Description: Philosophy professor and gerontology expert Dr. Ronald Manheimer's personal take on how philosophy and life experiences intersect and interact, explained through his "Twelve Stars" of existentialism.
Brief description: Ronald J. Manheimer holds a PhD from the History of Consciousness interdisciplinary graduate program of the University of California at Santa Cruz. His dissertation, Kierkegaard and the Education of Historical Consciousness, led to his first book, Kierkegaard As Educator (University of California Press, 1977). In 2003, an award-winning Korean translation of this book appeared with a new introduction by the author. Manheimer has taught at UC Santa Cruz, San Diego State University, The Evergreen State College (Olympia, Washington), Wayne State University (Detroit), the Smithsonian, and the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where until his retirement in 2009 he held a joint appointment as Research Associate Professor of Philosophy and executive director of the NC Center for Creative Retirement (now OLLI, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute). In his A Map to the End of Time: Wayfarings with Friends and Philosophers (Norton, 1999), Manheimer demonstrates the fruitfulness of combining dual interests in philosophy and narrative studies. This work has been translated into Chinese and Korean. His newest book, Mirrors of the Mind: Reflecting on Philosophers' Autobiographies (Jorvik Press, 2015) extends this pursuit by capturing transformative moments in the first-person narratives of renowned thinkers. Currently, Manheimer teaches philosophy courses at OLLI, conducts enrichment programs for elementary schoolchildren, chairs UNCA's Center for Jewish Studies steering committee, is Chair Elect of the BJH Foundation, serves on the editorial board of two academic journals, and provides consulting for non-profit organizations.