About Us

Honors Faculty Benjamin Scott Young

Philosophy | Ethics | Interdisciplinary Learning

Dr. Benjamin Scott Young is passionate about exploring big questions — how we experience the world, how we understand ourselves and others, and what it means to live a good life. He earned his PhD in philosophy from the Â鶹ÊÓƵ and his B.A. in psychology and philosophy from Eckerd College.

Academic Interests

At the heart of Dr. Young’s work is a central question: What does it mean to flourish? His research engages philosophical hermeneutics, phenomenology, neurophenomenology, eudaimonic ethical metaphysics, and moral psychology, with particular focus on how the dynamic nature of understanding shapes first-person experience and our ways of engaging with the world and others. He also actively engages environmental ethics, the philosophy of improvisation, cross-cultural approaches to fundamental philosophical questions, and philosophical perspectives on generative AI and learning technology. His current work traces possibilities at the intersection of hermeneutic phenomenology, active inference approaches to neuroscience, and the integration of engaged research within experiential learning — especially as they relate to first-person experiences of well-being. Ultimately, he seeks to deepen our understanding of human thriving — individually, relationally, and collectively.

Honors Programs & Global Experiences

Dr. Young is deeply committed to shaping transformative academic experiences for Honors students. He coordinates the first-year seminar Acquisition of Knowledge: Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Practical Wisdom, where students cultivate critical thinking skills that support their learning throughout college and into their lives beyond. He also leads two immersive study abroad programs in England: The Honors Semester in Exeter (spring) and Honors in London (summer). These programs offer experiential learning that extends far beyond the classroom, inviting transformative personal growth and fostering a lifelong integration of learning and living.

Courses & Teaching Philosophy

Dr. Young’s classes invite students to engage deeply with big questions and transformative ideas. Blending philosophy, psychology, ethics, the arts, and the immersive experience of study abroad, his courses are dynamic, discussion-driven, and designed to be personally meaningful. Whether exploring human flourishing, the philosophy of love, or the neuroscience of consciousness, students are encouraged to think critically and reflect deeply about how ideas shape their lives and the world around them.

Courses Dr. Young has taught include:

  • Wonder, Wander, and Belonging: Cultivating Optimal Experience through Immersive Travel and Study in England
  • Flourishing: Cultivating Persons, Cultures & Environments of Well-being
  • London Walk: Explorations of Time and Place for Well-being
  • Physicians of the Soul: Philosophy, Medicine & the Good Life
  • Body Ethic: Practice, Place & Community
  • Philosophy of Love and Desire
  • Doctor Who? Bioethics, Medicine & the Human Condition
  • Media Ethics: Politics, Persuasion & Communication Technology
  • Phenomenology & Existentialism

If you’re curious about philosophy, ethics, the mind, or the deeper patterns of human experience, Dr. Young’s courses will challenge and inspire you to think and live in new ways.

Contact Dr. Benjamin Young.