of Medical Ethics.
• Gillham, Alex R. (2023). “Abortion, Impairment, and Well-Being.” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. Online first. doi: 10.1093/jmp/jhad031.
• Gillham, Alex R. (2023). “The Impairment Argument, Ethics of Abortion, and Nature of Impairing to the n + 1 Degree.” Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 26(2): 215-224. doi: 10.1007/s11019-023-10137-z.
• Gillham, Alex R. (2022). “Willingly Making Reparations, Loss of Unjust Advantage, and Counterfactual Comparative Harm.” Social Philosophy Today. Online first. doi: 10.5840/socphiltoday202281896.
• Gillham, Alex R. (2022). “(How) Are Friends and Friendship Worthwhile to the Advanced Epicurean?” Rhizomata: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science 10(1): 118-145. doi: 10.1515/rhiz-2022-0005.

My role as a professor of philosophy is to guide students through the logical space relevant to a particular course. As such, I aim to familiarize students with (1) the important philosophical questions pertinent to a given course, (2) the best answers that philosophers have given to these questions, and (3) the arguments for and against these answers. In doing so, students hone their capacities to ask good questions, construct arguments in response to them, and assess the merits of solutions developed by thinkers of historical significance.

In his free time Gillham enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with his wife and son, Lisa and Henry. Gillham also volunteers for civics education programs and directs St. Bonaventure’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lecture Series.