Fred Feldman (born Newark, New Jersey, 1941) is an American philosopher who specializes in ethical theory. He is professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he taught from 1969 until his retirement in 2013. His research primarily focuses on

normative ethics Normative ethics is the study of ethical behaviour and is the branch of philosophical ethics that investigates the questions that arise regarding how one ought to act, in a moral sense. Normative ethics is distinct from meta-ethics in that the ...

, metaethics, the nature of happiness, and justice. He has long been fascinated by philosophical problems about the nature and value of death. He received a NEH research fellowship for the academic year of 2008/09; he received a Conti Faculty research fellowship for the academic year of 2013/14.

Biography

Feldman was born in 1941 and grew up in

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populatio ...

, where he graduated in 1959 from Columbia High School. After graduating from Bard College in 1963, he received a master's degree from Harpur College, SUNY (now SUNY Binghamton) in 1965. Feldman received his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

degree in philosophy from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, where he studied under Roderick Chisholm. His doctoral dissertation concerned the

metaphysics of identity Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

. He is emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he spent almost his entire academic career. His books include ''Doing the Best We Can'' (Kluwer, 1986), ''Confrontations with the Reaper'' (Oxford, 1992), ''Pleasure and the Good Life'' (Oxford, 2004), and ''What is This Thing Called Happiness?'' (Oxford, 2010). He has written a number of journal articles on metaphysics, deontic logic, theory of intrinsic value, theory of personal welfare, hedonist philosophy, morally right action, and death. He received a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship for spring 2008 to work on a new book on happiness. His younger brother, Richard Feldman, is professor of philosophy, former dean of the College in Arts, Sciences and Engineering, and interim president at the University of Rochester.

Publications

Books

His books include: * ''Introductory Ethics'',

Prentice-Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari B ...

, 1978. viii + 255. Korean translation 1999 by Chul Hak kwa Hyun Sil Sa Publishing Co.; Turkish translation 2009, Etik Nedir? Translated by Ferit Burak Aydar, Bogazici Universitesi Yayinevi

* ''A Cartesian Introduction to Philosophy'', McGraw-Hill Education, McGraw-Hill, January, 1986. xi + 22

* ''Doing the Best We Can: An Essay in Informal Deontic Logic'', Reidel, March, 1986, xiv + 24

* ''Confrontations with the Reaper: A Philosophical Study of the Nature and Value of Death'', Oxford University Press, 1992. xiv + 249; Second Edition (paperback), December 199

* ''Utilitarianism, Hedonism, and Desert: Essays in Moral Philosophy'', Cambridge University Press, New York, 1997, ix + 220. Cambridge Studies in Philosophy serie

* ''Pleasure and the Good Life: On the Nature, Varieties, and Plausibility of Hedonism'', Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004, xi + 221; Second Edition (paperback), March 200

* ''What Is This Thing Called Happiness?'' Oxford University Press, Oxford, March 2010, xv + 286; Second Edition (paperback), 201

* ''Distributive Justice: Getting What We Deserve From Our Country'', Oxford University Press, Oxford. Forthcoming summer 2016

Edited collections

His edited collections include: * ''Introduction to Philosophy'' custom published by McGraw-Hill, 1993. An anthology containing 19 selections for use in introductory philosophy courses. * ''Introduction to Ethics'' custom published by McGraw-Hill, 1998. An anthology containing selections for use in introductory ethics courses. * ''The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Death'', co-edited by Ben Bradley, Fred Feldman, and Jens Johansson. Oxford University Press, 2013. An anthology containing 25 invited papers by 25 philosophers who have made major contributions to the philosophical literature on death.

Articles and reviews

Feldman has over 80 published articles and reviews. Below is a selected list of journal articles and reviews. For a full list of publications, visit his curriculum vitae. * Counterparts, ''The Journal of Philosophy'' 68 (1971): 406-40

* On the Intrinsic Value of Pleasures, ''Ethics'' 107 (1997): 448-46

* The Good Life: A Defense of Attitudinal Hedonism, ''Philosophy and Phenomenological Research'' 65 (2002): 604-62

* Adjusting Utility for Justice, ''Philosophy and Phenomenological Research'' 55 (1995): 567-585. * Basic Intrinsic Value, ''Philosophical Studies'' 99 (2000): 319-34

* Desert: Reconsideration of Some Received Wisdom, ''Mind'' 104(1995): 63-7

* Some Puzzles About the Evil of Death, ''The Philosophical Review'' 100 (1991): 205-22

* The Termination Thesis, ''Midwest Studies in Philosophy'' 24 (2000): 98-11

* Obligations - Absolute, Conditioned, and Conditional, ''Philosophia''12 (1983): 257-27

* The Principle of Moral Harmony, ''The Journal of Philosophy'' 77 (1980): 166-17

* Epistemic Appraisal and the Cartesian Circle, ''Philosophical Studies'' 27 (1975): 37-55. ''The Journal of Philosophy'' 68 (1971): 406-40

* Kripke on the Identity Theory, ''The Journal of Philosophy'' 71 (1974): 665-67

* Sortal Predicates, ''Noûs'' 7 (1973): 268-28

* Hyperventilating About Intrinsic Value, ''The Journal of Ethics'' 2 (1998): 339-35

Awards

His awards include: * Conti Faculty Research Fellowship, University of Massachusetts, for the academic year of 2013-2014. This fellowship enabled full-time work on the manuscript of the book ''Distributive Justice: Getting What We Deserve from our Country''. * University of Massachusetts, UMass Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Award for 2013. * Selected as a 2010-2011 University of Massachusetts Distinguished Faculty Lecturer. Presented talk “What Is This Thing Called Happiness?” on March 1, 2011. Received Chancellor’s Medal -- “the highest honor given by the University of Massachusetts to individuals for exemplary and extraordinary service to the campus.” * National Endowment for the Humanities Research Fellowship, 2008. This fellowship, together with support from UMass, enabled full-time work on the manuscript of the book ''What Is This Thing Called Happiness?'' The book was published by Oxford University Press in the UK in March, 2010 and in the US in June, 2010. * Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity for 2009-2010, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, UMass Amherst. * ''The Good, The Right, Life, and Death: Essays in Honor of Fred Feldman'', ed. by R. Feldman, K. McDaniel, J. Raibley, and M. Zimmerman, Ashgate, 2006. A festschrift in Feldman's honor containing essays on his work by fourteen philosophers from the US, the UK, Canada, and Sweden. * Outstanding Teacher of the Year 2001-02, College of Humanities and Fine Arts, UMass Amherst. * Distinguished Teacher Award, University of Massachusetts, 1991-92. * Student Choice Award for 2010-2011.

References

External links

*
An in-depth autobiographical interview with Fred FeldmanInterview with New Books Network in January 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Fred 1941 births Living people Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni Philosophers from New Jersey People from Maplewood, New Jersey People from Newark, New Jersey Hedonism Utilitarians University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Bard College alumni Binghamton University alumni Brown University alumni