Steven Affeldt, Ph.D.
- Associate McDevitt Chair in Religious Philosophy Philosophy
- Faculty Co-Director of the Manresa Program Carroll College of Arts & Sciences
Steven Affeldt’s research explores intersections of ethics, social/political philosophy, and aesthetics. Drawing on a wide range of figures鈥攊ncluding Plato, Augustine, Rousseau, Kant, Emerson, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Freud, Heidegger, and Wittgenstein鈥攈e works to show how philosophy and philosophical texts may be redemptive: possessed of the power to inspire, inform, and effect liberating transformations of both individuals and societies. He has published highly influential articles on Rousseau, Wittgenstein, and Stanley Cavell and is Faculty Co-Director of The Manresa Program at Le Moyne. He enjoys teaching in virtually any area of philosophy and at all levels.
Education
- B.A., The University of California, Berkeley
- Ph.D., Harvard University
Recent Publications
- 鈥淎n End of Wandering: Coming to Believe in聽Palm Springs,鈥� in聽Happiness and Tears, After Cavell: New Readings in Hollywood鈥檚 Comedy of Remarriage and Melodrama of the Unknown Woman, ed. Paul Deb, SUNY Press, 2025, pp. 291-320.
- 鈥淎 Gift of Common Words: The World Working Out in Cavell鈥檚 Inheritance of Austin.鈥� 聽Conversations: The Journal of Cavellian Studies, no. 11.2 (2024), pp. 9-32.
- 鈥淭he Pertinence of the Stars: Achieving Mortality in Little Did I Know and Only Angels Have Wings.鈥� In Movies with Stanley Cavell in Mind. Edited by David LaRocca. Bloomsbury, 2021, 93-111.
- 鈥淎t the Feet of the Familiar: Thoughts on Cavell on Emerson and Wittgenstein.鈥� Conversations: The Journal of Cavellian Studies 7 (2019-20): Acknowledging Stanley Cavell.
