[lit-ideas] Joel Feinberg 1926-2004

From: Robert.Paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Robert Paul)
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: 29 Mar 2004 18:44:07 PST
March 29, 2004

In Memoriam: Joel Feinberg

[From by Brian Leiter at
<http://webapp.utexas.edu/blogs/archives/bleiter/001021.html>]

I have just received the following e-mail sent by Professor Chris Maloney, Head
of Department at the University of Arizona:

"I regret to inform you that Regents Professor of Philosophy and Law (Emeritus)
Joel Feinberg died today, March 29, in Tucson following a long illness.

"Professor Feinberg retired from the University of Arizona Philosophy Department
in 1994 after 17 years on the faculty. Prior to his appointment at Arizona,
Professor Feinberg taught at Brown University, Princeton University, UCLA and
Rockefeller University. He held the B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of
Michigan. [Leiter addendum: he wrote his dissertation on the philosophy of Ralph
Barton Perry under the supervision of Charles Stevenson!]

"Professor Feinberg was internationally distinguished for his research in moral,
social and legal philosophy. His major four volume work, The Moral Limits of
Criminal Law, was published between 1984 and 1988. Professor Feinberg held many
major fellowships during his career and lectured by invitation at universities
around the world. He was an esteemed and highly successful teacher, and many of
his students are now prominent scholars and professors at universities across
the country.

Professor Feinberg is survived by his wife, Betty, daughter, Melissa, and son,
Ben. The family is planning a memorial to be held later this week on a date to
be determined."

Permit me a personal note, on the sad occasion of the passing of this splendid
philosopher and human being. I first met Joel in 1994, shortly after he had
taken emeritus status at Arizona, when the Department was looking for a
law-and-philosophy scholar. I spent a good deal of time with Joel during my
various visits to Tucson during the time I was being recruited, and he and his
wife were extremely kind and hospitable. Joel's generous enthusiasm for me and
confidence in my work were, to put it mildly, extraordinarily meaningful to
someone just finishing up his first year of university teaching. One of my great
regrets about not taking the Arizona job is not having had the opportunity to
spend more time with Joel Feinberg. He is, on anyone's accounting, one of the
handful of major figures in legal philosophy of recent decades; and, indeed,
much as Hart defined the central questions and issues for analytic jurisprudence
over the past forty years, so Feinberg set much of the important agenda in
normative jurisprudence. That, on top of his major philosophical contributions,
he was also a caring mentor of dozens of graduate students and young
philosophers means that he will long be remembered with both intellectual
admiration and genuine affection and gratitude.
-------------------------------

Forwarded by Robert Paul
Reed College 

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[lit-ideas] Joel Feinberg 1926-2004

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