Lawrence Hass is Professor of Philosophy and Theatre Arts at Muhlenberg College. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1991, at which time he started teaching at Muhlenberg.
While he didn't know it at the time, his dissertation on the experiential features of perception was his gateway into magic. Shortly after completing his Ph.D., Larry was watching magic on television one night and realized that magicians were creating a type of perceptual and aesthetic experience that, to his knowledge, traditional philosophers had entirely ignored.
What quickly followed was, in effect, a post-doctorate study of magic. Inspired by the writings of master magician Eugene Burger, who would soon become his mentor and friend, Larry plunged into great works in the vast literature of magic. He also began performing magic that he felt would be astonishing and interesting to intelligent audiences. His deep interest in both the scholarly study and performance of magic was the inspiration for the Theory and Art of Magic-his academic program that brings both sides of the art together.
Alongside his on-going activities in magic, Larry also has a national reputation for his wide-ranging scholarship in 20th Century European philosophy. He is the author of a highly acclaimed book on the great French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty, entitled Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy. He also holds the executive position of Associate General Secretary for the International Merleau-Ponty Circle.
(For more information about Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy,
and to order a copy click here.)
When Larry is not teaching magic performance or magic theory at Muhlenberg, he teaches a diverse array of philosophy courses, including "Philosophy and the Arts," "Phenomenology," "Heidegger's Being and Time," and "Postmodern Philosophy." He has received several distinguished awards for his teaching from both the University of Illinois and Muhlenberg College.
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