John T. Lysaker

Personal Biography

John Lysaker is William R. Kenan University Professor and Director of the Center for Ethics at Emory University. From 1996 to 2009 he taught Philosophy and Comparative Literature at the University of Oregon. Raised in NJ, he attended Kenyon College and did his graduate work at Vanderbilt University. His work concerns the conditions under which humans do and do not flourish and so concerns ethics in the broadest sense. This has led him to consider the nature of the self, the importance of art for life, the nature of mental illness, schizophrenia in particular, the importance of friendship for human growth and happiness, the nature of hope, trust, and forgiveness, and the ways in which various practices and institutions (e.g. self-culture, government, markets, professions) enable or undermine human well-being. His most recent work includes three studies of hope, trust, and forgiveness from the standpoint of moral perfectionism. His next project will be an extended meditation on the nature and value of friendship.