Biography
Peter Hacker was born in London in 1939. He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at The Queen's College, Oxford from 1960-63, obtaining a Congratulatory First Class degree. He was elected to a graduate studentship at St Antony's College, Oxford, where he remained from 1963-65, writing a doctoral dissertation under the supervision of H. L. A. Hart on the subject of 'Rules and Duties'. In 1965 he was elected to a Junior Research Fellowship at Balliol College. In 1966 he completed his doctorate and was granted the D.Phil.
He was elected to a Tutorial Fellowship at St John's College in 1966 a post he held until his retirement in 2006, when he was appointed to an Emeritus Research Fellowship at St John's from 2006-2015. He was College Librarian 1986-2006, and Keeper of the College Pictures 1986-1998 In 2010 he was elected to an Honorary Fellowship at The Queen's College, Oxford.
He was a visiting lecturer at Makere College, Uganda (1968) , a visiting professor at Swarthmore College, Pa., U.S.A (1973) and again in 1986, a visiting professor at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, U.S.A. (1974), a Milton C. Scott Visiting Professor, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (1984). He was elected to a British Academy Research Readership in Humanities 1985-7. He was elected to a Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowship (1991-4). From 1992 to 2010 he served as a member of the Rothschild Fellowships Academic Committee, Yad Hanadiv, Jerusalem. He was a visiting fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation at Bellagio, Italy in 2006. He was a visiting research fellow at the University of Bologna for a semester in 2009. In 2013 he was appointed part time Professor of philosophy at the University of Kent at Canterbury for three years. He has been elected to an honorary professorship at University College, London in the UCL Institute of Neurology for the period 2019-24.
Curriculum Vitae
Born: 15/7/39
Married with 3 children
Education
1960-63 The Queen's College, Oxford. P.P.E. - congratulatory First Class Honours
1963-65 Senior Scholar, St. Antony's College, Oxford, reading for a D.Phil. under Prof. H.L.A. Hart
1965-66 Junior Research Fellow, Balliol College, Oxford
1966 Completed D.Phil. ('Rules and Duties') and awarded the degree
Academic posts
1966-2006 Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy, St. John's College, Oxford
1968 Visiting lecturer, Makere College, Uganda (summer semester)
1973 Visiting professor, Swarthmore College, Pa., U.S.A.
1974 Visiting professor, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, U.S.A.
1985 Milton C. Scott Visiting Professor, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario
1985-7 Research Readership in Humanities, elected by the British Academy
1986 Visiting professor (for half a semester), Swarthmore College, Pa., U.S.A.
1991-4 Leverhulme Senior Research fellowship
2006-2015 Emeritus Research Fellow, St John’s College, Oxford
2006 Visiting fellowship at the Rockefeller Foundation at Bellagio, Italy
2009 Visiting research fellowship, University of Bologna
2013-16 Professor of Philosophy, University of Kent at Canterbury
2015- Emeritus Fellow, St John’s College, Oxford
2019-24 Honorary Professorship at University College, London in UCL Institute of Neurology
Academic-related post and activities
1975-6
Vice-President and Acting President of St John's College during the President's leave of absence MT and HT 1975-6.
1986-2006
Librarian, St John's College; initiated and organised the restoration and conservation of the whole of the College's collection of manuscripts and pre1800 books; supervised the electronic cataloguing of all pre-1800 books; supervised the conversion of the Library catalogue to electronic form; supervised the restoration of the Library stained glass; initiated and supervised the rota of ten exhibitions of Library treasures.
1986-98
Keeper of the College Pictures, St John's College; initiated and organised the conservation, restoration and, where necessary, reframing of the whole of the College's collection of paintings and works of art on paper; purchased some 20 oil paintings and numerous prints funded by College bequests for that purpose.
1988
Organised exhibition of S. W. Hayter at the Ashmolean Museum, at the request of the Museum, and edited the Catalogue, published by OUP.
1990
Assisted in the organisation of an exhibition of John Buckland Wright at the Ashmolean Museum at the request of the Museum, and contributed to the Catalogue, published by the Scolar Press.
1992-2010
Member of the Rothschild Fellowships Academic Committee, Jerusalem.
1993
Organised exhibition of Roger Vieillard at the Ashmolean Museum at the request of the Museum, and edited the Catalogue, published by the Ashmolean Museum and Scolar Press.
Editorial appointments
1993-2015 Associate editor — Philosophical Investigations
1994 Associate editor — Wittgenstein Studies
1997-2003 Associate editor, 20th century philosophers — Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
1998- 2003 Trustee of the Wittgenstein papers and member of the Committee of Editors
2003 Member and Secretary of the Advisory Committee of Wittgenstein Editors
2009 Honorary member of the International Wittgenstein Society
Honours
2010 Honorary Fellow of The Queen’s College, Oxford
2019-24 Honorary Professor of University College, London in UCL Institute of Neurology