Robert McDermott is professor of Philosophy

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...

 and Religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 at the California Institute of Integral Studies

California Institute of Integral Studies

California Institute of Integral Studies is a private institution of higher education founded in 1968 and based in San Francisco, California. It currently operates in three locations just south of the Civic Center district...

 in San Francisco. He received his Ph.D. in 1969 in philosophy from Boston University

Boston University

Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

 and is president emeritus of the California Institute of Integral Studies. He has taught at Manhattanville College

Manhattanville College

Manhattanville College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college offering undergraduate and graduate degrees, located in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 it was known initially as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart...

 (1964-71) and is professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Philosophy at Baruch College

Baruch College

Bernard M. Baruch College, more commonly known as Baruch College, is a constituent college of the City University of New York, located in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, New York City. With an acceptance rate of just 23%, Baruch is among the most competitive and diverse colleges in the nation...

, CUNY (1971-90). He was secretary of the American Academy of Religion

American Academy of Religion

The American Academy of Religion is the world's largest association of scholars in the field of religious studies and related topics. It is a nonprofit member association,...

 (1968-71) and secretary treasurer of the Society for Asian and Comparative Philosophy (1972-76).

With Arthur Zajonc

Arthur Zajonc

Arthur Guy Zajonc is a professor of physics at Amherst College in Massachusetts. He is also a noted anthroposophist who served as the General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America...

, McDermott is co-founder of The Owen Barfield

Owen Barfield

Owen Barfield was a British philosopher, author, poet, and critic.Barfield was born in London. He was educated at Highgate School and Wadham College, Oxford and in 1920 received a 1st class degree in English language and literature. After finishing his B. Litt., which became the book Poetic...

 Graduate School of Sunbridge College

Sunbridge College

Sunbridge College, is an accredited college located in Chestnut Ridge, New York. The college specializes in teacher training for Waldorf education and programs in related fields inspired by anthroposophy...

, is the founding chair of the board of Sophia Project (two homes in Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

, for mothers and children at risk of homelessness), and has been chair of the board and president of many other institutions. He is a teacher and former board chair of the Rudolf Steiner Institutehttp://www.steinerinstitute.org.

He has written a number of books, as well as essays published in scholarly journals and anthologies. His essays have appeared in International Philosophical Quarterly

International Philosophical Quarterly

The International Philosophical Quarterly is a peer-reviewed academic journal edited by a group of academics at Fordham University, with the collaboration of the Facultés universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix. It was established in 1961 to provide a publishing forum for the international exchange of...

, Cross Currents, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and Philosophy East and West

Philosophy East and West

Philosophy East and West is an international, interdisciplinary academic journal that seeks to promote literacy on non-Western traditions of philosophy in relation to Anglo-American philosophy. Philosophy defined in terms of cultural traditions broadly integrates the professional discipline with...

.

Topics on which he has written or lectured include the evolution of consciousness, the spiritual mission of America, classic and modern spirituality and spiritual masters (East and West), Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...

, and Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...

 and Anthroposophy

Anthroposophy

Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...

.

Partial bibliography

• Radhakrishnan (1970)
• The Essential Aurobindo (1974)
• The Essential Steiner (1984)
• Introduction to William James, Essays in Psychical Research (1986)
• Four books published by Steinerbooks:

1. The Bhagavad Gita and the West (2006)
2. Buddha and Christ (2007)
3. The New Essential Steiner (2007)
4. Steiner and Anthroposophy (2008)

External links

• Bio and selected Essays. Accessed 2009-04-08.
• Essay "William James and Rudolf Steiner" by Robert A. McDermott. Accessed 2009-04-08.