Jan Christoph Westerhoff is a German philosopher and orientalist with specific interests in

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 the

philosophy of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, the ...

. He is currently

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

Buddhist Philosophy Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combi ...

in the Faculty of Theology and Religion of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

Early life and education

Westerhoff was educated at the Annette-von-Droste-Hülshoff Gymnasium, a Gymnasium in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

, Germany. He studied philosophy at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, graduating with a first class

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

(BA) degree in 1999. He continued his studies of philosophy at Trinity and completed a

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

(MPhil) degree in 2000. He undertook postgraduate research at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Cambridge; his doctoral supervisor was Michael Potter. He completed his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(PhD) degree in 2003, with a

doctoral thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144 ...

titled "An inquiry into the notion of an ontological category". He undertook research for a second doctorate, this time in

Oriental studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern stud ...

, at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

(SOAS). He completed his second PhD in 2007 with a doctoral thesis titled "

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...

madhyamaka Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddh ...

: A philosophical investigation".

Academic career

He was previously a research fellow in philosophy at the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven pr ...

, a seminar associate at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

, a junior research fellow at Linacre College, a junior lecturer in the philosophy of mathematics at the

, a university lecturer in religious ethics at the

, a Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall and a research associate at SOAS.

Research

He is a specialist in metaphysics and

Indo-Tibetan philosophy Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

. In particular, his research focuses on the philosophy of the early Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, Nāgārjuna, with comprehensive books such as ''Nagarjuna's Madhyamaka.'' His research interests also include the history of ideas in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. His most recent research interests focus on the history of solipsism.

Selected works

Books

*''The Non-Existence of the Real World.'' (Oxford University Press, 2020, 384 pp., ) *''Crushing the Categories:

's Vaidalyaprakarana.'' (Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2018, ) *''The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy.'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018, ) *''Reality: A Very Short Introduction.'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, ) *''The Dispeller of Disputes:

's Vigrahavyavartani.'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010) *''Twelve Examples of Illusion.'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010) *(co-authored with The Cowherds) ''Moonshadows: Conventional Truth in Buddhist Philosophy.'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010, ) *''Nagarjuna's

Madhyamaka Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddh ...

.'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009) *''Ontological Categories: Their Nature and Significance'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005)

Journal papers (selection)

* * * * * * * * * *

Talks

Talk on naturalizing Buddhism, 2011Talk at the Madhyamaka and Methodology Symposium, 2010

References

External links

Westerhoff's homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westerhoff, Jan Academics of Durham University Fellows of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford German orientalists Living people Metaphysicians Philosophers of language Ontologists 21st-century German philosophers German male non-fiction writers Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Year of birth missing (living people)