Kai Nielsen (philosopher)

Kai Nielsen (philosopher)
Kai Nielsen (May 15, 1926 – April 7, 2021) was an American professor, latterly emeritus, of philosophy at the University of Calgary. He specialized in naturalism, metaphilosophy, ethics, analytic philosophy, social and political philosophy. Nielsen also wrote about philosophy of religion, and was an advocate of contemporary atheism. He was also known for his defense of utilitarianism, writing in response to Bernard Williams's criticism of it.
Biography
Born on May 15, 1926, in Marshall, Michigan, near Battle Creek, Michigan, Kai Edward Nielsen was raised in Moline, Illinois. His mother was American; his father was from Copenhagen, and spoke Danish and Swedish.
Nielsen went to middle school, and high school for two years, in Moline. He then switched to St. Ambrose Academy, part of St. Ambrose College (St. Ambrose University (since 1987)), in nearby Davenport, Iowa, because he wanted to play on their basketball team. After graduating from high school, he spent three months in officers' training school and served the last two years of the Second World War in the merchant marine, in the Pacific, on a merchant ship. They were attacked once by a Japanese plane but were not hit. After the war, he attended St. Ambrose College (now St. Ambrose University) for two years. He then transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received an AB, summa cum laude, with an honors thesis on James Joyce. He went to graduate school in philosophy at Duke University, and received his PhD in 1959. During those years at university he also wrote and published a novel.
Nielsen taught at Hamilton College before getting hired at Amherst College, where he taught for three years in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. After a meeting with Sidney Hook at Amherst, he was invited to join the philosophy department at New York University, where he eventually became chair of the department. During the Vietnam War, he moved to the University of Calgary.
Nielsen was a member of the Royal Society of Canada and a past president (in 1983) of the Canadian Philosophical Association.
Nielsen was also one of the founding members of the Canadian Journal of Philosophy.
In 1973 Nielsen was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto II.
He wrote or edited over 40 books on topics such as Marxism, metaphilosophy and ethical and political theory.
Nielsen died in April 2021 at the age of 94.
Publications
Books
Pessimism of the Intellect, Optimism of the Will: The Political Philosophy of Kai Nielsen, Edited by David Rondel and Alex Sager, 2012,
Wittgensteinian Fideism?, 2006, (with D. Z. Philips)
Atheism And Philosophy, 2005,
Globalization And Justice, 2002,
Naturalism and Religion, 2001,
Exploitation, 2001,
Why Be Moral?, 1997,
Naturalism Without Foundations, 1996, 4
On Transforming Philosophy: A Metaphilosophical Inquiry, 1995,
Does God Exist?: The Debate Between Theists and Atheists (with J. P. Moreland), 1993,
God and the Grounding Of Morality, 1991,
After the Demise of the Tradition: Rorty, Critical Theory, and the Fate of Philosophy, 1991,
Ethics without God, 1990,
God, Skepticism and Modernity, 1989,
Marxism and the Moral Point of View: Morality, Ideology, and Historical Materialism, 1989,
Equality and Liberty: A Defense of Radical Egalitarianism, 1986,
Philosophy and Atheism, 1985,
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, 1983,
Marx and Morality, 1981,
Scepticism, 1973,
Ethics Without God, 1973, revised edition 1990.
Reason and Practice: A Modern Introduction to Philosophy, 1971,
Contemporary Critiques of Religion, 1971,
Ethics Without God, 1971,
Articles and book chapters
see listings at Nielsen's personal home page, Calgary home page, and details at Philpapers.
See also
Existence of God
New York University Department of Philosophy
References
Sources
Pojman, L. The Moral Life, OUP, 2001.
External links
Kai Nielsen's bibliography and archives
Transcript of debate with theist William Lane Craig
Nielsen page at Calgary
1926 births
2021 deaths
20th-century atheists
21st-century atheists
American atheists
Atheism in Canada
Atheist philosophers
Academic staff of Concordia University
Consequentialists
Critics of religions
Duke University alumni
People from Marshall, Michigan
People from Moline, Illinois
Philosophers from Illinois
Philosophers from Michigan
Philosophers of religion
Political philosophers
Social philosophers
Academic staff of the University of Calgary
Utilitarians
Rationalists
Presidents of the Canadian Philosophical Association