Pathways Mentors

Esther Shallan

I began my academic career in the field of Psychology, taking a BA in Psychology at York University Toronto in 1994, followed by an MSc in Counselling Psychology at the City University of London in 1996.

My first major encounter with Analytic Philosophy was at King's College London where I gained an M.Phil in the Philosophy of Psychology in 1998. I found that my interests took me to the origins of Western philosophy and ended up studying Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics.

In 2002, I gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Lifelong Learning from Birkbeck College London, followed by a BA (Hons) in Philosophy from the University of London as an External student in 2004. My BA studies included contemporary political philosophy and metaphysics. My area of specialization was ancient philosophy.

Between 1999—2002 I was teaching courses in Freudian and Kleinian psychoanalysis for the Extramural programme at Birkbeck College London, as well as teaching Psychology to undergraduates at the University of North London and the City University of London.

My main interests in political philosophy are centred on the question of the good society. What is a good social organisation, and what role does justice play in it? My deliberations at the moment owe more to Aristotle than to Rawls.

In metaphysics I am interested in ontology and the philosophical theories of time. Other interests are philosophy of mind (AI, cognition and mind-body relationship) and philosophy of psychology, in particular the Kleinian and Freudian theories.

Other interests include athletics, science fiction and J.S. Bach.