Jonathan Lear | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1948 (age 76–77) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Yale University (BA) Cambridge University (BA) Rockefeller University (PhD) |
| Institutions | University of Chicago |
Main interests | |
Jonathan Lear is an American philosopher and psychoanalyst. He is theJohn U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in theCommittee on Social Thought at theUniversity of Chicago and served as the Roman Family Director of theNeubauer Collegium for Culture and Society from 2014 to 2022.[1]
Lear earned his B.A. (cum laude) in History atYale in 1970 and his B.A. in Philosophy atCambridge in 1973. He then received his Ph.D. in philosophy atRockefeller University with a dissertation on Aristotle's logic directed bySaul Kripke. He also trained at theWestern New England Institute for Psychoanalysis in 1995. He subsequently won the Gradiva Award from the National Association for Psychoanalysis three times for work that advances psychoanalysis.
Before moving to Chicago permanently in 1996, Lear taught philosophy at Cambridge University (1979-1985), where he was a Fellow and the Director of Studies in Philosophy ofClare College. He also taught philosophy atYale University and was Chair of the Department of Philosophy (1978–79, 1985-1996). He is a member of theInternational Psychoanalytical Association. In 2009, he received the Mellon Distinguished Achievement Award in the Humanities.[2]
During his time as the Roman Family Director of the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society was able to work with theApsáalooke Nation and theField Museum of Natural History to sponsor the exhibitApsáalooke Women and Warriors.[3]
In 2017, he was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences.[4]He was elected a Member of theAmerican Philosophical Society in 2019.[5]
Lear's early work focused on formal logic and ancient Greek philosophy. Much of his work involves the intersection ofpsychoanalysis and philosophy. In addition to work involvingSigmund Freud, he has also written widely onAristotle,Plato,Immanuel Kant,Søren Kierkegaard andLudwig Wittgenstein, focusing on ideas of the human psyche. This most recent work explores the ethical task of managing to live with the fears and anxieties of world-catastrophe.
His books include:
