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R. Lanier Anderson

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, J. E. Wallace Sterling Professor of the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy and, by courtesy, of German Studies

Department
Philosophy
Degrees / Education
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philosophy (1993)
M.A., University of Pennsylvania, Philosophy (1993)
B.A., Yale University, Philosophy (1987)
R. Lanier Anderson (Professor of Philosophy, J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor in Humanities) works in the history of late modern philosophy and has focused primarily on Kant and his influence on nineteenth century philosophy. He is the author of The Poverty of Conceptual Truth (OUP, 2015) and many articles on Kant, Nietzsche, and the neo-Kantian movement. Some papers include “It Adds Up After All: Kant’s Philosophy of Arithmetic in Light of the Traditional Logic” (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 2004), “Nietzsche on Truth, Illusion, and Redemption” (European Journal of Philosophy, 2005), “What is a Nietzschean Self?” in Janaway and Robertson, eds., Nietzsche, Naturalism, and Normativity (OUP, 2011), and “‘What is the Meaning of our Cheerfulness?’: Philosophy as a Way of Life in Nietzsche and Montaigne” (European Journal of Philosophy, 2018). Current research interests include Kant’s theoretical philosophy, Nietzsche’s moral psychology, Montaigne, and special topics concerning existentialism and the relations between philosophy and literature (see, e.g., “Is Clarissa Dalloway Special?” Philosophy and Literature, 2017). He has been at Stanford since 1996, and has also taught at Harvard, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Penn. With Joshua Landy (Comparative Literature, French), he has been instrumental in Stanford’s Philosophy and Literature Initiative. He currently serves Stanford as Senior Associate Dean for Humanities and Arts.

Contact

Telephone
(650) 723-0764