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R. Lanier Anderson

J.E. Wallace Sterling Professor of the Humanities and
Senior Associate Dean for the Humanities and Arts
Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania, 1993
B.A., Yale University, 1987
R. Lanier Anderson

My research concerns the history of late modern philosophy and connections between philosophy and literature.  In late modern history, I have focused primarily on Kant and his influence on 19th century philosophy.

My book on Kant’s critique of metaphysics (The Poverty of Conceptual Truth, 2015) came out with Oxford.  I have also written articles on Kant's theoretical philosophy, on Nietzsche, and on the neo-Kantian movement.  In the near future, I will be focusing on questions about Nietzsche’s moral psychology and on Montaigne’s philosophical and literary projects in the Essays, extending my reach to an earlier period.

With Joshua Landy (Comparative Literature, French), I have been instrumental in developing the program in Philosophy and Literature at Stanford, and we are currently collaborating in that area.

I was educated at Yale (A.B., 1987) and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D., 1993), where I worked closely with Alexander Nehamas, Gary Hatfield, and Paul Guyer.  I have taught at Stanford since 1996, and have also taught as a visitor at Harvard, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr.  I was born and raised in Macon, GA, and I get back there as often as I can.

Featured Books

Featured Articles

"Nietzschean Autonomy and the Meaning of the ‘Sovereign Individual'" . 2016

"On Marjorie Grene’s ‘Authenticity'" an Existential Virtue Ethics . 2015

"What is ‘the Meaning of our Cheerfulness’? " Co-authored with Rachel Cristy Philosophy as a Way of Life in Nietzsche and Montaigne . 2015

"Nietzsche on Redemption and Transfiguration" Joshua Landy and Michael Saler (eds) The Re-Enchantment of the World Stanford UP. 2009

"Kant on the Apriority of Causal Laws" Michael Heidelberger and Friedrich Stadler (eds) History of Philosophy of Science: New Trends and Perspectives Dordrecht: Kluwer. 2002

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