Bob Stern has been successful as Principal Investigator on a funding application to the White Rose Collaboration fund, for a project on ‘Luther as Philosopher’.
The aim of this project is to consider Martin Luther and his influence from a philosophical perspective.
While Luther has been widely studied by theologians and historians, he has been largely ignored by philosophers, in contrast to other key theological figures, such as Augustine and Aquinas. However, many of his central positions have significant philosophical implications and are often defended in terms that are not just theological. Moreover, because historians of philosophy have not generally engaged with Luther’s work, they have also overlooked Luther’s influence on philosophers who have come after him, such as Leibniz, Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Heidegger. This project will therefore explore the way in which understanding this Lutheran background can shed new light on the ideas of these major thinkers.
Bob will work with philosophers, historians and theologians from across the White Rose consortium including Ryan Byerly (Philosophy/SIIBS), Hugh Pyper (Philosophy/SIIBS), Anthony Milton (History), Michael Braddick (History), Cathy Shrank (English) and Iona Hine (English/SIIBS) from Sheffield.
There will be two workshops, and a final conference with a range of speakers as part of the project.