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    The McMaster Department of Philosophy has now put together the following notice commemorating Barry: Barry Allen: A Philosophical Life Barry…

In Memoriam: Richard Double (1948-2021)

Brian Leiter

Professor Double, who taught for many years at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, where he was emeritus, was best-known for his work on issues related to free will.   The family shared this obituary:

Richard Double, emeritus  professor and former chair of philosophy at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania,  died on July 29, 2021.

Double was a tireless teacher and generalist who wrote provocatively across many areas of philosophy, specializing in ethics and free will.  Double‘s work is cited in six sections of the 2003 Stanford online Encyclopedia of philosophy: moral responsibility, autonomy in moral and political philosophy, personal autonomy, free will, Chinese room, and impartiality. His unique contribution to the free will problem was meta-level subjectivism, which argued that metaethical subjectivism in ethics showed that none of the familiar lower-level theories of moral responsibility could be true.  

His works included four books:  The Non-Reality of Free Will (1991), Metaphilosophy and Free Will (1996), Beginning Philosophy (1999) (all published by Oxford University Press), and Metaethical Subjectivism (Routledge, 2006).  He also publihsed 58 articles and 23 reviews.

Double’s proudest accomplishment was the fact his three Oxford University Press monographs were reviewed in London's Times Literary Supplement.

Double is survived by his loving wife, Maureen Amar, who tirelessly managed Double’s long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

(Thanks to Gregg Caruso for the information.)

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4 responses to “In Memoriam: Richard Double (1948-2021)”

  1. V. Alan White

    What very tragic news. Though I never met him, I must say here in tribute that Double's Non-Reality and Metaphilosophy had a deep and lasting influence on my own thinking, contributing significantly to my movement toward a pragmatic stand not juts on free will, but on many other issues. My condolences to his family and friends.

    Reply
  2. Mark Bernstein

    I had a couple of very long talks with Richard concerning free will. My memory is of a very kind, gentle, and humble man. My sympathies to his family and friends.

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  3. Robert Van Gulick

    Richard Double was a really good philosopher and a wonderful human being. So sorry to hear of his passing.

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  4. Terry L Smith

    I had the honor of being Richard Double's dean during the last decade of his career at Edinboro. I read his first book on free will and discussed several of his papers with him. He was forceful both as a philosopher and as a department chair. He also was physically forceful. He lifted weights regularly and had the build of a fullback. And yet he was a kind and conscientious teacher who focused patiently on improving undergraduate reasoning and writing skills.

    What I valued most about him, however, was his commitment to the idea that higher education is about something of intrinsic value. It's easy to lose sight of this, especially at a public university that is judged by so many other standards. It goes without saying that others will judge us by the standards that matter to them and we ignore those standards at our peril. The question, however, remains: Why do we ourselves value what we are doing? And Richard had an answer.

    Even after his retirement, he maintained a commitment to these values. I followed him on ResearchGate, where he would post his most recent articles and reviews. He continued to think and write about the problems that had held his interest for so many years.

    Our last conversation was actually about basketball. He was a fan of Phil Jackson, who coached the Chicago Bulls when Michael Jordan played for them. Richard referred to him as the Zen Master. He meant it ironically, as a question as much as an epithet. Phil Jackson could inspire multi-millionaires to play basketball for the sheer joy of playing at the limits of their ability. This, I think, is what Richard admired about him. I'm not sure if Richard knew he had a similar effect on his colleagues. I will miss him for many reasons. But most of all for that.

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