Nicholas Wolterstorff 1932

Academic/Scholar

Nicholas Wolterstorff is currently Professor Emeritus in the Divinity School of Yale University. From 1989 until his retirement in 2002 he was the Noah Porter Professor of Philosophical Theology and an Adjunct Professor in the Philosophy Department and in the Religious Studies Department. From 1959 to 1989 he was a Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, the college from where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1953. From 1957 to 1959 he was a Lecturer in Philosophy at Yale, University.

Professor Wolterstorff did his graduate work at Harvard University from where he received his Ph. D. Degree in Philosophy in 1957. He has since held Visiting Professorships at Harvard University, at Princeton University, at Oxford University and at the Free University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He was also a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Professor Wolterstorff has authored 16 books and has written over 150 articles in professional and academic journals, an output that is considerable. His contributions have been in the areas of Epistemology, Philosophy of Religion, Aesthetics and Metaphysics. The areas of publication where he has been most active are in Epistemology, in Aesthetics and Philosophy, in Justice, in Political Philosophy of Art, and in Education.

His books in the area of Epistemology include, “Reason within the Bounds of Religion”, published by Eerdmans Publishing House in 1976 and in 1984, “John Locke and the Ethics of Belief”, published by Cambridge University Press in 1996, and “Thomas Reid and the Story of Epistemology”, published by Cambridge University Press in 2001. In Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art, Wolterstorff has written, ”Worlds and Works of Art”, published by Oxford University Press in 1980, and “Art in Action”, published by Eerdmans Publishing House in 1980. In the area of Justice, Wolterstorff has written, “Until Justice and Peace Embrace”, published by Eerdmans Publishing House in 1983, and “Religion in the Public Square” [with R. Audi], published by Rowman and Littlefield in 1997. Finally in the area of Education, Wolterstorff has written, “Educating for Responsible Action”, published by Eerdmans Publishing House in 1980, “Educating for Life and Educating for Shalom: Essays on Christian Higher Education”, published by Eerdmans Publishing House in 2004.

During his academic career he has had the opportunity to serve as President of the American Philosophical Association, Central Division, and as President of the Society of Christian Philosophers. He has also held endowed Lectureships at Oxford University for the Wilde Lectures, at St. Andrews University for the Gifford Lectures, and at Princeton Theological Seminary for the Stone Lectures.

Professor Wolterstorff was born in Bigelow, a small farming community in southwest Minnesota. His parents were Dutch immigrants. He was fortunate to be able to attend Calvin College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he found the inspiration to pursue and study philosophy, and especially the Philosophy of Religion.

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