In Memoriam: George Graham (1945-2026)

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Professor Graham was well-known for his work in philosophy of mind, psychology and psychiatry. Philosopher Eddy Nahamias at Georgia State kindly shared this obituary:

After a long illness, George Graham died at his home in Birmingham, Alabama on July 2, 2026. After earning his BA in philosophy from Fordham in 1967, George went on to earn his MA from Western Ontario in 1969 and his PhD at Brandeis in 1975 under the supervision of J. Van Heijenoort. During his career of over 40 years as a philosophy professor, he taught at University of Alabama-Birmingham (serving as chair for 17 years), at Wake Forest University as the A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy, and at Georgia State University for 10 years as Professor of Philosophy and Neuroscience.

            During his time at UAB, George became the first President of the Faculty Senate and helped start UAB’s Center for the Study of Ethics and Values in the Sciences. He also won the President’s Excellence in Teaching Award and Outstanding Teaching Award in the Honors College. George became President of Alabama Philosophy Society in 1986 and served as President of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology (1994-1995), where had won theGriffith Memorial Award for early-career philosophers in 1976. He also served on the Executive Committee and as President of the Society for Philosophy and Psychology in 2005.

            George was widely noted for his work in philosophy of mind, especially in philosophy of psychiatry and philosophical psychopathology. Among his publications were The Abraham Dilemma: A Divine Delusion, The Disordered Mind: An Introduction to Philosophy of Mind and Mental Illness (multiple editions), and Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction. George co-authored numerous books, including When Self-Consciousness Breaks: Alien Voices and Inserted Thoughts. He co-edited eight seminal anthologies about schizophrenia, addiction, and cognitive science, including A Companion to Cognitive Science, which won a Choice award as Outstanding Academic Title for 1999. George also wrote or co-authored dozens of essays in leading venues about mental disorders, consciousness, and folk psychology. He served on ten leading editorial or advisory boards. He taught over fifty different kinds of courses to thousands of students in a remarkable teaching career, including mentoring many undergraduate and graduate students.

            George is survived by his wife Patricia, his daughter Kathleen Graham Street and her husband Bill Street, and a grandson, William George Street.

Comments are open for remembrances from those who knew Professor Graham or for those who wish to comment on the significance of his work.

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Roger of Invisible America

For readers of Paul Tillich, Graham’s principal relevance lies in The Abraham Dilemma: A Divine Delusion (2015), where Tillich’s concept of ultimate concern furnishes the point of departure for distinguishing existentially serious religious commitment from psychologically disorganizing and morally destructive religious delusion. Paul Katsafanas, in Philosophy of Devotion and several related essays, addresses a closely allied problem in the language of value and agency: how a devotion capable of ordering a life can harden into fanaticism once its governing ideal is rendered immune to criticism and permitted to override moral judgment. An important earlier contribution is Andrew A. Cross’s 1994 Berkeley dissertation, Moral Exemplars and Commitment in Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling. Cross argues that the rightness of Abraham’s action cannot be considered apart from the form of life he exemplifies, the question of whether he merits admiration and emulation, and the meaning of granting an exemplar moral authority. Graham’s treatment of Abraham therefore belongs to a continuing philosophical dispute over the point at which unconditional commitment ceases to warrant admiration and becomes morally indefensible.

I am very sorry to hear of George Graham’s passing. I invited George to write an introduction to the philosophy of mental disorder for Routledge about twenty years ago. Not only did he accept a challenging brief but brought his great experience and knowledge to bear on the topic, as well as his humane approach and engaging writing style. The result, The Disordered Mind, was published in 2010. Through three editions up to 2021 his book introduced many students to the philosophy of mental disorder, not only in philosophy but also in some related fields and professions, including nursing and social work. Several translations followed and it became a highly respected book in its field. I only met George once, at an APA meeting, but he was always great pleasure to work with.

Sorry, in the *20* years since it was published.

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2 responses to “In Memoriam: George Graham (1945-2026)”

Roger of Invisible America

July 14, 2026 at 1:43 pm

For readers of Paul Tillich, Graham’s principal relevance lies in The Abraham Dilemma: A Divine Delusion (2015), where Tillich’s concept of ultimate concern furnishes the point of departure for distinguishing existentially serious religious commitment from psychologically disorganizing and morally destructive religious delusion. Paul Katsafanas, in Philosophy of Devotion and several related essays, addresses a closely allied problem in the language of value and agency: how a devotion capable of ordering a life can harden into fanaticism once its governing ideal is rendered immune to criticism and permitted to override moral judgment. An important earlier contribution is Andrew A. Cross’s 1994 Berkeley dissertation, Moral Exemplars and Commitment in Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling. Cross argues that the rightness of Abraham’s action cannot be considered apart from the form of life he exemplifies, the question of whether he merits admiration and emulation, and the meaning of granting an exemplar moral authority. Graham’s treatment of Abraham therefore belongs to a continuing philosophical dispute over the point at which unconditional commitment ceases to warrant admiration and becomes morally indefensible.

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Tony Bruce

July 17, 2026 at 4:50 am

I am very sorry to hear of George Graham’s passing. I invited George to write an introduction to the philosophy of mental disorder for Routledge about twenty years ago. Not only did he accept a challenging brief but brought his great experience and knowledge to bear on the topic, as well as his humane approach and engaging writing style. The result, The Disordered Mind, was published in 2010. Through three editions up to 2021 his book introduced many students to the philosophy of mental disorder, not only in philosophy but also in some related fields and professions, including nursing and social work. Several translations followed and it became a highly respected book in its field. I only met George once, at an APA meeting, but he was always great pleasure to work with.

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