Paul Crowther (; born 24 August 1953) is an English philosopher. He is a professor of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

and author specialising in the fields of

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

, and visual culture. He has written nine books in the field of History of Art and Philosophy. He was born in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, and he was raised in the Belle Isle estate,

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamenta ...

, and Middleton areas of south Leeds. He began taking an interest in art and philosophy at the age of 16.Kernan Andrews (2010
'There's really no such thing as useless knowledge'
''Galway Advertiser'' 18 February 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010. He is a proponent of an approach to aesthetics he dubbed " post-analytic phenomenology".

Career

Crowther initially enrolled at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The university owns and operates majo ...

to study

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

. He subsequently migrated to the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

where he took a joint honours degree in Philosophy and the History of Art. He was a graduate student at the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for post-nominals) is a collegiate research university, located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, co ...

and also holds a teaching certificate in Classical Studies. He obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in philosophy from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Crowther is a former fellow of

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

where he was a

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

at the Department of the History of Art and Reader in the History Faculty. He has also taught at the University of St Andrew's ( Fife, Scotland), the

University of Central Lancashire , mottoeng = "From the Earth to the Sun" , established = as Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledgere-established 1992 (University status granted) , type = Public , chancellor ...

, and Jacobs University Bremen. Between 2009 and 2016, Crowther held the post of Chair of Philosophy at the

National University of Ireland, Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

and subsequently has been

emeritus professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of philosophy at the same institution. In May 2017 Crowther was elected as a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...

Philosophical work

Crowther's interests and expertise are in the fields of visual aesthetics,

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...

, and Kant. Works by him on the philosophy of

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts ...

have been translated into Chinese, Korean,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, and

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

, amongst other languages. In 2014, Crowther — together with

Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

artist Mojca Oblak, and assistance from the Ministry of Culture of

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

and the Moore Institute in Galway, Ireland — organized an exhibition of Victorian art entitled ''Awakening Beauty'' at the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Selected bibliography

*Crowther, Paul (2009). ''Phenomenology of the Visual Arts (even the frame)''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. *Crowther, Paul (2007). ''Defining Art, Creating the Canon: Artistic Value in an Era of Doubt''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. *Crowther, Paul (1997). ''The Language of Twentieth-Century Art: A Conceptual History''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. *Crowther, Paul (1993). ''Art and Embodiment: From Aesthetics to Self-Consciousness''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Altieri, Charles (1995). Review of Paul Crowther, vols 1 and 2 of Art and Embodiment. Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 53 (1): 87-9. *Crowther, Paul (1989). ''The Kantian Sublime: From Morality to Art''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Mothersill, Mary (1992). Review of Paul Crowther, The Kantian Sublime: From Morality to Art. Mind 101: 156-160.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowther, Paul 1953 births 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English philosophers 20th-century educators 20th-century essayists 20th-century English historians 21st-century English male writers 21st-century English philosophers 21st-century educators 21st-century essayists 21st-century English historians Academics of the University of Galway Academics of the University of Central Lancashire Academics of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Cambridge Alumni of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the University of York Analytic philosophers British ethicists British male essayists Classics educators British consciousness researchers and theorists Cultural historians English art critics English art historians English classical scholars English essayists English male non-fiction writers English sociologists Epistemologists Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Historians of philosophy Academic staff of Jacobs University Bremen Kant scholars Literacy and society theorists Living people Mass media theorists Members of the Royal Irish Academy Metaphysics writers Ontologists People from Belle Isle, Leeds Phenomenologists Philosophers of art Philosophers of culture Philosophers of education Philosophers of history Philosophers of mind Philosophers of social science Philosophy academics Social philosophers Sociologists of art Theorists on Western civilization