Contact: 

Office: Cleveland Hall 107 

Phone: 540-568-6394 

Email: berghapt@jmu.edu 

Education:    

Ph.D. (ABD) in Philosophy, Georgetown University

M.A. in Philosophy, Texas A&M University 

M.Div., Mid-America Reformed Seminary 

B.S., United States Military Academy  

Research:

Professor Berghaus studies moral psychology, existentialism, and the philosophy of tragedy and their application to clinical and non-clinical approaches to trauma and moral injury with a focus on military servicemembers' recovery from the exposure to combat-related potentially morally injurious events.  He is currently developing a novel psychospiritual palliative approach to moral injury.  It incorporates the insights of ancient and modern European philosophical reflection on Greek tragedy's portrayls of human agency, responsibility, suffering, and dignity to construct an urgently needed complement to existing therapeutic interventions for post-traumatic stress.  Prior to JMU, Professor Berghaus was the inaugural Spritual Wellness Advisor for the Superintendent's Character Integrations Advisory Group and an Instructor in the Department of English and Philosophy at the United States Military Academy.

Teaching:  

Professor Berghaus teaches courses in ethical reasoning (Phil 150) and religions of the world (Rel 101). 

Publications:

Review of Branco and Hay, eds., Nietzsche and Kant on Aesthetics and Anthropology (Bloomsbury, 2017), in the Journal of Nietzsche Studies 52:2 (2021).  DOI: 10.5325/jnietstud.52.2.0290

"The Problems of Authority and the Want of Apprenticeship in Soldiers' Character Development," Journal of Moral Education 45:3 (2016): 324-337.  DOI: 10.1080/03057240.2016.1204272

"Involuntary Sins, Social Psychology, and the Application of Redemption," Heythrop Journal 56:4 (2014): 593-603, co-authored with Nathan L. Cartagena.  DOI: 10.1111.heyj.12227

"Developing Good Soldiers: The Problem of Fragmentation within the Army," Journal of Military Ethics 12 (2014): 287-303, co-authored with Nathan L. Cartagena. DOI: 10.1080/15027570.2013.869389