Herbert Spiegelberg was appointed as a regular member of the Philosophy Department of Washington University in St. Louis in 1963. Professor Spiegelberg was an eminent phenomenologist and historian of phenomenology who brought the department great breadth and international attention.  He worked on the  interpretation of the written works of Edmund Husserl, Emmanuel Kant, Alexander Pfaender, and Heinrich von Recklingshausen.  Professor Spiegelberg conducted five influential Workshops in Phenomenology during the summers of 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, and 1972, the first supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation and the second by a grant from the Monsanto Corporation. Professor Spiegelberg was presented with an honorary degree by Lawrence College. He retired as Emeritus Professor in 1971.

Before coming to Washington University, Spiegelberg attended University of Heidelberg (Heidelberg, Germany) from 1922 to 1924 and the University of Freiburg (Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany) from 1924 to 1925. He attended and later earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy with a dissertation titled Gesetz und Sittengesetz under the direction of Alexander Pfander at the University of Munich (Munchen, Germany) in 1922 and 1925 to 1928.  He was Professor of German and Philosophy at Swarthmore College (Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA) from 1938 to 1941.  From 1941 to 1963, he was also Professor of Philosophy at Lawrence College (Appleton, Wisconsin, USA).