Dr Patrick Hassan

Publication

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Research

​My current research centres around the history of philosophy (especially the post-Kantian tradition), ethics, aesthetics, and environmental philosophy. Much of my published work has focused upon the thought of Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, and I am interested in how the ideas of these philosophers--among others in the 19th century--can make positive contributions in contemporary axiological domains.

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My book Nietzsche's Struggle Against Pessimism (Cambridge University Press, 2023) is an investigation into Nietzsche's place in the Pessimismusstreit or 'pessimism dispute' of 1860-1900. It attempts to elucidate and disentangle Nietzsche's various criticisms of the view that life is not worth living, or that non-existence is preferable to existence. It does so, partly, by placing Nietzsche's evolving critique back into its appropriate historical context via a consideration of his axiological and epistemic claims in dialogue with his 19th century interlocutors. I argue that Nietzsche's career-long interest in the question of the value of life is a fruitful backdrop for considering more familiar themes in his philosophy (e.g. aesthetic justification, eternal recurrence, will to power, his critique of Christian morality).

In articles, I continue to work on themes pertinent to philosophical pessimism and the opposing project of life affirmation. I also continue research on the philosophy of Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, and other 19th century figures more broadly.

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My next major project is a monograph that attempts to place Schopenhauer's ethical project within the moral sentimentalist tradition. I attempt to show how reading Schopenhauer more closely alongside the likes of Hume, Hutcheson, Shaftesbury, and Herder, can be fruitful for fully understanding his nuanced views on pertinent issues such as moral motivation, avoiding moral scepticism, justifying our moral views, and the scope of the moral community -- views which are often developed, I argue, as responses to what he perceives as shortcomings with the respective positions offered by moral rationalists and previous moral sentimentalists alike.

Teaching

Current undergraduate teaching:

• Four Great Works (Y1)
• Modern Moral Philosophy (Y2)

Current MA Seminars:

• Climate Change & Global Justice

Biography

Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Cardiff University, 2024--present

Lecturer in Philosophy, Cardiff University, 2021--2024

Assistant Professor of Philosophy, The American University in Cairo, 2017-2021

Ph.D in Philosophy, University of Reading, 2016

MA in Study of Religions, School of Oriential and African Studies, University of London, 2012

BA in Philosophy, University of Reading, 2011

Supervisions

Currently, I would be interested to supervise PhD students on any topics pertaining to Nietzsche and Schopenhauer, philosophical pessimism, nihilism, and sublime aesthetic experience.

Current supervision

Joseph Chapman

Research Student/Graduate Tutor

Ryan Brooks

Graduate Tutor