Dr. K. P. Shankaran is a retired Professor of Philosophy. He began his teaching career at Madras Christian College, Chennai, before moving to Delhi, where he taught at St. Stephen’s College for 27 years. His areas of interest include Gandhian thought, the Buddha ,the Nikāyas, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, and the Malayalam writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. He has lectured widely and is a regular contributor to print media. A seasoned traveller, he has delivered annual lectures on Indian Philosophy and the Philosophy of Mind in China. In May 2026, he is scheduled to give five lectures on Chinese philosophy in Guangzhou, China.
Dr. Shankaran has authored three books: his first, Marx and Freud on Religion, and his most recent, Gandhi and the Centrality of Ethics. His Malayalam work, Gandhiyum Basheerum, is a dialogue with K. Aravindakshan, a well-known Malayalam writer.