Richard Clyde Taylor (November 5, 1919 – October 30, 2003), was an American philosopher renowned for his contributions to

metaphysics 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 was also an internationally known

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin ''apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

Biography

Taylor received his PhD at Brown University, where his supervisor was

Roderick Chisholm Roderick Milton Chisholm (; November 27, 1916 – January 19, 1999) was an American philosopher known for his work on epistemology, metaphysics, free will, value theory, and the philosophy of perception. The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosoph ...

. He taught at Brown University,

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

and the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

, and had visiting appointments at about a dozen other institutions. His best-known book was ''Metaphysics'' (1963). Other works included ''Action and Purpose'' (1966), ''Good and Evil'' (1970) and ''Virtue Ethics'' (1991). Professor Taylor was also the editor of ''The Will to Live: Selected Writings of Arthur Schopenhauer''. He was an enthusiastic advocate of

virtue ethics Virtue ethics (also aretaic ethics, from Greek ἀρετή aretḗ'' is an approach to ethics that treats the concept of virtue">moral virtue as central. Virtue ethics is usually contrasted with two other major approaches in ethics, consequen ...

. He also wrote influential papers on the

meaning of life The meaning of life, or the answer to the question: "What is the meaning of life?", pertains to the intrinsic value (ethics), significance of Life, living or existence in general. Many other related questions include: "Why are we here?", "Wha ...

, which, like

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature The 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded the French writer Alb ...

, he explored through an examination of the myth of

Sisyphus In Greek mythology, Sisyphus or Sisyphos (; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος ''Sísyphos'') was the founder and king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). Hades punished him for cheating death twice by forcing him to roll an immense boulder up a hill ...

. Taylor's 1962 essay "Fatalism" was the subject of

David Foster Wallace David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel '' Infinite Jest'', whi ...

's undergraduate thesis at Amherst College, published in 2011 together with Taylor's essay and contemporary responses under the title ''Fate, Time, and Language: An Essay on Free Will''. Please see also ‘’Restoring Pride: The Lost Virtue of Our Age (1996)’’ Prometheus Books Taylor made significant contributions to beekeeping. He owned three hundred hives of bees and, from 1970, produced mostly

comb honey Comb honey is honey intended for consumption by humans, which is still contained within its original hexagonal-shaped beeswax cells, called honeycomb. It has received no processing, filtering, or manipulation, and is in the state that honey bees ...

. He explained his management techniques in several books, including ''The Comb Honey Book'' and ''The Joys of Beekeeping''. In 1993, 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 U ...

over the subject 'Is The Basis For Morality Natural or Supernatural?'. Notable philosophers who studied under Taylor as graduate students include

Norman Bowie Norman E. Bowie (born 1942) is professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. Until his retirement in 2009 he was Elmer L Andersen Chair of Corporate Responsibility and served in the departments of strategic management and of philosophy. He is ...

, Myles Brand, Keith Lehrer, and

Peter van Inwagen Peter van Inwagen (; born September 21, 1942) is an American analytic philosopher and the John Cardinal O'Hara Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a Research Professor of Philosophy at Duke University each spring ...

Death

Taylor died at the age of 83 on October 30, 2003, in his home in Trumansburg,

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

due to complications ensuing from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

References

External links

* — Article on

's analysis of Taylor's fatalism. 1919 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American philosophers American beekeepers American philosophy academics American atheists Brown University alumni Brown University faculty Columbia University faculty Metaphysicians 21st-century American philosophers Virtue ethicists American ethicists Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) University of Rochester faculty {{US-philosopher-stub

Biography

Death

See also

References

Further reading

External links