Dennis Cooley
Professor and Chair
Faculty
School of Humanities
- Dennis.Cooley@ndsu.edu
- (701) 231-7038
-
Office: Minard 422J
Dr. Dennis Cooley is Professor of Philosophy and Ethics and Director of the Northern Plains Ethics Institute at NDSU. He is the author or editor of five books, including Technology, Transgenics, and a Practical Moral Code (Springer), Death’s Values and Obligations: A Pragmatic Framework (Springer), and co-edited Passing/Out: Identity Veiled and Revealed (Ashgate), and a number of professional ethics articles. Cooley is editor of Springer’s International Library of Bioethics, the NPEI’s Northern Plains Ethics Journal, and former Associate Editor of Elsevier France’s Ethics, Medicine and Public Health.
Areas of Study & Research
Theoretical and applied ethics with a focus on pragmatism, bioethics, business ethics, personhood, death and dying, and artificial intelligence, especially in regard to its impact on social connectivity, mental health, and autonomy.
Courses Taught
Introduction to Ethics
Introduction to Philosophy
Contemporary Moral Issues
History of Modern Philosophy
Medical Ethics
Humanities I & II
Philosophy and Literature
Business Ethics
Professional Ethics
Logic
Bioethics
Philosophy of Education
Environmental Ethics
Aesthetics
Ethics, Engineering, and Technology
Philosophy of Law
Directed Studies:
Moral National Health Care
Medicine in the Third World
The Physician’s Obligations
Children’s Moral Development and the Internet
Rationalism/Empiricism
Awards & Honors
2019 North Dakota State University Sorority and Fraternity Faculty Advisor of the Year
2018 North Dakota State University Faculty Fellow (Inaugural)
2016 College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Service Award
2014 College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Fellow
2012 College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Outstanding Educator
2010 Fargo Moorhead Chamber of Commerce NDSU Distinguished Professor
2006 College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Researcher of the Year
2005 Daryl E Snyder Alumni Achievement Award
2001 East Carolina University’s Phi Sigma Tau Teacher of the Year
1990-1995 University of Rochester Fellowship
1990-1991 Rush Rhees Fellowship
1983-1987 New York State Regent’s Scholarship
Professional Associations
Association for Practical and Professional Ethics
Publications
Books:
2015 Death’s Values and Obligations: A Pragmatic Framework. The International Library of Ethics, Law, and New Medicine, 62. (Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands).
2014 The Ethics of Death: Religious and Philosophical Perspectives in Dialogue. Lloyd Steffen and Dennis Cooley. (Fortress Press: Minneapolis, MN).
2012 Passing/Out: Identity Veiled and Revealed Dennis Cooley and Kelby Harrison (editors). (Ashgate Press: UK).
2009 Technology, Transgenics, and a Practical Moral Code, The International Library of Ethics, Law and Technology series, Vol. 4. (Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands).
Re-imaging Death and Dying. Dennis R. Cooley and Lloyd Steffen (editors), Inter-Disciplinary.net.
Forthcoming
Socio-Biotic Community Ethics: A Pragmatic Approach. Monograph, Springer contracted for delivery in December 2026.
Articles (selected):
2025 “AI & the Deceased: Should Survivors Fear Ghostbots?” Dakota Digital Review. May 2025.
“Ghostbots: Harmful or a New Afterlife?” Dakota Digital Review, March 2025.
2024 “How AI is Stealing Our Autonomy - And What to Begin Doing About It.” Dakota Digital
Review. November 2024.
“Decolonizing Language for More Effective Communication.” Northern Plains Ethics Journal, 2024: 27-51.
2023 “A Duty to Use Autonomous Vehicles?” Dakota Digital Review.
2022 “How to have a brave conversation.” Humanities North Dakota Magazine, the Gray Matters Issue: 18-25.
“When civil rights shouldn’t be put to a popular vote.” Northern Plains Ethics Journal 10(1): 15-31.
2021 “Not Naturally So: Digital Education’s Failures Exposed in Covid-19 World.” Dakota Digital
Review.
2020 “Death cannot harm the patient.” Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 15 (October–December 2020):1-9.
“Was Jesus an assisted suicide?” Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 14 (July–September
2020):1-10.
“The practical need to challenge the status quo: New directions in bioethics” Ethics, Medicine
and Public Health, 14 (July–September 2020):1-5.
Presentations
October 2025: “Ethical Decision-making,” NCARB Leadership Institute, NLI Virtual Conference #2
September 2025: “AI: Mental Health and Social Connectivity,” CyberCon, Bismarck State College
March 2025: “AI’s Impact on Autonomy,” Association for Practical and Professional Ethics meeting.
“Professional Codes of Ethics: A 2025 Review,” Transportation Learning Network: MDT, NDDOT. SDOT, WYDOT, and Mountain-Plains Consortium Universities
February 2025:“Ethics," NCARB Leadership Institute, NLI Winter Conference
January 2025:“AI: Perils and Potentials,” North Dakota State University AI Forum
“Can Your Death Harm You?” Think and Drink, Humanities ND.
October 2024:“Creating Humanities Programming for Conservative Audiences II: Innovating through shared Experiences.” Cooley, Dennis, Gerhardt, Brenna, Bringhurst, Johanna. October 2024 National Humanities Conference. Providence, RI.
“Professional Ethics Panel.” NCARB Member Board Chairs and Member Board Executives Leadership Summit
August 2024:“Embracing Academic Honesty in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” NDSU 2024 Faculty & Staff Professional Development Conference.
May 2024:“Business Ethics: A pragmatic decision procedure.” 64th South Dakota Engineering Society conference. Sioux Falls, SD.
April 2024:“Is there a duty to use self-driving cars?” North Dakota Philosophy Conference. Minot, ND
“The Right to Life Is Nonsense on Stilts”, NDSU Philosophy Club
March 2024:“Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Tech?” Inaugural NDSU/Fargo Public Library Lectures. Fargo, ND
“Engineering Ethics: A Pragmatic Decision Process.” Transportation Learning Network (TLN) is a program within the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute (UGPTI) at NDSU. Fargo, ND. Zoom meeting to participants in five states. October 2023 “Creating Humanities Programming for Conservative Audiences II: Sharing ideas and practices from across the US” Federation of State Humanities Councils. Indianapolis, IN.
March 2023:“Assessing Outcomes Assessment Instruments and Activities for Online and Classroom Materials.” Association for Practical and Professional Ethics online conference. Online Panel: Prof. J. Brooke Hamilton, Dr. Brooke Breaux, Ms. Reese Benoit, Dr. Mark Herman, Prof. Dennis Cooley.
“Training Hospital Ethics Committees: Critically Assessing a Text.” Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. Authors Meet Critics. Dr. Toby Schonfeld, Dr. D. Micah Hester, Dr. Elizabeth Heitman, Prof. Dennis Cooley. Portland OR.
“Does Ethics Education Mix with Political Activism/Advocacy?” Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. Portland, OR.