Andrea Christofidou
Encyclopedia
Andrea Christofidou is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy
at Keble College
and Lecturer in Philosophy at Worcester College, Oxford
. She has taught philosophy at the University of Oxford
since 1992, and at Keble since 2001. She previously held lectureships at New College
, Balliol
, and Wadham College
.
She offers undergraduate lectures on Descartes
. She has published on the self
, on the First Person, on the problem of consciousness
, and on Descartes, in all four areas arguing from a dualist
perspective against the physicalist
view that has come to dominate Anglo-American or analytic philosophy
.
Christofidou was born in Nicosia
, Cyprus
, moving with her family to England
at the age of fifteen. Before 1979, when she started her philosophical studies, she worked in merchant bank
ing in the City of London
, supporting her mother and two brothers after the early death of her father. She received her B.Sc. in philosophy from City University, London
, and her M.A. and Ph.D from Birkbeck College, London
. Her doctoral thesis was on "The Metaphysics of the Self: Self-Identification and Self-Ascription".
She has worked on English translations of the poetry of Constantine P. Cavafy
and Kostas Karyotakis
.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at Keble College
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall...
and Lecturer in Philosophy at Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College, Oxford
Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in the eighteenth century, but its predecessor on the same site had been an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century...
. She has taught philosophy at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
since 1992, and at Keble since 2001. She previously held lectureships at New College
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, Balliol
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, and Wadham College
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, located at the southern end of Parks Road in central Oxford. It was founded by Nicholas and Dorothy Wadham, wealthy Somerset landowners, during the reign of King James I...
.
She offers undergraduate lectures on Descartes
René Descartes
René Descartes ; was a French philosopher and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day...
. She has published on the self
Self (philosophy)
The philosophy of self defines the essential qualities that make one person distinct from all others. There have been numerous approaches to defining these qualities. The self is the idea of a unified being which is the source of consciousness. Moreover, this self is the agent responsible for the...
, on the First Person, on the problem of consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
, and on Descartes, in all four areas arguing from a dualist
Dualism (philosophy of mind)
In philosophy of mind, dualism is a set of views about the relationship between mind and matter, which begins with the claim that mental phenomena are, in some respects, non-physical....
perspective against the physicalist
Materialism
In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance...
view that has come to dominate Anglo-American or analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
.
Christofidou was born in Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, moving with her family to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the age of fifteen. Before 1979, when she started her philosophical studies, she worked in merchant bank
Merchant bank
A merchant bank is a financial institution which provides capital to companies in the form of share ownership instead of loans. A merchant bank also provides advisory on corporate matters to the firms they lend to....
ing in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, supporting her mother and two brothers after the early death of her father. She received her B.Sc. in philosophy from City University, London
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
, and her M.A. and Ph.D from Birkbeck College, London
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
. Her doctoral thesis was on "The Metaphysics of the Self: Self-Identification and Self-Ascription".
She has worked on English translations of the poetry of Constantine P. Cavafy
Constantine P. Cavafy
Constantine P. Cavafy, also known as Konstantin or Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis, or Kavaphes was a renowned Greek poet who lived in Alexandria and worked as a journalist and civil servant...
and Kostas Karyotakis
Kostas Karyotakis
Kostas Karyotakis is considered one of the most representative Greek poets of the 1920s and one of the first poets to use iconoclastic themes in Greece. His poetry conveys a great deal of nature, imagery and traces of expressionism and surrealism...
.
Selected publications
- "Consciousness Razing", The Times Higher Education Supplement, 29 July 1994, originally published under the title "A Difficult Subject for Experiment")
- "First Person: The Demand for Identification-Free Self-Reference" (Journal of Philosophy, XCII:4, April 1995, pp 223–234)
- "The Self and the Objective World" (Skepsis, Summer 1999)
- "Subjectivity and the First Person: Some Reflections" (Philosophical Inquiry, vol. XXI, Summer-Fall 1999, pp 1–27)
- "Self-Consciousness and the Double Immunity" (Philosophy, vol. 75, Autumn 2000, pp 539–569)
- "Descartes' Dualism: Correcting Some Misconceptions" (The Journal of the History of Philosophy, vol. XXXIX, No 2, April 2001, pp 215–238.)
- "God, Physicalism, and the Totality of Facts" (Philosophy, vol. 82, October 2007, pp 515–542)