Robert C. Solomon
Encyclopedia
Robert C. Solomon was a professor of continental philosophy
at the University of Texas at Austin in the USA.
, USA. His father was a lawyer
, and his mother an artist. He was born with a hole in his heart and was not expected to live into adulthood. After earning a B.A. in microbiology (1963) at the University of Pennsylvania
, he moved to the University of Michigan
to study medicine, switching to philosophy for an M.A. (1965) and Ph.D.
(1967).
, the University of California, Los Angeles
, and the University of Pittsburgh
. From 1972 until his death, except for two years at the University of California at Riverside in the mid-1980s, he taught at University of Texas at Austin
, serving as Quincy Lee Centennial Professor of Philosophy and Business. He was a member of the University of Texas Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Solomon was also a member of the inaugural class of Academic Advisors at the Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics.
His interests were in 19th-century German philosophy—especially Hegel and Nietzsche—and 20th-century Continental philosophy—especially Sartre and phenomenology, as well as ethics
and the philosophy of emotions. Solomon published more than 40 books on philosophy, and was also a published songwriter. He made a cameo appearance in Richard Linklater
's film Waking Life
(2001), where he discussed the continuing relevance of existentialism
in a postmodern world.
Solomon developed a cognitivist theory of the emotions, according to which emotions, like beliefs, were susceptible to rational appraisal and revision. Solomon was particularly interested in the idea of "love," arguing against the notion that romantic love is an inherent state of being, and maintaining that it is instead a construct of Western culture, popularized and propagated in such a way that it has achieved the status of a universal in the eyes of many. Love for Solomon is not a universal, static quality, but an emotion, subject to the same vicissitudes as other emotions like anger or sadness.
Solomon received numerous teaching awards at the University of Texas at Austin, and was a frequent lecturer in the highly regarded Plan II Honors Program. Solomon was known for his lectures on Søren Kierkegaard
, Friedrich Nietzsche
, Jean-Paul Sartre
and other Existentialist philosophers. Solomon described in one lecture a very personal experience he had while a medical student at the University of Michigan
. He recounted how he stumbled as if by chance into a crowded lecture hall. He was rather unhappy in his medical studies at the time, and was perhaps seeking something different that day. He got precisely that. The professor, Frithjof Bergmann
, was lecturing that day on something that Solomon had not yet been acquainted with. The professor spoke of how Nietzsche's idea of the eternal return
asks the fundamental question: "If given the opportunity to live your life over and over again ad infinitum, forced to go through all of the pain and the grief of existence, would you be overcome with despair? Or would you fall to your knees in gratitude?"
Solomon collapsed and died of pulmonary hypertension on January 2, 2007 while changing planes at Zurich
airport. His wife, philosopher Kathleen Higgins
, with whom he co-authored several of his books, is a Professor of Philosophy at University of Texas at Austin
. http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2007/01/in_memoriam_rob.html
Continental philosophy
Continental philosophy, in contemporary usage, refers to a set of traditions of 19th and 20th century philosophy from mainland Europe. This sense of the term originated among English-speaking philosophers in the second half of the 20th century, who used it to refer to a range of thinkers and...
at the University of Texas at Austin in the USA.
Early life
Solomon was born in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, USA. His father was a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, and his mother an artist. He was born with a hole in his heart and was not expected to live into adulthood. After earning a B.A. in microbiology (1963) at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, he moved to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
to study medicine, switching to philosophy for an M.A. (1965) and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
(1967).
Teaching and research
He held several teaching positions at such schools as Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, and the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. From 1972 until his death, except for two years at the University of California at Riverside in the mid-1980s, he taught at University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
, serving as Quincy Lee Centennial Professor of Philosophy and Business. He was a member of the University of Texas Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Solomon was also a member of the inaugural class of Academic Advisors at the Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics.
His interests were in 19th-century German philosophy—especially Hegel and Nietzsche—and 20th-century Continental philosophy—especially Sartre and phenomenology, as well as ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and the philosophy of emotions. Solomon published more than 40 books on philosophy, and was also a published songwriter. He made a cameo appearance in Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater
-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
's film Waking Life
Waking Life
Waking Life is an American animated film , directed by Richard Linklater and released in 2001. The entire film was shot using digital video and then a team of artists using computers drew stylized lines and colors over each frame.The film focuses on the nature of dreams, consciousness, and...
(2001), where he discussed the continuing relevance of existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
in a postmodern world.
Solomon developed a cognitivist theory of the emotions, according to which emotions, like beliefs, were susceptible to rational appraisal and revision. Solomon was particularly interested in the idea of "love," arguing against the notion that romantic love is an inherent state of being, and maintaining that it is instead a construct of Western culture, popularized and propagated in such a way that it has achieved the status of a universal in the eyes of many. Love for Solomon is not a universal, static quality, but an emotion, subject to the same vicissitudes as other emotions like anger or sadness.
