Peter S. Fosl

Peter S. Fosl is Professor of Philosophy and Chair at Transylvania University. He writes: "I’ve devoted a great deal of my professional energy to coming to terms with the history of western philosophy. I think understanding where we’ve been, how we got where we are, and perhaps what we’ve mistakenly left behind crucial to a life of reflection. A couple of topics and time periods have been especially interesting to me: early modern European philosophy, the Scottish Enlightenment (especially the work of David Hume; see my book "Hume's Scepticism"), and the topic of skepticism (of any time period). But perhaps most generally, I have devoted myself to making philosophy available and interesting on a broader scale than that afforded by colleges, universities, and professional societies. I think one of the most serious deficiencies (or at least missed opportunities) of the world today is its paying little attention to philosophy. Philosophy is, I think, well worth the time of one's life to discover and to engage; and I hope to make at least a small contribution to helping others to do so. It's for this reason that I have done things like teach at small, teaching-oriented liberal arts colleges, serve as contributing editor to The Philosophers' Magazine, and write books like The Philosopher's Toolkit. It's also why I've joined AskPhilosophers.org."