Honderich, Ted (1933– )

Canadian-born British philosopher, noted for his work on the brain and mind, freedom, and determinism. He spent most of his academic life at University College London (UCL), becoming a professor in 1983 and then Grote Professor of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic in 1988. As of mid 2007, he was Grote Professor Emeritus at UCL (since 1999), visiting professor at the University of Bath (since 2005) and chair of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. He has also edited The Oxford Companion to Philosophy.

Born in Baden, Ontario, Honderich graduated from the University of Toronto before coming to England in 1959 to study for his doctorate at UCL. His first lectureship was at the University of Sussex. He then returned to London in 1964 where his long teaching career at UCL began, progressing from lecturer 1964–73 to reader 1973–83, professor 1983–88, and Grote Professor 1988–99. He also became a visiting professor at the City University of New York and at Yale University in the USA.

His many books include Philosopher: A Kind of Life (2000), After the Terror (2002), On Determinism and Freedom (2005), and Humanity, Terrorism, Terrorist War (2006). After the Terror, which was prompted by the 11 September 2001 Islamic attacks on the USA and included a moral defence of Palestinian resistance to Zionism, provoked particular controversy and charges of anti-Semitism in Germany.