Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, Political Philosophy and Moral Psychology

Akeel Bilgrami got a first degree in English Literature from Bombay University but defected to philosophy because he found the former too hard.  He went to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and there got another Bachelor's degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. He got a Ph.D from the University of Chicago, after writing a dissertation, "Meaning as Invariance," on the subject of the indeterminacy of translation and issues concerning realism and linguistic meaning. He joined the Department in 1985 after spending two years as an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has published a book in the Philosophy of Language and Mind in 1992 called Belief and Meaning (Blackwell). and another book published in 2006 called Self-Knowledge and Resentment (Harvard University Press). His book Politics and The Moral Psychology of Identity is forthcoming in 2007 from Harvard University Press. He has also published various articles in Philosophy of Mind as well as in Political and Moral Psychology. Some of his articles in these latter subjects speak to issues of current politics in their relation to broader social and cultural issues.

Professor Bilgrami is the Director of The Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia University. His contact details there are: The Heyman Center for the Humanities, East campus, 2nd floor, Director's office. Phone: 212-854-1277

Teaching
PHILG9646 Self-Knowledge