Personal Profile

Alexander Garton-Eisenacher is a Young Research Professor at Fudan University’s School of Philosophy. He holds BA, MPhil and PhD degrees in the field of philosophy of religion from the University of Cambridge, and has previously conducted research at the universities of Heidelberg and Tübingen in Germany. Prior to joining Fudan University, Alexander was a postdoctoral research fellow at Zhejiang University.

Email: age@fudan.edu.cn

Office: Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Guanghua Building, West Main Building, Room 2514

Education and Work Experience

Work Experience

2025 – Present:Fudan University, School of Philosophy, Young Research Professor

Research Project: Metanarrative as a new entry-point for comparative study of pre-Qin Daoist and classical Christian thought

2022 – 2024: Zhejiang University, School of Philosophy, Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Research Project: Comparative study of Pre-Qin Daoist and Christian understandings of time

Education

2016 – 2021University of Cambridge, UK – PhD, Systematic Theology

Subject: The relationship between metaphysics and epistemology in Christian Theology, with special reference to the thought of Karl Barth

2017 – 2018University of Tübingen, Germany – Visiting Researcher

Research Assistant for the Institute for Hermeneutics and Dialogue of Cultures

Karl Schlecht Stipend Scholar

2015 – 2016University of Cambridge, UK – MPhil, Systematic Theology

Grade: Distinction

Dissertation Subject: The concept of eternity in John’s Gospel and its implications for the Christian understanding of time

2014 – 2015Heidelberg University, Germany – Visiting Researcher

Baden-Württemberg Stipendium Scholar

2011 – 2014University of Cambridge, UK – BA, Theological and Religious Studies

Grade: First Class (Departmental Prize)

Research and Projects

Research direction/main research content

Comparative philosophy of religion

Metaphysics, particularly the concepts of time and eternity

Classical Christian theology

20^th century German Christian theology

Pre-Qin Daoist philosophy

Narratology

Main Academic Achievements

Representative Works

Divine Freedom and Revelation in Christ: The Doctrine of Eternity with Special Reference to the Theology of Karl Barth (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht [Brill], December 2022)

Representative Papers

‘Time Transcending Tense: An Examination of Heng 恒 in Pre-Qin Daoist Philosophy’. Asian Philosophy 34, no. 4 (October 2024)

‘Transformative Repetitions: A Comparative Study of Constancy in Barthian and Pre-Qin Daoist Metaphysics’. Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie 66, no. 2 (May 2024)

‘Reliable Knowledge, True Freedom: The Remnant of the Analogia Temporalis in the Theology of Robert W. Jenson and its Implications for the Epistemology-Freedom Debate’. Scottish Journal of Theology 73, no. 3 (August 2020)

‘“Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am”: A Theological Treatise on the Concept of Time in John’s Gospel’. Modern Theology 35, no. 4 (October 2019)

Honours and Awards

2022 – 2024 Hangzhou Municipal Government Postdoctoral Subsidy

2016 – 2020St. John’s College, University of Cambridge Ph.D. Scholarship

2019University of Cambridge, Faculty of Divinity Conference Award

2019DAAD Cambridge Conference Award

2019A. C. Macpherson Fund Grant

2017 – 2018Evangelisches Stift Stipendium

2017 – 2018Karl Schlecht Stipendium

2014 – 2015Baden-Württemberg Stipendium

2014University of Cambridge Departmental Prize

Courses Offered

Introduction to Christian Philosophy (Undergraduate; English)

Selected Readings from Original Christian Works: Introduction to Metaphysics (Graduate; English)