NEWS

Richard D. Winfield

Distinguished Research Professor 2001

Richard Winfield, Department of Philosophy, investigates the area of systematic philosophy without foundations. Much of Dr.Winfield’s scholarly effort has focused on German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, whose thought influenced the development of Existentialism, Marxism, Positivism and Analytic philosophy. In addition to critically analyzing a wide range of philosophical strategies in epistemology, ethics and aesthetic theory, Dr. Winfield’s far-ranging writings present his accounts of the logic of autonomous reason, the elementary categories of nature, the valid organization of property relations, morality, the family, a civil society’s economic and legal institutions, and political freedom and international relations. He also has written on the nature of beauty and fine art, the basic options of artistic style and the defining character of different individual arts. He has published 10 books and has submitted an 11th one, The Just Stateabout political freedom and self-government, for publication. He is also working on a book titled Psyche, Consciousness, and Intellect: The System of Mind. His published work also includes a dozen book chapters, 36 journal articles and 72 scholarly papers. “There is no doubt that Winfield is breaking more new ground than most other Hegel scholars trying to apply Hegel’s System and methods to contemporary issues and problems,” wrote Ken Foldes in an article for Boston University’s Paideia Project.