Simon Critchley, born in 1960 in Hertfordshire, England, emerged from a working-class background to become a prolific philosopher and university teacher. His early career involved playing in unsuccessful punk bands and performing manual labor before he pivoted to academic pursuits, ultimately establishing a career defined by extensive scholarly production and positions at institutions including the New School.
Academic Trajectory
Critchley attended the University of Essex, where he switched his focus from literature to philosophy. He completed his PhD in 1988 and commenced his teaching career at University College Cardiff. He returned to the University of Essex as a lecturer in 1989, advancing to reader in 1995 and full professor in 1999. Between 1998 and 2004, he served as Directeur de Programme at the Collège international de philosophie in Paris. Since 2004, he has taught at the New School for Social Research in New York City, becoming the Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy in 2011. He also maintains an affiliation with the European Graduate School.
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Critchley has authored over twenty monographs exploring subjects ranging from the deaths of philosophers to political theology and suicide. His work often synthesizes disparate cultural and intellectual influences, including Greek tragedy, the poetry of Wallace Stevens, and the cinema of Terrence Malick. In The Book of Dead Philosophers, he examines the lives and final words of approximately 190 thinkers, engaging with the classical assertion that philosophy is a preparation for death. His political writings, notably Infinitely Demanding and The Faith of the Faithless, challenge conventional notions of political disappointment and faith, advocating for forms of neo-anarchism and rethinkings of political theology.
Broadening Inquiry
Beyond traditional academic monographs, Critchley produces diverse media including podcasts, journalistic essays, and novellas like Memory Theatre. His interest in music and popular culture is evident in his book Bowie and his public writing regarding the experiences of Liverpool Football Club fans. He has engaged extensively with the thought of Martin Heidegger and Emmanuel Levinas, contributing to The Cambridge Companion to Levinas and producing long-form commentary on Being and Time. His career includes service on the board of the Onassis Foundation since 2015.
Fast facts
- Born: 1960, Hertfordshire
- Current Position: Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy, New School for Social Research
- Notable Works: Infinitely Demanding, The Book of Dead Philosophers, Bowie
- Education: University of Essex, University of Nice Sophia Antipolis
- Citizenship: United Kingdom
- Board Membership: Onassis Foundation
Questions readers ask
What is the focus of The Book of Dead Philosophers?
The book catalogues and discusses the lives and deaths of approximately 190 philosophers, exploring the tradition that philosophy involves learning how to die.
Where does Simon Critchley teach?
He is the Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York City and also teaches at the European Graduate School.
Achievements
- Notable work: Infinitely Demanding
- Notable work: Faith of the Faithless: Experiments in Political Theology
- Notable work: On Humour
- Notable work: The Book of Dead Philosophers
- Held posts at University of Essex, European Graduate School and Collège international de philosophie
