Alexander Host
Education
Professional Bio
Areas of Specialization
Kant and German Idealism
Modern Philosophy (esp. Spinoza)
Ancient Philosophy (esp. Plato)
Areas of Competence
Philosophy of Religion
Aesthetics
Philosophy of Language (esp. Wittgenstein, Ordinary language philosophy)
Research Interests
My current research examines the distinctive metaphysical, theological, and ethical questions that are raised by the philosophies of Kant and Spinoza and that come to shape the movement of German Idealism. I am interested in the nature of philosophical methodology, and especially in cases where direct, “intuitive” insight takes precedence over (indeed, is irreducible to) discursive thought. In this respect, I find the reappearance of the ontological argument in the work of Schelling and Hegel—just a generation after its dismissal by Kant—to be of particular significance.
