Sidney Morgenbesser

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Sidney Morgenbesser (born September 22, 1921 in New York , † August 1, 2004 there ) was an American philosopher.

Life

Morgenbesser first studied theology at the Jewish Theological Seminary and became a rabbi . Eventually he graduated from the City College of New York. He received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania . After lecturing at Swarthmore College and at the New School for Social Research , he joined Columbia University in 1954 . He was an associate editor of the Journal of Philosophy . He died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 82 .

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He was particularly interested in science and epistemology , pragmatism and human rights . He was close to the language philosophy of Alfred Jules Ayers and John Langshaw Austins . He was skeptical of big theory and has never published a book alone. However, he wrote some articles in professional journals and edited philosophical anthologies .

Appreciation

Columbia University has held the Sidney Morgenbesser Professorship at the Department of Philosophy since July 2009 . The owner is said to "embody the characteristics of Sidney Morgenbesser, a devoted philosophy teacher who has enthusiastically made the training of pre-graduate and graduate students his own".

Bon mots

Morgenbesser was famous for his quick wit and wit. The numerous Morgenbesser anecdotes include:

  • John Langshaw Austin gave a guest lecture on the act of speaking and explained that while a double negative results in an affirmation, a double affirmation does not result in a negative. Morgenbesser then said: "Yeah, yeah!"
  • Once he was asked by a student whether he was right with Mao Zedong when he said that a statement can sometimes be true and false at the same time. Morgenbesser replied: "Yes and no."
  • "Why does God make me suffer so", he asked shortly before succumbing to his ALS disease , "just because I don't believe in him?"
  • When asked why he publishes so little, he replied: "Moses wrote a book, what did he do then?"
  • In the New York subway he was admonished by a police officer when he tried to light a cigarette in the no-smoking policy. After all, if he let him go, he would have to allow everyone else to smoke too. Morgenbesser replied: “Who do you think you are? Kant? ”Then Morgenbesser was brought to the station. ("Kant" sounds like the English vulgar word " cunt ".)
  • To Burrhus Frederic Skinner he said: “Do I understand your request correctly? You shouldn't humanize people? "
  • About pragmatism , he said that it sounds good in theory, but doesn't work in practice.
  • As dessert, Morgenbesser offered apple and blueberry cakes. He chose the apple pie. When the waitress added that strawberry cake was also on offer, he took the blueberry cake.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Douglas Martin: Sidney Morgenbesser, 82, Kibitzing Philosopher, Dies , The New York Times , August 4, 2004.
  2. ^ A b c Sidney Morgenbesser , The Times , September 8, 2004.
  3. ↑ a b Andrew Gumbel: Professor Sidney Morgenbesser , The Independent , August 6, 2004.
  4. ^ Morgenbesser's page at Columbia University ( January 25, 2006 memento in the Internet Archive ).
  5. ↑ a b James Ryerson: Sidewalk Socrates , The New York Times , December 26, 2004.
  6. ↑ Advertisement from Columbia University  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / academicjobs.columbia.edu  
  7. ↑ Ronald de Sousa: Why Think? Evolution and the Rational Mind. Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN 019518985X
personal data
SURNAME Morning better, Sidney
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH September 22, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH New York , USA
DATE OF DEATH August 1, 2004
Place of death New York , USA