Quentin Persifor Smith (August 27, 1952, Rhinebeck, New York – November 12, 2020, Kalamazoo, Michigan) was an American philosopher. He was

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of philosophy at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He worked in the philosophy of time,

philosophy of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, ...

philosophy of physics In philosophy, philosophy of physics deals with conceptual and interpretational issues in modern physics, many of which overlap with research done by certain kinds of theoretical physicists. Philosophy of physics can be broadly divided into thr ...

and

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning ph ...

. Smith published over 140 articles. Of his published books, he authored three, co-authored two, and co-authored and edited seven. He was an editor for Prometheus Books and was the chief editor for ''

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...

'' from 2001 to 2007. He debated

William Lane Craig William Lane Craig (born August 23, 1949) is an American analytic philosopher, Christian apologist, author and Wesleyan theologian who upholds the view of Molinism and neo-Apollinarianism. He is Professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist ...

over the existence of God.

Early life and education

Quentin Smith was born in Rhinebeck, New York. His father was a psychology professor at

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...

and he spent most of his early life in Canada. He received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...

, advancing to receive a PhD in philosophy from Boston College.

Career

After college, he received a job as assistant professor of philosophy at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

. Smith found that he could not afford to lose the time he spent teaching, so he resigned from the university to become an independent scholar. After accepting a position as a visiting professor at Antioch College, he took a position as professor of philosophy at Western Michigan University in 1993 and retired in 2015.

Death

Smith died on November 12, 2020.

Published works

*''Epistemology: New Essays'' (Editor) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. *''Einstein, Relativity and Absolute Simultaneity.'' (co-edited with

). New York: Routledge, 2007. *''Time, Tense and Reference'' (co-edited with A. Jokic, and contributing author). Cambridge MA: MIT Press, October 2003. *''Consciousness: New Philosophical Perspectives'' (co-edited with A. Jokic, and contributing author). Oxford: Oxford University Press, January 2003. *''Ethical and Religious Thought in Analytic Philosophy of Language''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997. Pp. 264. *''Time, Change and Freedom''. (co-authored with L. Nathan Oaklander). New York: Routledge, 1995, pp. 218. *''The New Theory of Time''. (co-authored and co-edited with L. Nathan Oaklander). New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. Pp. 378. *''Theism, Atheism and Big Bang Cosmology''. (co-authored with William Lane Craig). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. Pp. 357. *''Language and Time''. First Edition. New York. Oxford University Press. 1993. pp. 259. *''The Felt Meanings of the World: A Metaphysics of Feeling''. Purdue University Press :West Lafayette, 1986 (Paperback 2010).

References

External links

Official website
*Quentin Smith's
Real Atheology
interview on Natural Evils and Immaterial Minds (2017). *Quentin Smith'
faculty page
for Western Michigan University. * Quentin Smith's "

Closer To Truth ''Closer to Truth'' is a television series on public television originally created, produced and hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn. The original series aired in 2000 for two seasons, followed by a second series aired in 2003 for a single season. Th ...

" (PBS
interviews
with Robert Lawrence Kuhn (2008). * Quentin Smith'
collection of essays
at Infidels.org. * The Sci Phi Show: "Outcast (#26)"
"Interview with Dr. Quentin Smith"
(00:37:09 minutes long) (2006). * featuring Quentin Smith,

Alvin Plantinga Alvin Carl Plantinga (born November 15, 1932) is an American analytic philosopher who works primarily in the fields of philosophy of religion, epistemology (particularly on issues involving epistemic justification), and logic. From 1963 to 198 ...

, and Richard Gale at California Polytechnic State University (2004).
Stephen Neale
an

on the

Saul Kripke Saul Aaron Kripke (; November 13, 1940 – September 15, 2022) was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition. He was a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and em ...

plagiarism controversy. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Quentin 1952 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers American atheists American book editors Antioch College alumni Atheist philosophers American philosophy academics Boston College alumni People from Rhinebeck, New York Philosophers from Michigan Philosophers from New York (state) Philosophers of language Philosophers of religion Philosophy journal editors Prometheus Books University of Kentucky faculty Western Michigan University faculty