Peter Sloterdijk studied philosophy, German studies and history at the University of Munich and received his PhD from the University of Hamburg in 1975.  He was named chancellor at the University of Art and Design Karlsruhe in 2001 and began co-hosting the German television show Im Glashaus: Das Philosophische Quartett (“In the Glass House: The Philosophical Quarter”) in 2002, featuring in-depth discussion of contemporary issues.

Sloterdijk is renowned for the ‘Spheres’ trilogy, which concerns spaces critical to understanding the human condition.  He judges the difference between mammals and other animals (in particular focussing on the comfort of the womb) and using this seeks to explain how humans behave in relation to science, ideology and religion (even going as far as to nations and states as macro-uteri).  Sloterdijk traces a connection between crises such as emptiness and narcissistic detachment and the crises created when a sphere shatters.