Hugh J. Silverman (August 17, 1945 – May 8, 2013) was an American philosopher and cultural theorist whose writing, lecturing, teaching, editing, and international conferencing participated in the development of a postmodern network.
After teaching at Stanford for a year, he joined the Stony Brook University Philosophy faculty in 1974 (with a joint title appointment in comparative literature).
Professor Silverman wrote and taught particularly in the areas of continental philosophy, aesthetics, postmodern ethics, and cultural / art / film / social theory.
His work builds upon the writings of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jacques Derrida, Mikel Dufrenne, Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jean-François Lyotard, and is in dialogue with contemporary figures such as Julia Kristeva, Gianni Vattimo, Mario Perniola, and Carlo Sini.
As Editor of the Routledge Continental Philosophy Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine series, volumes are both edited and introduced by professor Silverman.