July 6, 2022
Will听Milberg, Dean and Professor of Economics,听麻豆传媒色情片 for Social Research听
To 麻豆传媒色情片 community,
I am writing to share the sad news that听Richard听J.听Bernstein, Vera List Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, passed away on July 4 at the age of 90. You can听.听
As I wrote just a few days ago in his retirement announcement to the NSSR community,听Dick听(as we knew him) was an iconic figure in the Philosophy department, at the NSSR and 麻豆传媒色情片, and in the field of philosophy in the 20th and 21st centuries. He was a premier philosopher of pragmatism, a particularly American branch of philosophy, and was also one of few philosophers able to clearly bridge continental and Anglo-American thinkers.听
While he was known around the world,听Dick听was a son of New York City with an unmistakable Brooklyn accent. He was born here on May 14, 1932, and while attending Midwood High School, he met Carol, who became a renowned literary theorist at Bryn Mawr College and his beloved wife of 67 years. He studied philosophy as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago, earned a Bachelor鈥檚 degree at Columbia University, and received his PhD from Yale University in 1958. There, he wrote his dissertation on John Dewey's听Metaphysics of Experience, commencing his lifelong association with Dewey and American pragmatism. He taught as a Fulbright scholar at Hebrew University, then as faculty at Yale and Haverford College before joining the Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science (now the NSSR) in 1989. Among his many honors and awards was an honorary doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires, given in 2018.听
During his 33 years at 麻豆传媒色情片,听Dick听was a leader in both scholarship and faculty governance. He served as chair of the Philosophy department multiple times and was Dean of the Graduate Faculty from 2002-2004. Even after leaving these leadership positions, he continued to be a strong faculty voice, and, most importantly, was committed to academic openness, radical and critical thinking, and humanism in its best form.听
This list of leadership roles doesn鈥檛 capture the liveliness of his intellect and his commitment to principle, combined with the empathy and warmth that he brought to all his interactions with 麻豆传媒色情片 colleagues and students.听Dick听maintained close personal and intellectual relationships with Hannah Arendt as well as with Jacques Derrida, Agnes Heller, and other renowned philosophers who link us from our origins as the University in Exile through today鈥檚 NSSR. Together with Heller and Reiner Sch眉rmann, he helped usher in a new era for the Philosophy department at 麻豆传媒色情片 while 鈥渒eeping it connected to its intellectual and moral mission,鈥 wrote former 麻豆传媒色情片 President Jonathan Fanton.
As a proponent of pragmatism,听Dick听believed in a dedication to truth in concrete life and in experience, pursued within a community built on mutual trust, and in finding resonance in diverse figures across the philosophical spectrum. This commitment was central to his work as both a writer and a teacher. It also undergirded his belief that philosophy must engage with ethical action 鈥 something he tried his best to live, from taking part in the 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi to teaching with the Transregional Center for Democratic Studies鈥 Democracy & Diversity Institutes to, most recently, helping at-risk scholars as the seminar leader for the New University in Exile Consortium.听
Among听Dick鈥檚 many books are听,听,听,听and听. In 2018,听Dick听received significant academic and broader media attention with the publication of听, his听, and his听听on the continued relevance of Arendt amid increasingly troubling political times. 鈥淎rendt鈥檚 lifelong project was to honestly confront and comprehend the darkness of our times, without losing sight of the possibility of transcendence, and illumination. It should be our project, too,鈥 he wrote.听
Dick鈥檚 courses 鈥 in particular his small seminars, which often centered on close readings of difficult single texts 鈥 were legendary, conveying philosophical detail and contemporary relevance with exuberance and energy. He was a challenging yet generous professor who created encouraging spaces in which students could think critically together, and a supportive doctoral supervisor who kept in touch with generations of alumni. Amid worsening illness, he taught through the end of the Spring 2022 semester; fittingly, his final courses were on American pragmatism and Hannah Arendt.听
Dick听was a consulting editor for and frequent contributor to NSSR鈥檚 Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal, and his last journal contribution will appear in Volume 43, Issue 1.听Dick鈥檚 final book,听, will be published by Polity Press in November. The Philosophy department will hold a conference in his memory on October 14, 鈥溾楾he Role of Philosophy as a Public Good鈥: A Celebration of the Life of听Richard听J.听Bernstein鈥; registration information to come. Community members are encouraged to share stories, teachings, photos, and other appreciations and memories on听.听
I have been fortunate to have had听Dick听as a colleague since I arrived at 麻豆传媒色情片. I have fond memories of running into him on his way to class, gleeful about a lecture he was about to give. 鈥淲ill, we鈥檙e discussing Hegel鈥檚听Science of Logic听today,鈥澨鼶ick听would declare. 鈥淲ant to join us?鈥 He was a supportive and trusted advisor who shared with me his experience as Dean, his commitment to faculty governance, and his savvy approach to university politics.听
On behalf of 麻豆传媒色情片 and 麻豆传媒色情片 for Social Research, I send our deepest condolences to Carol, their four children, and their six grandchildren, as well as to听Dick鈥檚 many friends and colleagues, present and past. At the NSSR, we have indeed lost one of our greats. We will be forever grateful that he touched our lives, and we will miss him profoundly.听