Nationality American Name Diogenes Allen | Role Philosopher Fields Philosophy, Theology | |
Born October 17, 1932 ( 1932-10-17 ) Institutions Princeton Theological Seminary Alma mater University of Kentucky;
St John's College, Oxford;
Yale Divinity School Known for interpreter of Simone Weil and Soren Kierkegaard Notable awards John Templeton Foundation Awards Died January 13, 2013, Newtown, Pennsylvania, United States Education Princeton University, Yale University, Yale Divinity School, University of Oxford Books Philosophy for Understa, Three outsiders, Theology for a Troubled, Love: Christian Romance, Traces of God | ||
Diogenes Allen (October 17, 1932 – January 13, 2013) was an American philosopher and theologian who served as the Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton Theological Seminary. He was an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church, which he served from 1958. He died on January 13, 2013 in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
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Early life and education
Allen was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1954. He then began graduate study at Princeton University, but, after being awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, he matriculated to St John's College, Oxford. There he studied philosophy and met his wife Jane, a fellow student.
After returning to America, Allen earned a Bachelor of Divinity at Yale Divinity School. He was called to a pastorate in Windham, New Hampshire, in 1958, and ordained in what is now the Presbyterian Church (USA) the following year. Shortly thereafter he enrolled at Yale University Graduate School to study for a PhD in philosophy, which was awarded in 1965.
University career
Allen began his teaching career in 1964 at York University, Toronto. In 1967, Princeton Theological Seminary offered him the position of associate professor of philosophy, which, he accepted. In 1974, he was appointed to a full professorship there and in 1981 was named Stuart Professor of Philosophy. By the time of his retirement in 2002, he had served the faculty for thirty-five years and had become an authority on Gottfried Leibniz and an influential interpreter of Simone Weil and Søren Kierkegaard.
Awards
Diogenes Allen's numerous awards include a Rockefeller Fellowship; a Canada Council Fellowship; research fellowships given by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and the Center for Theological Inquiry; a Pew Evangelical Scholarship; and two John Templeton Foundation Awards for Best Courses in Science and Religion.
He is also the recipient of an Outstanding American Educator Award in 1974; a past member of the executive board of the Society of Christian Philosophers; a co-founder and member of the executive board of the American Weil Society; and a member of the board of directors of the Ecumenical Institute of Canada.