Remembering — and rereading — Harvard philosopher Stanley Cavell
Stanley Cavell was no ordinary philosopher, especially when he wrote. “The quality of his writing was rigorous, but also personal. He addressed the reader quite directly and, at times, intimately,” said Brian D. Young Professor of Philosophy Richard Moran, who recalled Cavell’s impact on him as an undergraduate — years before they would become friends and colleagues. “As a young person first discovering philosophy, you have to acquire the habit and the pleasure of rereading the texts, and continuing to learn from them. For me the richness and intensity of Cavell’s writing continually rewards that attention and was a major part of my education in philosophical reading. It is these same qualities that enabled Cavell’s writing to gain such a wide audience outside of academic philosophy.” Cavell, Walter M. Cabot Professor of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value, Emeritus, died June 19 in Boston at 91. A faculty member for 30-plus years...