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Dr Will Rasmussen majored in Classics for the BA at Dartmouth College (USA), read ‘Greats’ at Oxford, and then spent some years teaching Classics at secondary school, during which time he wrote a Greek textbook incorporating the principles of Indo-European languages as elucidated in Panini’s grammar of Sanskrit.

In 2001 he began his studies for the PhD at King’s and wrote his dissertation on how Plato uses apparent doctrinal inconsistencies in the Charmides to force his readers to challenge the inadequacies of their own understanding of knowledge, and in particular of ‘Socratic wisdom’, viz, the knowledge of what one does and does not know. He is Matilal Lecturer in Indian philosophy, teaches introductory courses in Sanskrit, and leads seminars that read Plato and Aristotle in the original Greek.

Dr Rasmussen's interests focus on the complementary endeavours in Greek, Indian and modern Western philosophy to accommodate the interdependence of logic, epistemology, metaphysics and the philosophy of language in the quest to understand the world, our place in it and our highest good.

Articles

• 'The Realism of Universals in Plato and Ny'ya'. Journal of Indian Philosophy 37:231-252.(2008)
• 'Resolving Inconsistencies in Plato: the Problem of Socratic Wisdom in the Apology and the Charmides', London Philosophy PhD Thesis, (2006)
• 'Whose Platonism?', International Journal of Hindu Studies 9: 131-152. (2005)

Monographs

• The Enigma of Socratic Wisdom : Resolving Inconsistencies in Plato. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. (2008)
• St James Greek Course, London: St James Publishing (2004)

Reviews

• Review of Burger, R. 'Aristotle's Dialogue with Socrates on the Nicomachean Ethics'. The Classical Review 59 (2): 390-392 (2009)
• Review of Wolfsdorf, D. 'Trials of Reason: Plato and he Crafting of Philosophy'. Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (2008.05.18).
• Review of McEvilley, T. 'The Shape of Ancient Thought', Philosophy East and West 56: 182-191 (2006)

Dr Rasmussen currently teaches on the following courses

Undergraduate modules:

• 6AANA016 Indian Philosophy: The Orthodox Schools
• 6AANA040 Greek Philosophical Texts I: Plato
• 6AANB017 Indian Philosophy: The Heterodox Schools
• 6AANB041 Greek Philosophical Texts II: Aristotle

Postgraduate modules:

• 7AAN2023 Greek Philosophical Texts I: Plato
• 7AAN2024 Greek Philosophical Texts II: Aristotle
• 7AAN2034 Indian Philosophy I: The Orthodox Schools
• 7AAN2035 Indian Philosophy II: The Heterodox Schools

Dr Rasmussen welcomes enquires from prospective students seeking to work with him on topics connected to his research interests.

TBA