Thaddeus Metz

Thaddeus Metz (born 1968) is an American philosopher, academic and author who has lectured at mainly South African universities. He currently teaches at the University of Pretoria.

Education and career Metz earned a PhD from the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University in 1997. In 2015, Metz was appointed to the position of Distinguished Professor at the University of Johannesburg, a position he held until 2019. This was followed by a position as Research Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pretoria in 2020.

Metz has supervised doctoral students from many different countries, including Mpho Tshivhase, the first African woman from South Africa to get a PhD in philosophy, and Doreen Sesiro, the first African woman from Botswana to do so.

Philosophical work Much of his work 'takes an analytic approach to African morality, the meaning of life, the nature of mental health, the point of a university, the role of a legal system, and a range of other topics in value theory and moral-political philosophy'. In particular, he (alongside Susan R. Wolf) is often credited for having helped develop life's meaning as a distinct field in Anglo-American philosophy. In recognition of having brought African philosophical ideas to global audiences of scholars, Metz was once designated one of ‘The World’s Top 50 Thinkers’ by Prospect Magazine.