I am a professor of philosophy at the College of Charleston in South Carolina where I have taught since 1986. I have a B.A. in economics and philosophy from Denison University (1975) and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder (1985). I teach a range of courses in philosophy, including environmental philosophy courses (my specialty), aesthetics, ethics and the law, and introduction to philosophy.

I have published several dozen papers including articles on intellectual property in Philosophy and Public Affairs (1989), on biotechnology in the Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review (1995), on the value of predation and on disequilibrium ecology & wildness value in Environmental Ethics (1994, 1999), on exotic species in Environmental Values (2001), on environmental disobedience in A Companion to Environmental Philosophy (Blackwell, 2001), and on a positive role for humans in nature in Ethics and the Environment (2002). Most recently my work has been in the area of environmental aesthetics and its relation to environmental protection. One of my papers was chosen as among the ten best articles published in philosophy that year and my articles have been reprinted over a dozen times.

I live on Sullivan's Island (a barrier island outside Charleston) and spend my summers in Bozeman, Montana. My wife Bev Diamond teaches in the Math Department at the College and I have a 7 year old son, Christopher. I love the outdoors and riding my bike. I can be reached at hettingern@cofc.edu.