Profile: David Bell
Emeritus Professor
(BA Trinity College Dublin, MA, PhD McMaster, Canada)
David joined the department immediately after completing his postgraduate work in Canada. Before that he had also studied philosophy in Dublin and Göttingen. Most of his work has been in such areas as the philosophy of logic and language, the foundations of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the metaphysics of experience.
Although by inclination an 'analytic' philosopher, David Bell is also interested in certain aspects of the 'continental' tradition, and especially the insights that have emerged from movements such as Existentialism and Phenomenology. He was recently director of an international research project on the nature and origins of the Analytic Tradition in contemporary philosophy, one aim of which was precisely to investigate, and indeed encourage, points of contact between continental and analytic philosophy. In this connection he has been involved in founding, and sits on the editorial committee of, a new international journal, The European Journal of Philosophy.
As a result of a long-standing interest in the metaphysics of solipsism, David recently participated in the organisation of a conference on that subject, held on the island of Crete. (The convivial nature of the meeting provided excellent empirical evidence that solipsists are, in fact, neither insane nor, even, in the slightest bit unsociable).
In recent years he has held visiting or honorary professorships in the Universities of Keele, Munich, and Leuven. He was awarded a British Academy Research Readership for the period 1993–95. In 1995–96 he was a Fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (Institute for Advanced Study). He has recently been awarded the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung Forschungspreis (research prize) for Philosophy. During 2001–02 he was President of the Mind Association.
David also likes to fly kites:
Contact
email : d.bell@sheffield.ac.uk
Recent Publications
See a list of recent publications
Office hours: appointment by email
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Links to courses - Undergraduate
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