News and views about philosophy, the academic profession, academic freedom, intellectual culture, and other topics. The world’s most popular philosophy blog, since 2003.
I only just learned of Barry’s passing, and I’m enormously saddened at the news. I wrote my PhD on his…
I respond to this report here https://jasonstanleyantifascist.substack.com/p/on-the-philosophical-muddle-that
For what it’s worth, I agree. I have, with some trepidation, given it a bunch of my papers and asked…
Looking at some of the AI-amplified cranks on philpeople, it is hard to agree with the assessment of this article.…
Perhaps a useful distinction here is between replacing philosophers and changing the conditions under which philosophical work gets done. LLMs…
Conditional on the hypothesis that journal editors sometimes desk reject high-quality papers written and commended by world experts on a…
Some users seem to have conflicting impressions about the (absolute level of) abilities of current iterations of the LLMs. But…
Professor Ameriks, a longtime member of the philosophy faculty at the University of Notre Dame, where he was emeritus, was an internationally renowned expert on Kant and German Idealism. Comments are open for remembrances from those who knew Professor Ameriks or from those who wish to comment on the significance of his work.
(Thanks to David Gordon and Fritz Warfield for the information.)
Karl was the dissertation director for my undergraduate mentor. So I was aware of his work early on in my own philosophical education and consequently was aware, early on, of one of the best models for engaging with continental philosophy. As luck would have it (the very best kind of luck) Karl took a sabbatical one year and chose to spend it in Iowa City where I was a graduate student. While there, he taught a Kant seminar I was able to take. It was a fantastic learning experience and I came to know just how extraordinarily decent, kind and generous of a person he was in addition to being a first rate philosopher. He often dined with grad students while on that sabbatical and gave us all substantial attention and constructive guidance. He was prone to give confidence building praise that, at least in my case, was maybe a bit too generous! (But I deeply appreciated it all the same!) I remember walking into the seminar room at the start of each class, the chalk board that covered one large wall would already be covered with words Karl had written hastily in chalk to have ready to refer to during that day’s class. I could never make out the words, just a mess of chalk markings. But then, at just the moment he’d begin speaking about an idea he’d documented somewhere on the board, he would point to that precise spot on the board (without looking at it himself). Suddenly, I’d be able to make the words out based on what he was saying at that moment! How he knew right where to point at just the right moment I could never figure out. I’m saddened to learn of his passing and grateful to have had him in my life for the brief time he was there and contributed to it.
This is such sad news. Karl seemed to me to be one of those people who hardly aged; he seemed always so bright and resilient in body and spirit. He had an enormous, positive impact on the field of German philosophy, especially Kant, and I knew him to be unfailingly generous to his students and colleagues. I first met him during my graduate school days at the U of C back in the 80s. He was generous with his time and encouragement back then, and his eagerness to talk shop and lend support didn't wane in the decades that followed. I will miss his (sometimes self-deprecating) humor, his love of his subject, his rich and impressive comprehension of it, and above all his kindness and generosity.
This comes as a shock and with a wave of grief.
I knew Karl since we were both undergraduates at Yale. I remember driving with him back to Michigan on the New York Thruway in a blizzard and sliding off the road into a snowbank. We all had to get out (there were four of us) to push the car back onto the road. We made it.
We would see each other every other year or so to catch up in various places. I remember seeing him at Notre Dame a couple of years ago and talking, among other things, about old Yale days. A vivid memory of that conversation was Karl talking about Josh Cohen, also a Yale undergrad, at some political protest (the Bobby Seale trial in 1970?) –for me, protest only came after I graduated in 1968 (our version of protest involved turning our backs on Lady Bird Johnson!). As I recall Karl's description, Josh had hair down to his shoulders and a beautiful woman on his arm. Karl was laughing with his infectious smile. He seemed always to be laughing.
Karl's scholarly achievement was monumental, but he was always incredibly humble–down to earth, as befitted his Michigan roots. I will miss him terribly.
Karl was educated entirely at Yale and I at Harvard, so of course we didn't know each other as undergrads or graduate students. We competed for some of the same jobs our first year on the market. I can't recall when we first did meet, but it must have been very soon thereafter. He was an admired colleague and a wonderful friend. Among his many professional accomplishments, his magnificent edition of Kant's lectures on metaphysics (with Steve Naragon) for the Cambridge Edition is a monument that will stand for ages. Among wonderful times together, I have many memories, ranging from cruising around Normandy at a great conference in Cerisy (1993) to seeing him just a few months ago at the retirement conference for Pat Kitcher, when he seemed his usual acute, interesting, witty and warm self. I will miss him very much, along with the many others who have written of him here and elsewhere with nothing but grief yet warmth.
—–
KEYWORDS:
Primary Blog
Leave a Reply