Benjamin Ross Tilghman, professor emeritus of philosophy at Kansas State University, has died. Professor Tilghman worked in philosophy of art and the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. He is the author of But is it Art? (1984), Wittgenstein, Ethics and Aesthetics (1991), An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (1993), The Expression of Emotion in the Visual Arts (2012), and Reflections on Aesthetic Judgment (2017), among other works. Professor Tilghman joined the faculty of Kansas State in 1967, retiring in 1994, and served as department head there from 1967 to 1980. Before that, he had taught at the University of Wyoming, Western State College of Colorado, and Reed College. He earned his PhD from the University of Washington and his BA and MA from Washington University in St. Louis. His colleague, Jim Hamilton, writes: Ben’s interest in the philosophy department and its students at Kansas State University was everlasting. He often contributed to a fund for scholarships for students, called the “Tilghman Excellence Fund,” set up in Ben’s name by several former students. And.
Lives of Philosophers
Elston Wells Van Steenburgh (“Van”), associate professor emeritus at Northern Illinois University, has died. The following memorial notice was provided by Jason Hanna (Northern Illinois): The Northern Illinois University philosophy department mourns the loss of Elston Wells Van Steenburgh (“Van”), who passed away on Thursday, December 8, 2022, at age 94. Van completed his doctoral dissertation in philosophy at the University of Michigan in 1960, under the supervision of Professor Paul Henle. His doctoral research focused on Berkeley’s theory of meaning. In 1968, Van joined the philosophy department at Northern Illinois University, where he worked until his retirement in 1993. A versatile scholar and charismatic teacher, Van worked on metaphysics, epistemology, perception, philosophy of language, and early modern philosophy. He also served ably as chair from 1976 to 1981, during which time he skillfully instituted several curricular and personnel changes that improved the department’s productivity. After stepping down as chair, Van continued to provide sound leadership.
Peter Kim Schotch, emeritus professor of philosophy at Dalhousie University, has died. The following memorial notice was written by Gillman Payette (Calgary): Peter Kim Schotch, age 76, died on December 22, 2022 at his home in Brookside Nova Scotia. Peter was born on July 26th, 1946, in Montreal, Quebec. He attended the University of Waterloo, getting a BA and finally a PhD in Philosophy writing a dissertation in modal logic in 1973 under the supervision of J.S. Minas. (Interestingly, his external examiner was C. West Churchman). In 1972 he was hired by the Philosophy Department at Dalhousie University and only fully retired in 2019. At the end of his time at Dalhousie he had reached the rank of full professor and was the Munro Chair of Metaphysics. Despite being a logician or perhaps because of it, Peter liked teaching existentialism, philosophy of literature, and philosophy of art. He was also a dedicated union-supporter, serving on the Dalhousie Faculty Association’s bargaining team for the second, third, fifth and sixth collective agreements and sharing duties as Chief Negotiator for the 1984-87 agreement. He also shared the position of DFA president in 1997-98. P. K.
Philip Stratton-Lake, professor of philosophy at the University of Reading, died last month following a period of serious illness. David Oderberg, Head of the Department of Philosophy at Reading, shared the following brief memorial notice: Philip was a much loved and respected colleague in the Department since he joined in 1998. He was an internationally reputed moral philosopher with expertise in a wide range of areas including meta-ethics, moral epistemology, Kantian ethics, contractualism, intuitionism, and Ross-style pluralism. He was one of the world’s leading figures in the revival and defence of ethical intuitionism, writing the article on the topic for the Stanford Encyclopedia and editing a seminal volume (Ethical Intuitionism: Re-evaluations). He also edited the now standard edition of W.D. Ross’ The Right and the Good. Other work includes an important monograph on Kant (Kant, Duty and Moral Worth) along with many articles and chapters in collections.
Penelope Mackie, a philosopher at the University of Nottingham, has died. The following obituary was provided by Mark Jago (Nottingham). It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our friend and colleague, Penelope Mackie, following a period of illness. Penelope was born into an academic family. Her paternal grandfather Alexander was professor of education at the University of Sydney, and her father was the philosopher J.L. Mackie (whose philosophical papers she co-edited). She went to Somerville College, Oxford, in 1971, where she took the BPhil in Philosophy with a thesis, Identity and Continuity, in 1978, and later the DPhil in 1987, with a thesis, How Things Might Have Been: A Study in Essentialism. After her DPhil, Penelope moved to the US, first as a visiting lecturer at the University of Maryland (1986–1987) and then as Assistant Professor of philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University (1987–1990). She then returned to Oxford, this time as a fellow of New College (1990–1994), before moving to Birmingham in 1994 and then to Nottingham in 2004, where she worked until her death.
Gary Iseminger, professor emeritus of philosophy at Carleton College, has died. Professor Iseminger was known for his work in philosophy of art. He authored The Aesthetic Function of Art (2004) and many articles, ranging on topics from the role of intention in art, to the nature of aesthetic judgments, to jazz improvisation. He also wrote on logic and authored a logic text for students. You can learn more about his writings here and here. Professor Iseminger taught at Carleton beginning in 1962, starting as an instructor and retiring in 2004 as the Stephen R. Lewis, Jr. Professor of Philosophy and Liberal Learning. Over the years, he held visiting appointments at various institutions, including the London School of Economics, University College London, University of Edinburgh, Lancaster University, Cambridge University, University of Minnesota, Lingnan University in Hong Kong, among others. In addition to his philosophical work, for a period he also coached varsity tennis at Carleton (including a team that won the conference title in 1967), and he played vibraphone, timpani, and sang in various performing groups, according to a memorial notice here.