Solomon received numerous teaching awards at the University of Texas at Austin, and was a frequent lecturer in the highly regarded Plan II Honors Program. Solomon was known for his lectures on Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish Christian philosopher, theologian and religious author. He was a critic of idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel...
, Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
and other Existentialist philosophers. Solomon described in one lecture a very personal experience he had while a medical student at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. He recounted how he stumbled as if by chance into a crowded lecture hall. He was rather unhappy in his medical studies at the time, and was perhaps seeking something different that day. He got precisely that. The professor, Frithjof Bergmann
Frithjof Bergmann
Frithjof Bergmann is a Professor Emeritus of philosophy at the University of Michigan, where he regularly taught classes on existentialism and continental philosophy.-Background:...
, was lecturing that day on something that Solomon had not yet been acquainted with. The professor spoke of how Nietzsche's idea of the eternal return
Eternal return
Eternal return is a concept which posits that the universe has been recurring, and will continue to recur, in a self-similar form an infinite number of times across infinite time or space. The concept initially inherent in Indian philosophy was later found in ancient Egypt, and was subsequently...
asks the fundamental question: "If given the opportunity to live your life over and over again ad infinitum, forced to go through all of the pain and the grief of existence, would you be overcome with despair? Or would you fall to your knees in gratitude?"
Solomon collapsed and died of pulmonary hypertension on January 2, 2007 while changing planes at Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
airport. His wife, philosopher Kathleen Higgins
Kathleen Higgins
Kathleen Marie Higgins is Professor of Philosophy at The University of Texas at Austin where she has been teaching for over 20 years. She earned her B.A...
, with whom he co-authored several of his books, is a Professor of Philosophy at University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2007/01/in_memoriam_rob.html
Selected publications
- Existentialism (McGraw–Hill, 1974)
- "Graduate Study in Continental Philosophy in American Universities," Teaching PhilosophyTeaching PhilosophyTeaching Philosophy is a peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to the practical and theoretical discussion of teaching and learning philosophy, that is philosophy education. The journal was established in 1975 by Arnold Wilson, and has published over 2,500 articles and reviews in this field...
1:2, 1975 - The Passions (Doubleday, 1976)
- "Teaching Hegel," Teaching PhilosophyTeaching PhilosophyTeaching Philosophy is a peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to the practical and theoretical discussion of teaching and learning philosophy, that is philosophy education. The journal was established in 1975 by Arnold Wilson, and has published over 2,500 articles and reviews in this field...
2:3/4, 1977 - History and Human Nature: A Philosophical Review of European Philosophy and Culture, 1750–1850 (Harcourt Brace Janovich, 1979)
- In the Spirit of Hegel (Oxford, 1983)
- From Hegel to Existentialism (Oxford, 1987)
- Continental Philosophy Since 1750 (Oxford, 1988)
- About Love: Reinventing Romance for Our Times (Simon & Schuster, 1988)
- The Philosophy of (Erotic) Love, with Kathleen M. Higgins (University Press of Kansas, 1991)
- The Bully Culture: Enlightenment, Romanticism, and the Transcendental Pretense, 1750–1850(Littlefield Adams 1992)
- Ethics and Excellence (Oxford, 1992)
- A Passion For Justice (Rowman & Littlefield, 1995)
- A Short History of Philosophy with Kathleen M. Higgins (Oxford, 1996)
- It's Good Business: Ethics and Free Enterprise for the New Millennium (Rowman & Littlefield, 1997)
- The Joy of Philosophy (Oxford, 1999)
- Wicked Pleasures: Meditations on the 'Seven' Deadly Sins (Rowman & Littlefield, 2000)
- (co-authored) What Nietzsche Really Said (Random House/Schocken, 2000)
- From Rationalism to Existentialism (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001)
- Phenomenology and Existentialism (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001)
- Sexual Paradigms (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002)
- Spirituality for the Skeptic: The Thoughtful Love of Life (Oxford, 2002)
- The Big Questions: A Short Introduction to Philosophy (Wadsworth Publishing, 2002)
- (co-authored) From Africa to Zen: An Invitation to World Philosophy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2003)
- Not Passion's Slave: Emotions and Choice (Oxford, 2003)
- What Is An Emotion?: Classic and Contemporary Readings (Oxford, 2003)
- Living with Nietzsche (Oxford, 2003)
- Thinking about Feeling: Contemporary Philosophers on Emotions (Oxford, 2004)
- Dark Feelings, Grim Thoughts: Experience and Reflection in Camus and Sartre (Oxford, 2006)
- True to Our Feelings: What Our Emotions Are Really Telling Us (Oxford, 2006)
- The Little Philosophy Book (Oxford, 2007)