Paul Woodruff
Paul Bestor Woodruff (August 28, 1943 – September 23, 2023) was an American professor of philosophy and dean at The University of Texas at Austin.
Life and career
[edit]Born in New Jersey (though raised in western Pennsylvania), Woodruff attended Princeton University, where he completed a major in classics in 1965. His studies then took him to Merton College of Oxford University as a Marshall Scholar, where he completed a bachelor's degree in Literae Humaniores in 1968. Inspired by the Socratic beliefs on rule of law, he served in the United States Army in the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1971, during which time he attained the rank of captain. Returning to the United States, he again attended Princeton University, where he completed his doctorate in philosophy, studying under Gregory Vlastos.
Woodruff joined the department of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin in 1973, retiring from the department in the fall of 2022.[1] He also served as Chair of the department.
He directed the Plan II Honors program from 1991 until 2006, when then University President William C. Powers, Jr. named Dr. Woodruff the inaugural dean of undergraduate studies.
Woodruff later published an essay in The Washington Post describing his philosophy of life as he faced death, as the result of bronchiectasis.[2] He died from the condition on September 23, 2023, at the age of 80.[3]
Bibliography
[edit] |
Books
[edit]- Plato (1982). Hippias major. Translated, with commentary and essay, by Paul Woodruff. Indianapolis: Hackett.
- Reverence; Renewing a Forgotten Virtue Oxford University Press (2001)
- First Democracy; The Challenge of an Ancient Idea Oxford University Press (2005)
- The Necessity of Theater; The Art of Watching and Being Watched Oxford University Press (2008)
- The Ajax Dilemma: Justice, Fairness, and Rewards Oxford University Press (2011)
Translations
[edit]- Plato: Two Comic Dialogues (Ion and Hippias Major) Hackett (1983)
- Plato: Symposium (with Alexander Nehamas) Hackett (1999)
- Thucydides on Justice, Power, and Human Nature Hackett (1993)
- Plato: Phaedrus (with Alexander Nehamas) Hackett (1995)
- Euripides Bacchae Hackett (1998)
- Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus (with Peter Meineck) Hackett (2000)
- Sophocles: Antigone Hackett (2001)
- Sophocles: Theban Plays, with Introductions by Paul Woodruff (with Peter Meineck) Hackett (2003)
Editor
[edit]- Facing Evil; Light at the Core of Darkness. (with Harry A. Wilmer) Open Court Press (1988)
- Early Greek Political Thought from Homer to the Sophists (with Michael Gagarin) Cambridge University Press (1995)
- Reason and Religion in Socratic Philosophy (edited, with Nicholas D. Smith) Oxford University Press (2000)
Critical studies and reviews
[edit]- Pigliucci, Massimo (Mar–Apr 2013). "[Untitled review of The Ajax dilemma]". Books. Philosophy Now. 95: 44.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Profile for Paul B Woodruff at UT Austin". liberalarts.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-28.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Woodruff, Paul (April 27, 2023). "My death is close at hand. But I do not think of myself as dying". Washington Post. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ^ 'Renaissance man': Paul Woodruff, beloved University of Texas professor, dies at 80
External links
[edit]
- 1943 births
- 2023 deaths
- United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
- 21st-century American philosophers
- 20th-century American philosophers
- American philosophy academics
- American scholars of ancient Greek philosophy
- University of Texas at Austin faculty
- Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
- Translators of Ancient Greek texts
- Princeton University alumni
- Marshall Scholars
- United States Army officers
- Respiratory disease deaths in Texas
- Deaths from lung disease