Robert J. Dostal

Rufus M. Jones Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Research Professor
Robert J. Dostal headshot

Contact

Location Old Library 148

Department/Subdepartment

Education

Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University

Areas of Focus

Kant and contemporary European philosophy, especially phenomenology and hermeneutics

 

Biography

Robert Dostal has taught at Bryn Mawr since 1980. He is the Rufus Jones Professor of Philosophy and Religion. Although he specializes in Kant and contemporary European philosophy, especially phenomenology and hermeneutics, he takes a great interest in classical Greek thought. He is also concerned with history and philosophy of science and technology, especially as it relates to ethics and politics. Among Dostal's published works are articles on Kant, the theory of interpretation, Plato, Heidegger's politics, and Gadamer's hermeneutics. He is editor of The Cambridge Companion to Gadamer (2002) and co-editor of Phenomenology on German Idealism, Hermeneutics and Logic (2000).

Courses Regularly Taught:

  • Historical Introduction to Philosophy: Ancient
  • Historical Introduction to Philosophy: Modern
  • Science, Technology, and the Good Life
  • Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy
  • Kant
  • Phenomenology: Heidegger and Husserl