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Profile of Philosopher Susan R. Wolf

Dec 2, 2024

Susan R. Wolf

Biography

  • Born: 1952
  • Current Position: Edna J. Koury Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Previous Teaching Positions:
    • Harvard University (1978-1981)
    • University of Maryland (1981-1986)
    • Johns Hopkins University (1986-2002), where she chaired the Philosophy Department
  • Husband: Douglas MacLean, also a philosopher at UNC-Chapel Hill

Education

  • BA: Yale University (Philosophy and Mathematics, 1974)
  • PhD: Princeton University (Philosophy, 1978)
    • Thesis Advisor: Thomas Nagel

Philosophical Era and Region

  • Era: Contemporary philosophy
  • Region: Western philosophy
  • School: Analytic philosophy

Main Interests

  • Philosophy of action
  • Free will
  • Moral philosophy

Notable Ideas

  • Moral Saints: Critique of the idea that a morally perfect person is an ideal

Key Contributions

  • Relationship between freedom, morality, happiness, and meaningfulness
  • Books:
    • Freedom Within Reason (1990): Discusses free will as the ability to do what one reasonably thinks is right, compatible with determinism
    • Meaning in Life and Why It Matters (2012)
    • The Variety of Values: Essays On Morality, Meaning, And Love (2014)
    • Understanding Love: Philosophy, Film, And Fiction (2013, editor)

Major Essays and Theories

  • Moral Luck: Reconciling rationalist and irrationalist positions
  • Happiness and Meaning: Proposes meaning in life arises from engagement with objectively worthwhile things

Honors and Awards

  • Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1999)
  • Fellow of the American Philosophical Society (2006)
  • Mellon Distinguished Achievement Award in the Humanities (2002)
  • Trustee of the National Humanities Center (since 2014)

External Links