John Daniel Wild (April 10, 1902 – October 23, 1972) was a twentieth-century American philosopher. Wild began his philosophical career as an empiricist and realist but became an important proponent of

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

and phenomenology in the United States.

Life and career

Wild was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. After undergraduate studies at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, he received his master's degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and completed his PhD at the University of Chicago in 1926. He taught for a year at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and then at Harvard from 1927 until 1961 when he left to assume the chairmanship of the philosophy department at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, a leading center for phenomenology and existentialism in the United States. Wild moved to

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

in 1963 and, in 1969, to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. He received an honorary doctorate from Ripon College and served as visiting professor at the Universities of Chicago,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. He served as president of the Association for Realistic Philosophy (1949) and the

Metaphysical Society of America The Metaphysical Society of America (MSA) is a philosophical organization founded by Paul Weiss in 1950. As stated in its constitution, "The purpose of the Metaphysical Society of America is the study of reality." The society is a member of the ...

(1954). In 1962 Wild, along with William A. Earle, James M. Edie, and others, founded th
Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy
John Wild died in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

.David Carr, Karsten Harries, and John E. Smith, "John Wild 1902-1972," ''Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association'', vol. 46 (1972-1973), pp. 196–7.

Major works

Books

* 552 pages. :* * 320 pages. :* * 516 pages. :* (paper). * 259 pages. * 297 pages. :* . * 250 pages. * 186 pages. * 243 pages. * 430 pages. :* .

Books edited

* 479 pages. * 117 pages. * 373 pages.

Notes

External links

* John Daniel Wild Papers. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wild, John Daniel 1902 births 1972 deaths 20th-century American philosophers American philosophy academics Existentialists University of Chicago alumni Harvard University alumni Northwestern University faculty People from Chicago Phenomenologists Yale University faculty University of Florida faculty University of Michigan faculty Presidents of the Metaphysical Society of America