View Philosophy & Humanities directory

Faculty Member

Dr. Ryan Harte

Biography

Ryan Harte is Assistant Professor in Philosophy, and a member of the Classical Studies and Religious Studies programs. He specializes in ancient Greek and Chinese philosophy and literature, as well as their reception in later thought. His academic background is in philosophy as well as classics, sinology, and comparative literature.

Dr. Harte has published on philosophy as a way of life, Daoism and Greek tragedy, medieval Chinese poetry and self-cultivation, Zhuangzi and Simone Weil, and critiques of modern moral theory from ancient and comparative perspectives. He regularly teaches courses in Chinese philosophy, Plato, Classical Chinese language, Classical Studies (tragedy, poetry, science-medicine, etc.), Ethics & Values, and "Topics in Comparative Philosophy" (past topics: Nihilism and Nothingness, Zhuangzi and Dante, Mysticism).

Education

PhD, University of California, Riverside, 2020

Major: Comparative Literature & Philosophy

MA, University of Chicago, 2011

Major: Philosophy & Chinese

BA, University of Chicago, 2010

Major: Humanities & Chinese

Teaching

PHIL 3640G

Buddhist Philosophy, Summer 2026

CLST 4900R

Special Topics in Classical Civilizations, Summer 2026

CLST 2900R

Themes in Classical Civilizations, Summer 2026

PHIL 4160G

History of Chinese Philosophy, Spring 2026

PHIL 4900R

Independent Study, Spring 2026

PHIL 1620

Introduction to Eastern Religions, Spring 2026

PHIL 3840R

Topics in Comparative Philosophy, Spring 2026

Presentations

Harte, Ryan (Moderator), The Buried Library_ Herculaneum Papyri and AI, "n/a—moderator", Utah Valley University, Orem, UT. (April, 2026)
Harte, Ryan (Presenter & Author), Salt Lake Community College Asia Conference, "God Is Dead, Everything Is Funny", Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City, UT. (March, 2026)
Harte, Ryan (Leader), History of Philosophy Society Annual Conference, "n/a—host, moderator", Utah Valley University, Dept. of Philosophy & Humanities, Salt Lake City, UT. (March, 2025)
Harte, Ryan (Presenter & Author), Radical Philosophy Association—Biannual Conference, "Daoism as Critical Theory", Radical Philosophy Association, Salt Lake City, UT. (October, 2024)
Harte, Ryan (Presenter & Author), History of Philosophy Society Annual Conference, "Reflections on the Future by Way of Fate in Chinese Philosophy", History of Philosophy Society, Seattle, WA. (April, 2024)
Harte, Ryan (Presenter & Author), Salt Lake Community College Asia Conference, "Free Will and Spontaneity in Chinese Philosophy", Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City, UT. (April, 2024)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Harte, Ryan , (2026) "There Is No God, Everything Is Funny" . Topoi. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11245-026-10437-y
Harte, Ryan , (2024) "A Daoist Critique of Effort in Pierre Hadot's Philosophy" (Issue: 3, vol. 52). Journal of Religious Ethics. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jore.12483
Harte, Ryan , Cercas Curry, Alba , "Do I Look Like a Man with a Plan?: The Joker as a Daoist Wild Card" . Routledge.
Harte, Ryan , (2023) "Zhuangzi and Simone Weil on Decreating the Self" (Issue: 3, vol. 14). Journal of Comparative and Continental Philosophy. https://doi.org/10.1080/17570638.2023.2184541
Harte, Ryan , (2022) "Spiritual Exercises and Poetry_ A Case Study with Du Fu" (Issue: 1, vol. 54). Metaphilosophy. https://doi.org/10.1111/meta.12598