Charles B. Hayes, Ph.D.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Noble Hall #218
cbhayes1@fortlewis.edu
Professional Website

First gen

Expertise

  • Environmental Philosophy
  • Philosophy of Technology
  • Virtue Ethics (Ancient and Contemporary)
  • Ethics of Wilderness, Conservation, and Restoration

Education

  • Ph.D., Michigan State University, 2023
  • M.A., University of Montana, 2018
  • M.Litt., University of St. Andrews, 2010
  • B.A., Eastern University, 2007

About Charles B. Hayes

I work in the overlap of Environmental Philosophy and the Philosophy of Technology. As I practice it, philosophy is the study of where we are and who we want to be here. The shape of our environments—from the health and accessibility of our forests to the layout of our living rooms—shape the lives we lead, the sorts of people we become.

Environmental decisions are always decisions about the kind of lives we hope to build. The environmental task of building a good life for generations to come is the hope of all my work. My personal webpage links to recent publications and projects.

I am currently a Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Fort Lewis College. I previously taught for the University of Montana's Environmental Philosophy MA program and lectured in their Davidson Honors College. I have taught field courses in ecology and environmental governance for UM’s Wilderness and Civilization program and Montana's Wild Rockies Field Institute. Outside academia, I have served as Chief Development and Communications Officer for Grow Ohio Valley, promoting local food systems in Appalachia. 

I split my time between two very different mountain ranges, the deep Appalachian forests of West Virginia and the wide-open Rockies of Colorado and Montana. For more than a decade I have worked in the overlap of academic philosophy, non-profit administration, and outdoor education, all with the unifying conviction that flourishing environments are necessary for flourishing lives.

Current Curriculum Vitae 

In the media

“A Fierce and Fearful Love: On Delisting the Grizzly.” The Missoulian. May 11th, 2024, p. A6. Op-ed. (598 words) Reprinted in Helena Independent Record, Billings gazette, Ravalli Republic, and The Montana Standard. 

Selected publications

Forthcoming 2026:  Book Chapter: “A Technological Environment: Albert Borgmann in Digital Worlds" to be published in Finding our Place in the Digital World: Philosophical Essays on Technology, Phenomenology, and the Environment (The Center for Collaboration and Ethics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley). 

Forthcoming 2026:  Book Chapter: “Conservation and the Good Life” to be published in Environmental Ethics Evolves: A Collaborative Introduction, Eds. Arthur Obst and Linde De Vroey, Routledge.
2025 - “Rewilding Anthropocentrism” Environmental Ethics. 47.1: 5-22 

2025 - "We’ve Found Something Good Here: Deictic Discourse and Environmental Engagement”
With M. Joseph Aloi, Environmental Ethics 46.4: 421-436