Frank Brown Dilley (17 November 1931 – 18 April 2018) 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 served for many years as Chair of the Philosophy Department at

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

Biography

Dilley obtained BA and MA degrees from

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

, a Master of Divinity from

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

and a PhD from Union Theological Seminary and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He became Chair of the Philosophy Department at University of Delaware in 1967. He was influential in bringing the

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarl ...

headquarters to the University of Delaware. He was executive director of the American Philosophical Association in 1990–1991. Dilley was president of the University of Delaware's Faculty Senate and received the Excellence in Service Award in 1995. He was the co-founder of Delaware Humanities Forum (DHF) and was a member of its council. Dilley defended

substance dualism Substance may refer to: * Matter, anything that has mass and takes up space Chemistry * Chemical substance, a material with a definite chemical composition * Drug, a chemical agent affecting an organism Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ' ...

and

theistic finitism Theistic finitism, also known as finitistic theism or finite godism, is the belief in a deity that is limited.Geisler, Norman; Watkins, William D. (1989). ''Finite Godism: A World with a Finite God''. In ''Worlds Apart: A Handbook on World Views'' ...

Family

Dilley's father Frank was Director of Admissions at Ohio University, his mother was Geneva Steiner Dilley. He had two brothers and a sister, all academics. He was married to Jane Dilley, they had several children; Brian, Carol and Kathryn.

Selected publications

*''Metaphysics and Religious Language'' (1964) *''Mind-Brain Interaction and PSI'' (1988) *''Philosophical Interactions with Parapsychology: The Major Writings of H. H. Price on Parapsychology and Survival'' (1995) *''A Finite God Reconsidered'' (2000) *''Taking Consciousness Seriously: A Defense of Cartesian Dualism'' (2004)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dilley, Frank B. 1931 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers American philosophy academics American philosophers of religion Dualists Finite theists People from Athens, Ohio Union Theological Seminary alumni University of Delaware faculty