A. C. Genova

Anthony (Tony) Genova died suddenly in his home on March 20, 2010. He was still teaching full-time and was proud of the fact that he rarely missed a class in his thirty-eight years at the University of Kansas. He even timed his heart by-pass surgery two years ago so that students would receive their full quota of classes. At the time of his death he was working on two journal articles.

Tony was born in Chicago and after serving in the Air Force went to the Chicago Conservatory of Music for a year before attending the University of Chicago, from which he received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. (1965). His dissertation on "The Transcendental Principles of Synthetic Unity in the Critical Philosophy of Immanuel Kant" was the start of a continuing and developing teaching and research interest in Kant that spans his entire career. His interest in music also did not wane and he remained a classical music lover throughout his life.

He joined the Philosophy Department at the Wichita State University in 1962 and rose remarkably swiftly from assistant professor to associate in 1964 to full professor and chair in 1966. He moved to the University of Kansas in 1972, where he spent the rest of his career. He served as chair of the department from 1978 until 2004.

Tony was dedicated both to philosophy and to the philosophy department at KU. As professor and as chair he had an open door policy. He was in his office every day and was always accessible to students and colleagues, who frequently stopped in to talk philosophy, to seek his advice, or simply to chat. Chicago had prepared Tony admirably in the history of philosophy; and he became equally proficient in analytic philosophy while teaching at Wichita State and then at the University of Kansas. He taught a wide variety of courses at all levels on the history of philosophy and seminars on Kant, philosophy of language, Wittgenstein, and Quine, among others. He was an extremely popular yet demanding teacher who both cajoled and inspired his students to do the best they could. He directed ten doctoral dissertations and served on seventy dissertation committees.

He was a frequent contributor to Kant-Studien and his over fifty articles appeared in such journals as Analysis, The Review of Metaphysics, Southwestern Journal of Philosophy, and Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, among others. While his articles on Kant focused on transcendental arguments, transcendental forms and transcendental deduction, his articles in analytic philosophy ranged from discussions of Wittgenstein and Davidson to issues in the philosophy of language. He was one of the contributors to the Davidson Library of Living Philosophers volume.

A long-time member of The American Philosophical Association, he served on the Program Committee for the Central Division 1982-83 and 1996-97, the Nominating Committee in 1992, and the Committee on the Status and Future of the Profession, 1992-95. He was president of the Southwestern Philosophical Society, 1983-84 and of the Central States Philosophical Association, 1992-1993, and he had been on the Advisory Board of the Southwest Philosophy Review since 1994. As the MASUA Honors Lecturer in 1981, he lectured at universities throughout the Midwest. In 1984 he gave the Annual Roy Wood Sellars Lecture at Bucknell University.

As chair of the Department for twenty-six years he shepherded the department's growth. He not only was a vocal champion of the department vis-à-vis the College and University administration, but he was also held up by successive College deans as a model for other chairs to emulate.

He was a good friend, and an engaged philosopher. His colleagues will miss his wry wit, his impatience with poor arguments, and his deep devotion to the good of the department.

Richard De George, University of Kansas

Source:
Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, Vol. 84, No. 2 (November 2010), pp. 191-192
Published by: American Philosophical Association
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25769947