Lou Marinoff - a Commonwealth Scholar originally from Canada - studied theoretical physics at Concordia and McGill universities, and earned a PhD in Philosophy of Science at University College London. Following postdoctoral research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a lectureship at the University of British Columbia, he joined The City College of New York in 1994, where he is currently Professor of Philosophy.

Lou publishes in decision theory, computer modeling of rational and moral agency, global ethics, philosophy of science, Chinese philosophy, Indian philosophy, Buddhism, and philosophical practice. He is founding president of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association (APPA), and editor of its journal Philosophical Practice.

Lou has authored several internationally bestselling books that apply philosophy to everyday life, including Plato Not Prozac, translated into twenty-seven languages.

Lou collaborates with think-tanks and leadership forums such as the Aspen Institute, Biovision (Lyon), Festival of Thinkers (Abu Dhabi), Horasis (Zurich), the Institute for Local Government (at the University of Arizona), Soka Gakkai International (Tokyo), Strategic Foresight Group (Mumbai), and the World Economic Forum (Davos).

Lou has appeared in three documentary films, two of which feature professional sports. A three-time Canadian Open Table Hockey champion (1978,79, 80) and US Open Champion (2015), he continues to play and promote the sport as conducive to developing attention span and sportsmanship in children: an antidote to ADHD and bullying alike. The Wall Street Journal agrees, reporting in 2012 that table hockey is making a comeback.

Lou's hobbies include photography, classical guitar, and tennis.

A full cv can be downloaded here.

Recent Publications

Recent Books

2019: On Human Conflict: The Philosophical Foundations of War and Peace, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham 

2018. Eloquent Sinking: A Gaspesian Tragicomedy, Waterside Productions, San Diego   

2017. The Power of Dao, Waterside Productions, San Diego

2013. Therapy for the Sane, 10th Anniversary Edition, Argo Navis (Perseus Books), Denver

2012. The Inner Philosopher (a dialogue with Daisaku Ikeda), Dialogue Path Press, Cambridge, MA

Recent Book Chapters

2018: "A Time to Waken the Wisdom of the Middle Way," in Our World Today: Reflections from American Thinkers, edited by Masao Yokota, Ushio,Tokyo, 92-102   

2017: "Dada as Philosophical Practice, Philosophical Practice as Dada," in New Frontiers of Philosophical Practice,  edited by Lydia Amir, Cambridge Scholars Press, Newcastle, 4-33

2017:  "Interview," in The Philosophy Clinic, edited by Stephen Costello, Cambridge Scholars Press, Newcastle, 119-144

2017:  "Philosophical Practice as Political Activism," in Socrate à l'agora. Que peut la parole philosophique? edited by Mieke de Moor, VRIN, Paris, 107-125

2016:   "All the Great Things in the World Start from the Small" in The Habit : Borrowing Life Strategies from the World’s Most Creative Leaders, edited by Douglas Huh, Yolimwon Publishing Group,    Seoul, 102-109

2015:   "Critical Thinking, Ethics, and Philosophical Counseling," in The Beacon of Mind, edited by Andrea Blackie and John Spencer, Param Media, Vancouver, 158-173.

2014. "A Skeptical View of Sustainability," in Design a Pattern of Sustainable Growth, edited by Daniele Schilirò, ASERS Publishing, Craiova, Romania, 2014, 14-30.

2013. Extract from "The Inner Philosopher," in Daisaku Ikeda--Sekai tono Taiwa (Daisaku Ikeda--Dialogue with World Figures), Daisan Bunmei Publishing Company, Tokyo, 196-199.

2013. "Philosophical Challenges in Building a Culture of Peace," in Voices for the Culture of Peace: Compendium of the SGI-USA Culture of Peace Distinguished Speaker Series, volume 2. Edited by Ian McIlraith, Culture of Peace Press, Los Angeles, 149-180.

2013. Chapter in Philosophical Practice: Five Questions, edited by Jeanette Bresson Ladegaard Knox. Automatic Press, Birkerod, Denmark, 183-202.

2012. "Humanities Therapy: Restoring Well-Being in an Age of Culturally-Induced Illness." Keynote address, in Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Philosophical Practice, Humanities Institute, Kangwon National University, South Korea, 27-48.

Recent Journal Articles

2019: "Humanities Therapy as a Remedy for the Detriments of Technosociety," Keynote Address at the ICHTT at  Nanjing University, Journal of Humanities Therapy,  10.2, forthcoming.

2019: "Doing Good and Living Well," Keynote Address at the 15th International Conference on Philosophical Practice, UNAM, Mexico City, in the Proceedings, edited by David Sumiacher, forthcoming. 

2017: "Psychology is the Child of Philosophy," Interview with Montse Rovira. EC Psychology and Psychiatry, 4.1, 6-14.

2016: "Playing with Ideas," Interview with Scott Eberle. American Journal of Play, 9.1, 1-18

2016:  "Introduction to Philosophical Practice," Journal of the University of Anhui, 5, 27-35.

2016: "Atlas Shrugged, Akston Counseled: How Ayn Rand Re-Invented Philosophical Practice," Journal of Humanities Therapy, 7.1,  1-24.

2016:  "Mind Over Mind, Mind Over Brain, Man Over Man: A Convergence of Buddhism, Neuroscience, and Nietzsche," in Proceedings of 2016 Mind Humanities International Conference, Wonkwang University, 581-608.

2016:  "Time to Awaken to the Value of the Wisdom of the >Middle Way," Ushio, January 2016, 130-137 (in Japanese)

2015:  "Synchronicities, Serpents, and Something-Elseness," Interdisciplinaire Vereniging voor Analytische Psychologie, 30, 38-63

2014:  "The Case Against a 'Philosophical DSM',” co-authored by Vaughana Feary, Journal of Humanities Therapy, 5, 47-70.

2014. "Biological Roots of Conflict, and Its Resolution via Cultural Evolution," in The Journal of Conflictology, forthcoming.

2011. "Theory and Practice of Philosophical Counseling," Journal of Humanities Therapy, 2, 1-17.

2011. "Commemorating Fifty Years of IOP," The Journal of Oriental Studies, Vol. 50, #2, 78.

2011: "Transforming Poison into Medicine: The Role of Dualism in Psychiatry," The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 12(S1), 66-69.

Journal Editorship

Three issues per annum (March, July, November) of Philosophical Practice: Journal of the APPA. https://appa.edu/journal

Recent Occasional Piece

Thomas Hobbes: A grim portrait of human nature, The Times Literary Supplement, January 11, 2019, https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/thomas-hobbes-footnotes-to-plato/