Lewis White Beck (September 26, 1913 – June 7, 1997) was an American philosopher and scholar of

German philosophy German philosophy, here taken to mean either (1) philosophy in the German language or (2) philosophy by Germans, has been extremely diverse, and central to both the analytic and continental traditions in philosophy for centuries, from Gottfried ...

. Beck was Burbank Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

and served as the Philosophy Department chair there from 1949 to 1966. He translated several of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

's works, such as the ''

Critique of Practical Reason The ''Critique of Practical Reason'' (german: Kritik der praktischen Vernunft) is the second of Immanuel Kant's three critiques, published in 1788. It follows on from Kant's first critique, the '' Critique of Pure Reason'' and deals with his mo ...

'', and was the author of ''Studies in the Philosophy of Kant'' (1965).

Biography

Born in

Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 23,478. Griffin was founded in 1840 and named for landowner Col. Lewis Lawr ...

, Beck received his bachelor's degree from

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

in 1934, his master's degree from

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 James ...

in 1935, and his doctoral degree from Duke University in 1937. Before moving to Rochester, he was an international student at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

(1937–38; an interview about his experiences there appeared in ''

The Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'', Sept. 18, 1938), an instructor at

(1938–41), assistant professor at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

(1941–46), and associate professor at

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

(1946–48), eventually becoming professor (1948–49). He was elected a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1963. He retired in 1979 and died at age 83 in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

Selected publications

Books

* ''Philosophic Inquiry: An Introduction to Philosophy'' (1952) * ''A Commentary on Kant's Critique of Practical Reason'' (1961) * ''Six Secular Philosophers'' (1966) * ''Early German Philosophy: Kant and His Predecessors'' (1969) * ''The Actor and the Spectator'' (1975) * ''Essays on Kant and Hume'' (1978) * ''Mr. Boswell dines with Professor Kant'' (1979)

Translations

* Kant's ''Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics That Will Be Able to Present Itself as a Science'' * Kant's ''Critique of Practical Reason'' * Kant's ''The Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals''

References

External links