Simon Glendinning

Simon Glendinning is Professor and Head of the European Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His academic career began after earning a BPhil and DPhil in Philosophy from Oxford University, and he has been actively engaged in philosophical research since 1994. His office is located in room CBG.7.01, with Tuesday office hours from 16:00-17:00.

Glendinning's research examines European identity through philosophical frameworks, exploring four primary approaches: geographical limits, teleological ends, genealogical conceptions, and phenomenological analyses. His work critically engages with Europe's self-understanding as a 'philosophical phenomenon' and traces the continent's conceptual evolution through key thinkers including Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Derrida, and Levinas. Central themes include:

• The deconstruction of Christian secularist monoculture
• Europe's transition toward democratic pluralism
• Critiques of Eurocentric historical narratives
• The intersection of religious and secular worldviews
• Cosmopolitanism in contemporary European society

Glendinning's recent publications (2009-2023) demonstrate consistent engagement with European philosophical history, secularization, and identity politics. His scholarship analyzes the continent's evolving self-conception through critical examinations of Brexit, religious representation, Nietzschean anticipations, and Derridean deconstructions of European heritage. The works collectively trace Europe's transition from Enlightenment universalism toward fragmented modernities.