Steve Bein (it's
pronounced "Bine") was born in Oak Park, Illinois, a near
west suburb of Chicago, in 1973. He received a Bachelor's
degree in Philosophy from Eastern Illinois University in
1995 and went on to complete his graduate work in
philosophy at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. He
received his Master's degree in 1997 with a thesis on the
ethics of Watsuji Tetsurō. From 1998 to 2000 he studied at
Nanzan University and Ōbirin University under the auspices
of the Crown Prince Akihito Scholarship Foundation and the
Emperor of Japan. At Ōbirin, Steve worked closely with
Yuasa Yasuo in translating Shamon
Dōgen, Watsuji's book on
the thirteenth century Zen master, Dōgen. In 2005 Steve
received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of
Hawai'i; his dissertation was entitled Compassion and
Moral Guidance.
Steve is an avid rock climber, mountaineer, and SCUBA
diver, and he enjoys just about anything he can do
outdoors. He holds a third degree black belt in Bujin Bugei
Jutsu and a first degree black belt in Gokei Ryu, two
American forms of combative martial arts. He teaches
martial arts at his dojo, Bujin Bugei Jutsu Aiki Kai. He
studied Gracie Jiujitsu under Relson Gracie, Jeet Kune Do
under Burton Richardson, and has trained in a wide range of
other martial arts (twenty-four at last count). He is an
avid world traveler and is currently pursuing his goal of a
zero-carbon-footprint ascent of a mountain on every
continent.
Steve teaches philosophy at Rochester Community and
Technical College in Rochester, Minnesota, and also teaches
in the graduate program at St. Mary's University. In
addition to standard introductory philosophy courses, he
teaches Asian Philosophy, Japanese Philosophy, Chinese
Philosophy, Buddhism, Environmental Ethics, Biomedical
Ethics, Managerial Ethics, and Philosophical Themes in
Science Fiction. He was honored with Teacher of the Year
Awards from the international honors society Phi Theta
Kappa in 2005 and again in 2006, and was recognized by the
University Center Rochester as a Distinguished Faculty
Lecturer in 2006, 2009, and 2011. He lives with Michele,
his partner of fifteen years, and their Labs, Kane and
Buster.