[1] Glendinning studied philosophy at the University of Oxford and at the University of York, since which he has held a series of positions:[citation needed] Glendinning's work is characterised by the way in which it engages with thinkers and themes from both the 'analytic' and 'continental' traditions in philosophy.

[citation needed] His first book, On Being With Others: Heidegger-Wittgenstein-Derrida, is an analysis of the problem of other minds.

In January 2015, Glendinning was a guest on BBC Radio 4's In Our Time, which discussed phenomenology.

The eldest, Paul Glendinning, is a mathematician at the University of Manchester.

He lives in Oxford in Oxfordshire with his wife, the writer Anjali Joseph.