[1] He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and a founding editor of the International Journal of Philosophical Studies.
He was educated at Oatlands College, primary and secondary schools where he specialised in the sciences, but was also active in debating in English and Irish.
He entered University College Dublin in 1970 on the basis of a UCD entrance scholarship and completed his BA in 1973, graduating with a double first class honours degree in English and philosophy.
[citation needed] In 1989, he was appointed to the chair of philosophy (metaphysics and logic) at University College Dublin.
[citation needed] In 2010 he was guest professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for the Edwin Cheng Foundation Summer School in Phenomenology.