Brian Clack, PhD
Professor, Philosophy and A. Vassiliadis Distinguished Director of the Humanities Center
Humanities Center Director
- Ph.D., University of London, Philosophy
- M.Sc., University of London, Theoretical Psychoanalytic Studies
- B.A., University of London, Religious Studies
Brian R. Clack, Ph.D., came to USD in September 2007, having previously taught in Oxford, England. Clack’s research has focused on psychoanalysis, pessimism, the philosophy of religion, the conservative tradition, and Wittgenstein. In addition to his position in the Department of Philosophy, he is also the founding director of USD’s Humanities Center.
Scholarly Work
Clack is the author of two books on the philosophy of Wittgenstein – Wittgenstein, Frazer and Religion (Macmillan, 1999) and An Introduction to Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Religion (Edinburgh University Press, 1999) – and of Love, Drugs, Art, Religion: The Pains and Consolations of Existence (Ashgate, 2014). He is co-author, with Beverley Clack, of The Philosophy of Religion: A Critical Introduction, now in its third edition (Polity Press, 2019). With Tyler Hower, he edited the anthology Philosophy and the Human Condition (Oxford University Press, 2018). Most recently, he has edited Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France for the Broadview Editions series (Broadview Press, 2021).
Areas of Interest
Clack regularly teaches introductory classes on philosophy of human nature. His other teaching interests include philosophy of religion, Freud, and Burke.