معرفی
Victor Caston is a Professor of Philosophy and Classical Studies at the University of Michigan with a joint appointment in both the Department of Philosophy and Classical Studies. His office is located in Angell Hall, the primary humanities building at the University of Michigan.
Caston earned his B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University (1984) and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin (1984-1992). His academic career has focused on ancient philosophical thought, particularly the intersection of philosophy of mind with ancient metaphysical frameworks.
Caston's research centers on ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, especially in philosophy of mind and metaphysics. He has published extensively on Presocratics, Sophists, Aristotle, Stoics, and Augustine. His approach to ancient texts is resolutely philosophical—he critically examines whether ancient philosophers' arguments remain robust when confronted with contemporary questions. This requires close readings of original texts while being sensitive to linguistic and historical contexts. Caston is currently working on a book on the problem of intentionality in ancient philosophy for Cambridge University Press, along with projects examining Aristotle's psychology and Stoic theories of mental representation.
His scholarly work reveals consistent engagement with fundamental questions about consciousness, perception, and mental representation across ancient philosophical traditions. Caston demonstrates how ancient thinkers developed sophisticated theories about how the mind relates to the world, theories that continue to inform contemporary philosophical debates. His publications span detailed analyses of specific texts to broader comparative studies tracing conceptual developments across philosophical schools.
- NEH fellowship
- ACLS Frederick Burkhardt fellowship
- Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences fellowship
- Center for Hellenic Studies fellowship
Caston has delivered distinguished lectures including the S.V. Keeling Memorial Lecture at University College London (2010) and served as Centenary Fellow of the Scots Philosophy Club (2010). He has also edited Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy (volumes 50-62, 2016-23), shaping contemporary research in ancient philosophy scholarship.
