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Samuel Todes (June 27, 1927October 21, 1994) was an American
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
who made notable contributions to
existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...
,
phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839� ...
, and
philosophy of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of the mind and its relation to the Body (biology), body and the Reality, external world. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a ...
.


Biography

Todes taught philosophy at MIT after graduation from Harvard, alongside
Hubert Dreyfus Hubert Lederer Dreyfus ( ; October 15, 1929 – April 22, 2017) was an American philosopher and a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. His main interests included phenomenology, existentialism and the philosophy of ...
. He taught courses on Kant, Hegel, Husserl, Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty. Todes developed a philosophy of needs, based on his critique of Kant's schematism and Merleau-Ponty's critique of Heidegger. This contribution was never published, beyond its basis in his dissertation.
Gerry Stahl Gerry Stahl is an American computer scientist specializing in computer-supported collaborative learning. He is professor emeritus of computing and informatics at Drexel University, and was the founding editor-in-chief of the ''International Journ ...
and Ralph D. Sawyer attended his courses as undergraduates. When Todes and Dreyfus were dismissed from MIT for their critique of artificial intelligence, Todes moved to Northwestern University's Department of Philosophy. Todes was associate professor of philosophy at
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
at the time of his death in 1994. His
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
doctoral dissertation, ''The Human Body as Material Subject of the World'', written in 1963, was chosen as one of the most important philosophy dissertations at Harvard and thus published close to three decades later in a special dissertation-series of publications, connected with Harvard itself, using Todes' original title. It gained such a following therefrom that it was published again in 2001 as ''Body and World'' (MIT Press). According to philosopher Piotr Hoffman, "Had odes' dissertationbeen published at the time it was written, it would have been recognized as one of the most valuable contributions to philosophy in the postwar period and as the most significant contribution to the field of
existential phenomenology Existential phenomenology encompasses a wide range of thinkers who take up the view that philosophy must begin from experience like phenomenology, but argues for the temporality of personal existence as the framework for analysis of the human condi ...
since the work of
Merleau-Ponty Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty. ( ; ; 14 March 1908 – 3 May 1961) was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. The constitution of meaning in human experience was his main interest ...
." ''Body and World'' also makes a notable contribution to contemporary interdisciplinary research in the field of
embodied cognitive science Embodied cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field of research, the aim of which is to explain the mechanisms underlying intelligent behavior. It comprises three main methodologies: the modeling of psychological and biological systems in a ...
. In addition to his important philosophical work, Todes was a pioneer in the struggle for gay rights and visibility in the academic world; openly gay himself, he was among the founding members of the Gay Academic Union. His life partner of over 30 years was the distinguished Canadian-American poet and translator
Daryl Hine William Daryl Hine (February 24, 1936 – August 20, 2012) was a Canadian poet and translator. A MacArthur Fellow for the class of 1986, Hine was the editor of ''Poetry'' from 1968 to 1978. He graduated from McGill University in 1958 and then st ...
(1936-2012).


See also

*
Hubert Dreyfus Hubert Lederer Dreyfus ( ; October 15, 1929 – April 22, 2017) was an American philosopher and a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley. His main interests included phenomenology, existentialism and the philosophy of ...
*
American philosophy American philosophy is the activity, corpus, and tradition of philosophers affiliated with the United States. The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' notes that while it lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can neverthe ...
*
List of American philosophers American philosophy is the activity, corpus, and tradition of philosophers affiliated with the United States. The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' notes that while it lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can neverthe ...


References


External links


Samuel Todes Blog
1927 births 1994 deaths Harvard University alumni Northwestern University faculty 20th-century American philosophers {{US-philosopher-stub