Professor John Lippitt
BSc Hons (Manchester), MLitt (Dunelm), PhD (Essex)
Job title: Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of Religion & Head of the Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities Research Institute (SSAHRI)
Email Address: J.A.Lippitt@herts.ac.uk
Memberships and Appointments:
John Lippitt studied maths and philosophy at Manchester before pursuing postgraduate work in philosophy at Durham and Essex. His main research interests include Kierkegaard, ethics and various aspects of the interface between philosophy, literature, film and theology. His current work is on ethical and religious aspects of love and friendship. John is the author or editor of four books and numerous articles in leading international journals, including the British Journal of Aesthetics, Continental Philosophy Review, Inquiry, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, The Monist, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society and Religious Studies. Probably best known for his work on Søren Kierkegaard, John has been awarded research grants by the AHRC, the British Academy, the HE Academy and the Kierkegaard House Foundation (USA). During his time at Hertfordshire, he has served as Director of the UH Centre for Normativity and Narrative, Subject Leader for Philosophy, Secretary of the Søren Kierkegaard Society of the UK, and Treasurer of the Friedrich Nietzsche Society. He has also been a Visiting Research Fellow at the Hong Kierkegaard Library at St Olaf College, Northfield, MN, USA. He was promoted to Reader in 2001, and Professor in 2008.
Peer reviews of John's most recent book, Kierkegaard and Fear and Trembling (Routledge, 2003), include the following: "amazingly comprehensive and very ably written ... required reading for anyone doing graduate work on Kierkegaard. Even well-established scholars will find it an invaluable resource." - M. G. Piety, Teaching Philosophy; "This is an excellent piece of work ... brings out the full range of [Fear and Trembling's] implications for moral philosophy and philosophy of religion." - Stephen Mulhall (University of Oxford); "John Lippitt manages to capture the brightness and excitement of Kierkegaard's remarkable work while explicating its themes with depth and insight. One every page one finds eye-opening clues and interpretations ... a treasure" - Charles Guignon (University of South Florida).
List of publicationsResearch Interests
Kierkegaard - Philosophy of Love and Friendship - Ethics (especially the virtues) - Philosophy of Religion and Theological Ethics - Philosophy, Literature and FilmTeaching specialisms
Kierkegaard - Nietzsche - Plato - Narrative and Ethics - Philosophy of Religion - Philosophy in Film and Literature - The Meaning of LifeCollaborations and Projects
Along with his colleague Dr Brendan Larvor, Professor Lippitt is currently working on a collaborative project investigating how the nature and purposes of contemporary higher education relate to student expectations thereof. This project is funded by the HE Academy's Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies.
Professor Lippitt is also currently working on two books on ethical and religious aspects of love of self and love of others, provisionally entitled Kierkegaard and the Problem of Self-Love (under discussion with Cambridge University Press) and Self-Love (under contract with Acumen).