Bio
Dr. Mark Jensen is a Professor of Philosophy at the United States Air Force Academy. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame in 2006 and was appointed to the Academy in 2010. Dr. Jensen’s research interests include civil society, aesthetics, deliberative democracy, political liberty, and social justice. Key interlocutors include Aristotle, Jane Austen, T.H. Green, Dorothy Sayers, Alasdair MacIntyre, John Rawls, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and Iris Marion Young, among others. Jensen has published more than a dozen articles, including papers on ethics, political philosophy, architecture, and professional military ethics. His first book, Civil Society in Liberal Democracy, was published by Routledge in 2011. In the classroom, Dr. Jensen teaches across the curriculum, focusing on moral, social, and political thought. In service of the institution, Dr. Jensen has contributed in a variety of roles, serving for example as Deputy Department Head, Ethics and Respect for Human Dignity Institutional Outcome Team Lead, Faculty Senate President.
Education
Dr. Jensen earned a PhD in philosophy at the University of Notre Dame in 2006 under the direction of Paul Weithman; his dissertation was titled, “A Theory of Civil Society.” He has MAs from Notre Dame (2002) and Biola University (2000). He earned a BA at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) in Political Science in 1995.
Professional Experience
Dr. Jensen was appointed to the United States Air Force Academy in August 2010 and promoted to Associate Professor in July 2012. He was appointed Professor in January 2019 and granted tenure in the Academy’s first class of tenured professors in the summer of 2023. Prior to his appointment here, Dr. Jensen served as Visiting Assistant Professor at Valparaiso University (2006-2007), Hope College (2007-2009) and Calvin College (2009-2010).
Honors & Awards
Dr. Jensen received the Outstanding Academy Educator Award in May 2013 and the Martinson Award for Excellence in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in March of 2015. He was inducted into the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society in 2021 and received the “Three Star” award from the Superintendent in 2023.
Research and Scholarly Interests
Dr. Jensen works on problems across value theory, to include aesthetics, moral, social and political philosophy, as well as a variety of topics in applied ethics. His approach is broadly Aristotelian.
Publications
Civil Society in Liberal Democracy, Routledge, 2011.
“Living Honorably,” with Adam Pelser, Journal of Character and Leadership Development, vol. 9, no. 1 (Spring 2022), pp. 25-33 (invited).
“Improving Critical Reading with E-Texts: A Controlled Study in a Collegiate Philosophy Course,” with Dr. Lauren Scharff, Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Vol. 19, No. 3 (June 2019), pp. 49-64.
“Epictetus vs. Aristotle: What’s the Best Way to Frame Military Virtues?” Naval War College Review, vol. 70, no. 3 (Summer 2017), pp. 101-119.
“Gender Integration in the Military: A Rawlsian Approach,” Hypatia, vol. 31, no. 4 (Fall 2016), pp. 844-857.
“The Virtues of Bond and the Vices of Bauer: An Aristotelian Defense of Espionage,” in Ethics and the Future Spying: Technology, Intelligence Collection and National Security, edited by Jai Galliott and Warren Reid (Routledge, 2016), pp. 15-26.
“Aristotle, Autonomy, and Design: Ancient Wisdom and the Modern Home,” Architecture Philosophy, vol. 1, no. 2 (April 2015), pp. 198-213.
“Is Our Group An Agent? Do We Want It To Be?” Review Essay, Journal of Moral Philosophy, vol. 12, no. 4 (2015), pp. 539-551.
“Using E-Book Annotations to Develop Deep Reading,” with Dr. Lauren Scharff, Journal for Teaching and Learning with Technology, Vol. 3, No. 2 (December 2014), pp. 83-86.
“Hard Moral Choices in the Military” Journal of Military Ethics, vol. 12, no. 4 (2013), pp. 341-356.
“The Limits of Practical Possibility,” Journal of Political Philosophy, vol. 17, no. 2 (June 2009), pp. 168-184.
“Concepts and Conceptions of Civil Society,” Journal of Civil Society, vol. 1, no. 2 (May 2006), pp. 39-56.
“The Integralist Objection to Political Liberalism,” Social Theory and Practice: Special Issue on Religion and Politics, vol. 31, no. 2 (April 2005), pp. 157-171.