Marvin Farber (December 14, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American philosopher and educator.

Early life and education

Farber was born in Buffalo,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, to

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

parents Simon and Matilda (Goldstein) Farber. He was the second oldest of their 14 children. One of his brothers was pathologist and cancer researcher

Sidney Farber Sidney Farber (September 30, 1903 – March 30, 1973) was an American pediatric pathologist at Boston Children's Hospital. He is regarded as the father of modern chemotherapy for his work using folic acid antagonists to combat leukemia, which l ...

. Initially a music student at the

University of Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, he transferred in 1920 to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, graduating ''summa cum laude'' with a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1922. He earned his Ph.D. in 1925 at Harvard. He also attended the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

, and the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

, studying under

Edmund Husserl Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl (; 8 April 1859 – 27 April 1938) was an Austrian-German philosopher and mathematician who established the school of Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology. In his early work, he elaborated critiques of histori ...

Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...

Heinrich Rickert Heinrich John Rickert (; ; 25 May 1863 – 25 July 1936) was a German philosopher, one of the leading neo-Kantians. Life Rickert was born in Danzig, Prussia (now Gdańsk, Poland) to the journalist and later politician Heinrich Edwin Rickert a ...

, and

Ernst Zermelo Ernst Friedrich Ferdinand Zermelo (; ; 27 July 187121 May 1953) was a German logician and mathematician, whose work has major implications for the foundations of mathematics. He is known for his role in developing Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, Z ...

Career

Farber taught for a year at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

between his studies in Germany. He then taught at his initial alma mater, the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, from 1927 to 1961 and 1964–1974; during the interim, he was Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. After his first year at University of Buffalo, he was appointed Assistant Professor. He founded the journal '' Philosophy and Phenomenological Research'' in 1940 and was its editor until 1980. He was Chairman of the Department of Philosophy from 1937 to 1961. He was designated

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

in 1974 and retired in 1977.

Death

He died in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

after months of serious illness. He was survived by his wife Lorraine and three children.

Honors and awards

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, 1944–45 * Docteur de l' Universitė de Lille, 1955 * President,

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 ...

(Eastern Division), 1963

Bibliography

* '' Naturalism and

Subjectivism Subjectivism is the doctrine that "our own mental activity is the only unquestionable fact of our experience", instead of shared or communal, and that there is no external or objective truth. While Thomas Hobbes was an early proponent of subjecti ...

'', 1959 * ''

Phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839� ...

and Existence: Toward a Philosophy within Nature'', 1967. * ''The Search for an Alternative: Philosophical Perspectives of Subjectivism and

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

'', 1984. * ''The Foundation of Phenomenology:

and the Quest for a Rigorous Science of Philosophy'', 2006.

Notes

External links

Catalog of Marvin Farber papers
at the

1901 births 1980 deaths Harvard University alumni University at Buffalo faculty 20th-century American philosophers People from Buffalo, New York {{US-philosopher-stub