Dr Patrick Hassan
Senior Lecturer
School of English, Communication and Philosophy
- HassanP1@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29208 70729
- John Percival Building, Room 1.37, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a Senior Lecturer as part of the School's philosophy team. My primary areas of interest are moral and existential philosophy, and I typically explore their associated themes within the context of 19th century European thought (particularly Nietzsche and Schopenhauer). I also have working interests in aesthetics and environmental philosophy.
Publication
2024
- Hassan, P. 2024. Suicide in contemporary western philosophy I: the 19th century. In: Cholbi, M. ed. The Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Suicide. Oxford: Oxford University Press
- Hassan, P. 2024. Paul Loeb and Keith Ansell-Pearson (eds.), Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Critical Guide" [Book Review]. The Journal of Nietzsche Studies
2023
- Hassan, P. 2023. The significance of Nichtigkeit in Schopenhauer’s account of the sublime. In: Bather Woods, D. and Stoll, T. eds. The Schopenhauerian Mind. Routledge Philosophical Minds Routledge, pp. 170-184.
- Hassan, P. 2023. James Sully's psychological reduction of philosophical pessimism. British Journal for the History of Philosophy (10.1080/09608788.2023.2268125)
- Hassan, P. 2023. Nietzsche's struggle against pessimism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2022
- Hassan, P. 2022. Organic unity and the heroic: Nietzsche's aestheticization of suffering. In: Came, D. ed. Nietzsche on Morality and the Affirmation of Life. Oxford University Press, pp. 111-130., (10.1093/oso/9780198728894.003.0006)
2021
- Hassan, P. 2021. Virtue & the problem of egoism in Schopenhauer's moral philosophy. In: Hassan, P. ed. Schopenhauer's Moral Philosophy. New York: Routledge, pp. 77-102., (10.4324/9781003090953)
- Hassan, P. ed. 2021. Schopenhauer's Moral Philosophy. Routledge. (10.4324/9781003090953)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Inherit the wasteland: Ecofascism & environmental collapse. Ethics and the Environment 26(2), pp. 51-71. (10.2979/ethicsenviro.26.2.03)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Nietzsche's genealogical critique of morality & the historical Zarathustra. ERGO 7, pp. 626-658. (10.3998/ergo.1121)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Nietzschean moral error theory. History of Philosophy Quarterly 38(4), pp. 375–396. (10.5406/21521026.38.4.05)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Striving as suffering: Schopenhauer’s a priori argument for pessimism. Philosophia 49(4), pp. 1487-1505. (10.1007/s11406-020-00316-0)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Individual vs. world in Schopenhauer's pessimism. The Southern Journal of Philosophy 59(2), pp. 122-152. (10.1111/sjp.12401)
2019
- Hassan, P. 2019. Reconstructing Schopenhauer's ethics: hope, compassion, and animal welfare, by Sandra Shapshay [Book Review]. European Journal of Philosophy 27(3), pp. 805-808. (10.1111/ejop.12489)
- Hassan, P. 2019. Schopenhauerian virtue ethics. Inquiry 65(4), pp. 381-413. (10.1080/0020174X.2019.1629337)
- Hassan, P. 2019. Moral Disagreement and Arational Convergence. The Journal of Ethics 23(2), pp. 145-161. (10.1007/s10892-019-09284-4)
2017
- Hassan, P. 2017. Does Rarity Confer Value? Nietzsche on the Exceptional Individual. The Journal of Nietzsche Studies 48(2), pp. 261-285. (10.5325/jnietstud.48.2.0261)
- Hassan, P. 2017. Nietzsche on human greatness. Journal of Value Inquiry 51(2), pp. 293-310. (10.1007/s10790-016-9570-9)
2015
- Hassan, P. 2015. Gwen Bradford, Achievement [Book Review]. Social Theory and Practice 41(4), pp. 759-764. (10.5840/soctheorpract201541442)
Articles
- Hassan, P. 2024. Paul Loeb and Keith Ansell-Pearson (eds.), Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Critical Guide" [Book Review]. The Journal of Nietzsche Studies
- Hassan, P. 2023. James Sully's psychological reduction of philosophical pessimism. British Journal for the History of Philosophy (10.1080/09608788.2023.2268125)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Inherit the wasteland: Ecofascism & environmental collapse. Ethics and the Environment 26(2), pp. 51-71. (10.2979/ethicsenviro.26.2.03)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Nietzsche's genealogical critique of morality & the historical Zarathustra. ERGO 7, pp. 626-658. (10.3998/ergo.1121)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Nietzschean moral error theory. History of Philosophy Quarterly 38(4), pp. 375–396. (10.5406/21521026.38.4.05)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Striving as suffering: Schopenhauer’s a priori argument for pessimism. Philosophia 49(4), pp. 1487-1505. (10.1007/s11406-020-00316-0)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Individual vs. world in Schopenhauer's pessimism. The Southern Journal of Philosophy 59(2), pp. 122-152. (10.1111/sjp.12401)
- Hassan, P. 2019. Reconstructing Schopenhauer's ethics: hope, compassion, and animal welfare, by Sandra Shapshay [Book Review]. European Journal of Philosophy 27(3), pp. 805-808. (10.1111/ejop.12489)
- Hassan, P. 2019. Schopenhauerian virtue ethics. Inquiry 65(4), pp. 381-413. (10.1080/0020174X.2019.1629337)
- Hassan, P. 2019. Moral Disagreement and Arational Convergence. The Journal of Ethics 23(2), pp. 145-161. (10.1007/s10892-019-09284-4)
- Hassan, P. 2017. Does Rarity Confer Value? Nietzsche on the Exceptional Individual. The Journal of Nietzsche Studies 48(2), pp. 261-285. (10.5325/jnietstud.48.2.0261)
- Hassan, P. 2017. Nietzsche on human greatness. Journal of Value Inquiry 51(2), pp. 293-310. (10.1007/s10790-016-9570-9)
- Hassan, P. 2015. Gwen Bradford, Achievement [Book Review]. Social Theory and Practice 41(4), pp. 759-764. (10.5840/soctheorpract201541442)
Book sections
- Hassan, P. 2024. Suicide in contemporary western philosophy I: the 19th century. In: Cholbi, M. ed. The Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Suicide. Oxford: Oxford University Press
- Hassan, P. 2023. The significance of Nichtigkeit in Schopenhauer’s account of the sublime. In: Bather Woods, D. and Stoll, T. eds. The Schopenhauerian Mind. Routledge Philosophical Minds Routledge, pp. 170-184.
- Hassan, P. 2022. Organic unity and the heroic: Nietzsche's aestheticization of suffering. In: Came, D. ed. Nietzsche on Morality and the Affirmation of Life. Oxford University Press, pp. 111-130., (10.1093/oso/9780198728894.003.0006)
- Hassan, P. 2021. Virtue & the problem of egoism in Schopenhauer's moral philosophy. In: Hassan, P. ed. Schopenhauer's Moral Philosophy. New York: Routledge, pp. 77-102., (10.4324/9781003090953)
Books
- Hassan, P. 2023. Nietzsche's struggle against pessimism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Hassan, P. ed. 2021. Schopenhauer's Moral Philosophy. Routledge. (10.4324/9781003090953)
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 percieves as shortcomings with the respecitve 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
Research student
Research themes
Specialisms
- History of philosophy
- Schopenhauer
- 19th Century Philosophy
- nietzsche
- Moral Philosophy