Satris joined Clemson in 1986. He did his graduate work in philosophy at the University of Hawaii (M.A., 1971) and Cambridge University, Cambridge, England (Ph.D., 1984). He designed and teaches a course at Clemson on ethics in architecture. He teaches Introduction to Ethics, Moral Philosophy, and Ancient Philosophy on a regular basis.. His books include Ethical Emotivism (Nijhoff, 1987) and Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Moral Issues, 9th edition (Dushkin/McGraw-Hill, 2004) -- a text widely used at colleges and universities throughout the United States. His work has appeared in numerous journals including the Journal of the History of Ideas, Teaching Philosophy, Ethics, Critical Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, Choice, Philosophy Today and the Journal of Value Inquiry.