Jeremy Sampson

Born in the UK, Jeremy Sampson was educated at a number of British universities including London, Durham and St. Andrews. Joining the teaching profession in 1993, he has lived and worked in England, Cyprus, The Bahamas and most recent ly Hong Kong, where he has taught English Language and Literature, Theory of Knowledge and Philosophy for over twenty -five years. Together with being an examiner, and an experienced teacher of IGCSE, 'A' Level, IB MYP and DP, he holds a doctorate in Hermeneutics and Literary History from the University of Chichester. UK (2018).

Since the 1990s he has been a freelance writer for various publications such as Oxford University Press and the Times Higher Education Supplement, writing on such diverse subjects as Education, Philosophy, Theory of Science and Twentieth-Century Literature. His most recent publications include Being Played: Gadamer and Philosophy’s Hidden Dynamic (Vernon Press, 2019), and is editor of a further volume on ludic theory Philosophy’s Gambit Play and Being Played (Vernon Press, 2024). In near future he will publish another volume entitled Philosophy's Arena: Play and Players in a Gamified World (Vernon Press, 2027) His current projects include as editor of two further volumes that include This Side of Midnight: Dispossessed Daughters of Afghanistan that highlights the present plight of Afghan girls and women through their own voices (Vernon Press, 2028). Using his extensive knowledge and network within universities, Dr. Sampson's great pleasure is to help guide students into top universities such as the Ivy League in USA and Oxbridge UK. Finally, a relatively new endeavour of Dr. Sampson is successfully to help young scholars get published on their pathway to pursue writerly careers.

On Becoming a Teacher:

A significant reason why I became a teacher was the film Dead Poets' Society  (1989) starring Robin Williams. The film charted the progress of an insecure boy who thought he might be a failure at life in its totality. Yet his teacher saw what he could be. Once I was that insecure boy. Ultimately by the late eighties, because of my mentors who were like Williams' character of Mr. Keating,  I thought I could be that teacher.

Joy about teaching:

Real education is about instilling a 'can do' attitude within students. Learning is not merely acquiring knowledge, but gaining the confidence to succeed in life. Seeing students gain that confidence as they work with me is what I most enjoy about teaching.

Other interests that reflect on my personality as a teacher:

April 1983: "Sampson, don't worry your head about English "A" level, you won't even pass English "O" level." Thus spake the ever encouraging Mrs. T. (not Thatcher).  

July 1992: At 25 I outmanoeuvred leading literary theorist Professor Terry Eagleton of the University of Oxford at a postgraduate conference, University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK and exposed a fatal flaw in his book "The Ideology of Aesthetic" 

During my years at university I really reinvented myself. This took the form of increasingly pushing my boundaries and seeking success in various artistic arenas. I took up creative writing with a short story of mine being published in an Italian journal of  aesthetics. Also I penned comedy sketches that were performed at university and elsewhere.  Ultimately, I performed some stand up comedy in the UK and Germany. The risk taker in me even wrote a musical entitled Nothing Is Impossible with a BBC composer and in associated with Oxford University Press. Although, it did not herald a new career in the creative arts, it did expand my imaginative horizons. And yes, I continue creatively to write even today.

A Person in My Field of Study I Most Admire and Why:

The person I most admire in my field of study is the German philosopher Hans Georg Gadamer (1900 - 2002). Gadamer is the father and pioneer of philosophical hermeneutics. Philosophical hermeneutics is the study of understanding. What is understanding? How do we understand? Why is there understanding at all? Perhaps the most relevant of Gadamer's quotations in relation to teaching is: "The essence of the question is the opening up, and keeping open, of possibilities."

A person I find inspirational and why:

Certainly, the person I find truly inspirational is French mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662). Why I find Pascal inspirational is he did not merely content himself with being a mathematician. Pascal was an inventor, physicist, a pioneer computational scientist, philosopher, theologian and a writer of conspicuous merit. Although, he suffered an untimely death at the age of 39, he explored so many possibilities and lived his life to the full.  One of his most famous quotation is "Reason's last step is to admit there are an infinite number of things beyond it."

Top tip to younger self:

Carpe Diem! Seize the Day! Make your life extraordinary!