Richard Sugarman (born July 12, 1944) is an American academic and political consultant. He is a professor of religion at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

and "a world-renowned expert on the French philosopher

Emmanuel Levinas Emmanuel Levinas (born Emanuelis Levinas ; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the rel ...

". He was an advisor to presidential candidate

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

on his 2016 presidential campaign.

Early life

Richard Sugarman was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. He is of Ukrainian Jewish descent on his paternal side and of English Jewish descent on his maternal side. His father's family were Hasidic Jews; his mother was a Reform Jew. His father was a serial entrepreneur. Sugarman received his B.A. ''cum laude'' in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1966; his roommate was

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; February 24, 1942 – March 27, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Dem ...

, who later served as

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

. One of his professors was John Daniel Wild, and he also was mentored by Paul Weiss. After serving as a Carnegie Teaching Fellow in philosophy at Yale during the 1966–1967 academic year, he went on to receive an M.A. from Yale in 1969 and a Ph.D. from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

in 1976, both in philosophy. His thesis was entitled, ''Toward a Phenomenology of Ressentiment''.

Academic career

Following his Carnegie Fellowship, Sugarman resumed teaching as a part-time instructor of philosophy and religion at the

in 1970. He became a full-time instructor of philosophy and religion in 1971 before moving to the newly formed religion department in 1974. In addition to receiving tenure in 1978, he was subsequently promoted to assistant professor (1976), associate professor (1986) and professor (2002) of religion. The author of several books, he specializes in the interstices between

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839� ...

Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until the modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconc ...

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

, and ancient and modern humanities. He is also "a world-renowned expert on the Lithuanian-born philosopher

." According to Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, "one of his journal articles in ''Phenomenological Inquiry'' was on Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's nightstand the day he died."

Political consultancy career

Sugarman encouraged

to run for mayor of Burlington in 1981 after the two had lived together. He was an advisor to the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.

Personal life

Sugarman has a wife, Linda, and three children. They reside in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

. Sugarman has

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

. He is an Orthodox Jew and attended Congregation Ahavath Gerim. He is also an "unapologetic

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

Works

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugarman, Richard Living people 1944 births People from Buffalo, New York People from Burlington, Vermont American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American people of English-Jewish descent Yale University alumni Boston University alumni University of Vermont faculty Jewish philosophers American Orthodox Jews American Zionists Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign People associated with the 2016 United States presidential election