Assoc Prof John Armstrong

Associate Professor John Armstrong is a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Vice-Chancellor at the University of Melbourne and Philosopher in Residence at the Melbourne Business School. He is the author of several internationally acclaimed books: In Search of Civilisation (forthcoming 2009); Love Life Goethe (2006); The Secret Power of Beauty (2004) Conditions of Love (2002) and The Intimate Philosophy of Art (2000) - all published by Penguin UK; his books have been widely translated.

Born in Glasgow, John was educated at Oxford and London, where he completed a Ph.D. on the appreciation of art, before moving to Australia in 2001. His primary interest is in the quality of relationships to ideas, people and objects - and the significance of such relationships for individual and collective flourishing. He is currently writing a book on the secret thoughts, hopes, fears and fantasies we have about the meaning of our own lives.