Steve Bein 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, an American form of combative martial arts, which he
teaches 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 also 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. In addition to
standard introductory philosophy courses, he teaches Asian
Philosophy, Japanese Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy,
Buddhism, Environmental Ethics, and Philosophical Themes in
Science Fiction. From 2004 to 2006 he was honored with
Teacher of the Year Awards from the international honors
society Phi Theta Kappa. He lives with Michele, his partner
of thirteen years, and their Labs, Kane and Buster.