Kai Nielsen (May 15, 1926 – April 7, 2021) was an American professor, latterly emeritus, of philosophy at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

. He specialized in naturalism,

metaphilosophy Metaphilosophy, sometimes called the philosophy of philosophy, is "the investigation of the nature of philosophy". Its subject matter includes the aims of philosophy, the boundaries of philosophy, and its methods. Thus, while philosophy character ...

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

analytic philosophy Analytic philosophy is a branch and tradition of philosophy using analysis, popular in the Western world and particularly the Anglosphere, which began around the turn of the 20th century in the contemporary era in the United Kingdom, United ...

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

and

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, ...

. Nielsen also wrote about

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning p ...

, and was an advocate of contemporary

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

. He was also known for his defense of

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different chara ...

, writing in response to

Bernard Williams Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams, FBA (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English moral philosopher. His publications include ''Problems of the Self'' (1973), ''Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'' (1985), ''Shame and Necessity'' ...

's criticism of it.

Biography

Born on May 15, 1926 in

Marshall, Michigan Marshall is a U.S. city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Calhoun County. The population was 7,088 at the 2010 census. Marshall is best known for its cross-section of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture. It has been referred to b ...

, Kai Edward Nielsen was raised in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Islan ...

. Nielsen achieved his AB honors at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...

, and, in 1959, his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

. Before moving to the University of Calgary, Nielsen held appointments at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educati ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. Nielsen was a member of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

and a past president (in 1983) of the Canadian Philosophical Association. Nielsen was also one of the founding members of the '' Canadian Journal of Philosophy''. In 1973 Nielsen was one of the signers of the

Humanist Manifesto II ''Humanist Manifesto II'', written in 1973 by humanists Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson, was an update to the previous ''Humanist Manifesto'' published in 1933, and the second entry in the '' Humanist Manifesto'' series. It begins with a state ...

. He wrote or edited over 40 books on topics such as

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

and ethical and political theory. Nielsen died in April 2021 at the age of 94.

Publications

Books

*''Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will: The Political Philosophy of Kai Nielsen'', Edited by David Rondel and Alex Sager, 2012, *''Wittgensteinian Fideism?'', 2006, (with D. Z. Philips) *''Atheism And Philosophy'', 2005, *''Globalization And Justice'', 2002, *''Naturalism and Religion'', 2001, *''Exploitation'', 2001, *'' Why Be Moral?'', 1997, *'' Naturalism Without Foundations'', 1996, 4 *''On Transforming Philosophy: A Metaphilosophical Inquiry'', 1995, *'' Does God Exist?: The Debate Between Theists and Atheists'' (with

J. P. Moreland James Porter Moreland (born March 9, 1948), better known as J. P. Moreland, is an American philosopher, theologian, and Christian apologist. He currently serves as a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Biola Univ ...

), 1993, *'' God and the Grounding Of Morality'', 1991, *'' After the Demise of the Tradition: Rorty, Critical Theory, and the Fate of Philosophy'', 1991, *'' Ethics without God'', 1990, *''God, Skepticism and Modernity'', 1989, *''Marxism and the Moral Point of View: Morality, Ideology, and Historical Materialism'', 1989, *''Equality and Liberty: A Defense of Radical Egalitarianism'', 1986, *''Philosophy and Atheism'', 1985, *''An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion'', 1983, *''Marx and Morality'', 1981, *''

Scepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

'', 1973, * ''Ethics Without God,'' 1973, revised edition 1990. *'' Reason and Practice: A Modern Introduction to Philosophy'', 1971, *'' Contemporary Critiques of Religion'', 1971, * ''Ethics Without God'', 1971,

Articles and book chapters

''see listings at Nielsen'
personal home pageCalgary home page
an
details
at Philpapers.''

References

Sources

* Pojman, L. ''The Moral Life'', OUP, 2001.

External links

Kai Nielsen's bibliography and archives
with theist

William Lane Craig William Lane Craig (born August 23, 1949) is an American analytic philosopher, Christian apologist, author and Wesleyan theologian who upholds the view of Molinism and neo-Apollinarianism. He is Professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist ...

Nielsen page at Calgary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nielsen, Kai 1926 births 2021 deaths 20th-century atheists 21st-century atheists American atheists Atheism in Canada Atheist philosophers Concordia University faculty Consequentialists Critics of religions Duke University alumni People from Marshall, Michigan People from Moline, Illinois Philosophers from Illinois Philosophers from Michigan Philosophers of religion Political philosophers Social philosophers University of Calgary faculty Utilitarians Rationalists Presidents of the Canadian Philosophical Association