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John was my undergrad advisor. I wouldn’t have gone to graduate school without his suggesting it, and his help with…
He was a serious and brilliant thinker and writer, whose work was not only profoundly insightful but also an immense…
Sad news. I only met him a couple of times (he was one of those US philosophers with strong Australasian…
This is a wonderful corrective to panic over people who can’t distinguish between real paintings and AI-generated paintings — the…
This isn’t meant as a comment on Pangram specifically, but doesn’t putting papers through an AI tool risk ‘leaking’ the…
The cover image of this book on Kant (https://global.oup.com/ushe/product/kants-doctrine-of-virtue-9780190939236?cc=ca&lang=en&) is actually based on a portrait of a philosophical rival, F.…
I have to say that I have changed my mind on this issue in the last year or so. I…
Professor Heil, who was emeritus at both Washington University in St. Louis and Durham University in the UK (but who taught at many schools during his long career), was well-known for his work in philosophy of mind and metaphysics. Comments are open for remembrances from those who knew Professor Heil or for those who would like to comment on the significance of his work.
(Thanks to John Doris for the information.)
Sad news. I only met him a couple of times (he was one of those US philosophers with strong Australasian links) but I really liked him and am a big admirer of his work. His ‘Philosophy of Mind: a Contemporary Introduction’ seems to me a brilliant example of its kind and the text I would use if I ever had to teach the subject.
He was a serious and brilliant thinker and writer, whose work was not only profoundly insightful but also an immense pleasure to read. This was due, in no small part, to his distinctive style: a rare blend of philosophical depth, intellectual acuity, and a subtle, often delightful sense of humour that made even the most demanding philosophical reflections a genuine pleasure to engage with. His profound influence on contemporary metaphysics is unmistakable to anyone familiar with his work.
Yet, beyond his intellectual brilliance, he was, above all, a genuinely lovely human being: warm, generous, and kind. His passing marks the loss not only of a remarkable philosopher and scholar, but also of a wonderful teacher. I feel particularly fortunate to have been one of his students: to have sat in his classroom, benefited from his thoughtful feedback on my work, and witnessed firsthand the passion, enthusiasm, and sheer joy with which he approached philosophy and shared it with others. These are just some of the many memories I will carry with me.
It is deeply saddening to think that he is no longer with us. And yet, perhaps the most fitting farewell is to borrow the words with which he so characteristically signed off his emails:
*Meanwhile, go well, John Heil.*
John was my undergrad advisor. I wouldn’t have gone to graduate school without his suggesting it, and his help with the applications. This was when he was at Davidson. He never turned me away from conversation, particularly philosophical, so I ended up sitting in his office for untold hours talking philosophy. Although I drifted away from analytic metaphysics as a focus, learning about it from him was a great training for the mind. I also loved how cantakerous he was. He will be missed.
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