The Department of Philosophy is delighted to welcome Alan McLuckie, our new Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellow. Al received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Stanford University in 2013. His dissertation, 'Kant's Moral Anthropology,' was written under the supervision of Allen Wood and David Hills. Alan also holds a BA (2005) and MA (2007) from the University of Alberta, and worked under the supervision of Robert Burch. His areas of research interests are in the history of philosophy more broadly, with specialization in Kant (primarily Kant's Ethics and Anthropology), Early/Late Modern, and Ancient.
Research Statement:
Until recently, many scholars have neglected Kant's anthropological works entirely, sometimes arguing that he does not have a conception of the human being at all. Others have claimed that because it is a largely empirical science, anthropology is a side-project for Kant, and moreover one that is inconsistent with the critical philosophy. The aim of my Killam research project is to argue that Kant's anthropology is not only consistent with the critical philosophy, but that it is also the most fundamental component of his philosophical system.
Welcome back Al!