Both by training and by disposition I am an historian of philosophy. During the past 45 years I have focused upon the history of medieval and of Renaissance philosophy, as well as upon ancient philosophy. To this end, I spent seven postdoctoral years researching and teaching in the European cities of Munich, Paris, Graz, Padua, Siena, and Rome.

Other areas in which I continue to work are philosophy of religion, Existentialism, 19th-century German philosophy, hermeneutical theory, and medical ethics. I am one of three co-directors of the Program in Human Rights and Health (http://www.med.umn.edu/phrh) and am an affiliate of the Austrian Center as well as a member of the core faculty of the Religious Studies Program.