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In Memoriam: Stephen Nathanson (1943-2023)

Brian Leiter

Professor Nathanson's colleague John Basl kindly shared this memorial notice:

Steve Nathanson, professor emeritus of philosophy at Northeastern University, has died. Professor Nathanson is known for his work on economic justice, war and peace, patriotism, punishment, and social and political philosophy. He earned his PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1969 and was on faculty at Northeastern for over 40 years, where he twice served as department chair. He was a dedicated educator who for several years led Northeastern’s center for teaching and learning. 

Professor Nathanson was a mentor, musician, activist, and lover of ideas. He pursued a collaborative and supportive version of philosophical practice, and believed that philosophy was crucial to understanding and responding to the challenges of our times. 

He died on February 10th. There is an obituary here.

ADDENDUM:  Comments are now open for remembrances from those who knew Professor Nathanson or for comments about the significance of his work.

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3 responses to “In Memoriam: Stephen Nathanson (1943-2023)”

  1. Phil Gasper

    I thought his little book on the immorality of the death penalty, An Eye for an Eye?, was excellent. Applied ethics at its best.

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  2. Gordon Barnes

    For many years, Nathanson’s introduction to economic justice was the only book of its kind. I used it many times over the years, and for my students it was pitched at just the right level. It was a great book, and I have always been grateful that he took the time to write it.

    Reply
  3. Mahmoud Jalloh

    Stephen Nathanson was my first philosophy professor when I started as an engineering major at Northeastern University in 2012. I distinctly remember his "Markets, Governments, and Economic Justice" course as a revelation—I had already developed a cynicism that such issues could not be discussed seriously and rationally. Professor Nathanson was a perfect example of a philosopher, equally critical and charitable, interested in the truth. Besides his excellent introductory text (as noted by Gordon Barnes), the Professor Nathanson covered a wide range of interesting materials including the work of authors like Ayn Rand, to which few philosophers would deign to give attention to but whose work was familiar and even influential to incoming students. In characteristic even-handedness, we also read the Communist Manifesto, in addition to political philosophy standards like Nozick and Rawls. I believe that was Professor Nathanson's final course before his retirement.

    It is safe to say that the course changed my life: it lead to my changing majors and going on to graduate school in philosophy. I remember having a chat with Professor Nathanson in the quad (which he noted was but a parking lot when he started) as I was ruminating over whether majoring in philosophy was a good decision and he told me a story about when he was deciding to go to graduate school. He said, if I remember correctly, that his wife told him that if he became a philosopher he would at least "never be bored". That stuck with me, and I haven't been bored yet! I greatly appreciate my brief relationship with Professor Nathanson and wish to express my deepest condolences to his family and friends.

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