R. Lanier Anderson

Bio

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.

Academic Appointments

• Professor, Philosophy
• Professor (By courtesy), German Studies

Administrative Appointments

• Senior Associate Dean for Humanities and Arts, School of Humanities and Sciences (2017 - Present)
• Executive Director, North American Nietzsche Society (2015 - Present)
• Professor of Philosophy and (by courtesy) German Studies, Stanford University (2015 - Present)
• Co-Director, Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in the Humanities, Stanford University (2008 - 2017)
• Co-Director, Stanford Philosophy and Literature Initiative (2004 - Present)
• Associate Professor of Philosophy, Stanford University (2004 - 2015)
• Visiting Associate Professor, Harvard University (2004 - 2004)
• Marta Sutton Weeks Faculty Scholar in the Humanities, Stanford University (2001 - 2004)
• Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Stanford University (1997 - 2004)
• Acting Assistant Professor, Stanford University (1996 - 1997)
• Visiting Assistant Professor, (joint appointment with Haverford College), Bryn Mawr College (1995 - 1996)
• Lecturer, University of Pennsylvania (1995 - 1995)

Honors & Awards

• J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor in Humanities, Stanford University (2017-pres.)
• Donald Andrews Whittier Fellow, Stanford Humanities Center (2015-16)
• Yumi and Yasunori Kaneko Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education, Stanford University (2009-19)
• Dean’s Award, Distinguished Teaching, Stanford University (2003 - 2004)
• Walter J. Gores Award for Excellence in Teaching (university-wide teaching prize), Stanford University Commencement (2002)
• Marta Sutton Weeks Faculty Scholar in the Humanities, Stanford University (2001 - 2004)
• Fellow, Stanford Humanities Center (2000 - 2001)

Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations

• Member at Large, Board of Officers, American Philosophical Association (2020 - Present)
• Member, American Philosophical Association
• Executive Director, North American Nietzsche Society (2015 - Present)
• Chair, Program Committee, North American Nietzsche Society (2004 - Present)
• Member, North American Nietzsche Society
• Member, North American Kant Society
• Member, Society for the History of the Philosophy of Science (HOPOS)
• Co-Chair, Design Team on the Future of the Major, Stanford University (2018 - 2020)
• Co-Chair, Search Committee, Directors of the Stanford Humanities Center and the Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (2019 - 2019)
• Director, Stanford/CCNY Partnership, Stanford University (2012 - 2017)
• Advisory Board, Stanford Humanities Center (2016 - Present)
• Steering Committee Member, Faculty Senate Stanford University (2008 - 2010)
• Member, Faculty Senate, Stanford University (2005 - 2010)
• Committee member, Study of Undergraduate Education at Stanford (SUES), (2010 - 2012)
• Subject area Editor, Kant entries, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2011 - Present)
• Editor, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Editor, Journal of Nietzsche Studies
• Referee, Princeton University Press
• Referee, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Referee, Archiv für Geschichte der Philosophie
• Referee, Journal of the History of Philosophy
• Referee, Journal of Nietzsche Studies
• Referee, Journal of the History of Ideas
• Referee, Cambridge University Press
• Referee, Philosophers’ Imprint
• Referee, Canadian Journal of Philosophy
• Referee, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
• Referee, European Journal of Philosophy
• Referee, Oxford University Press
• Member, ACLS National Screening Committee (2012 - 2013)
• Member, ACLS National Screening Committee (2010 - 2011)
• Member, IIS, Fulbright National Screening Committee (2007 - 2007)
• Member, Program Committee, APA Pacific Division (2001 - 2004)
• Member, Academic Planning and Policy Committee, Stanford Board of Trustees, Stanford University (2010 - 2012)
• Member, Provost’s Committee on Undergraduate Housing, Stanford University (2001 - 2002)
• Member, Stanford University Advisory Panel on Investment Responsibility (2008 - 2010)
• Member, Modern Thought and Literature Ph.D. Program, Stanford University, Committee in Charge (1998 - 2008)
• Member, Graduate Program in Humanities, Stanford University, Committee in Charge (2006 - 2009)
• Member, Committee for the Ethical Reasoning Sub-area (general ed. req’t) , Stanford University (2005 - 2014)
• Member, Stanford Humanities Center, Graduate Fellow Selection Committee, Stanford University (2004 - 2005)
• Panel Member, Stanford University Judicial Affairs Board (2006 - 2007)
• Member, Search Committee, Global/Multicultural Education, Stanford University School of Education (2005 - 2006)

Program Affiliations

• Modern Thought and Literature
• Philosophy and Literature

Professional Education

• Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philosophy (1993)
• M.A., University of Pennsylvania, Philosophy (1993)
• B.A., Yale University, Philosophy (1987)