Theodore George

Theodore George is Professor of Philosophy and Presidential Impact Fellow at Texas A&M University, as well as member (adjunct) of the Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary. His research is in Post-Kantian European Philosophy, with emphases in hermeneutics, the philosophy of art and aesthetics, and classical German philosophy. Professor George’s current research examines the distinctive sense of truth that may be experienced when we interpret something, whether we come to such truth in the arts and humanities or simply in the course of our everyday lives. This research is complemented by his co-authorship of a second, revised edition of a book about how to put this sense of truth to good use in academic research, Conducting Hermeneutical Research: From Philosophy to Practice (Peter Lang, forthcoming 2025). And, the work he is doing now builds on his recent book about ethical demands placed on us whenever we engage in interpretation, The Responsibility to Understand: Hermeneutical Contours of Ethical Life  (Edinburgh University Press, 2020).

Professor George’s recent research also includes authoritative scholarly resources for the study of hermeneutics, such as his Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article for  “Hermeneutics” and, as co-editor, The Gadamerian Mind in the Routledge Philosophical Minds series (Routledge, 2022). Professor George has also contributed to the reception of important developments in contemporary hermeneutics through his translation of Günter Figal, Objectivity: The Hermeneutical and Philosophy (State University of New York Press, 2010).

Professor George’s service to the profession includes his role as book series Editor, Post-Kantian European Philosophy (Mohr Siebeck); Co-editor, Annual Proceedings of the International Hermeneutics Symposium (Mohr Siebeck); and Category Editor, PhilPapers, “Hermeneutics,” / leaf editor “Hans-Georg Gadamer.” He serves on advisory boards of several journals and academic societies, and he has completed peer-review work for granting agencies such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fulbright Commission, as well as for numerous presses and journals.

His research has been supported by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Fulbright Commission, the Goethe Institute, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) at the University of Freiburg, Germany, as well as at Texas A&M University by the Presidential Impact Fellows Program, the Rothrock Fellows Program, and the Glasscock Center for Humanities Research.

Professor George’s contributions to Texas A&M University include two terms as Head of the Department of Philosophy, Academic Program Review work in conjunction with Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board mandate. He is a recipient of the Texas A&M Association of Former Students College of Liberal Arts Teaching Award.

Educational Background

• Ph.D. in Philosophy, Villanova University, 2000

Scholarly Achievements

• Book series Editor, Post-Kantian European Philosophy, Mohr Siebeck
• Co-author, Conducting Hermeneutical Research, revised second edition (Peter Lang, forthcoming)
• The Responsibility to Understand (Edinburgh University Press, 2020)
• Co-editor, The Gadamerian Mind, Philosophical Minds Series (Co-Editor, Routledge, 2021)
• “Hermeneutics,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• “On Gadamer’s Legacy: Postmodern Hermeneutics, New-Realist Hermeneutics, and the Tension in Understanding,” Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, Special Issue, “Gadamer Today,” guest editor Niall Keane, Vol. 56, No. 1 (2025): 43–56.

Office Hours

• TR 1:00-2:00