Hull, Richard T. 1939- (Richard Thompson Hull)

PERSONAL:

Born December 29, 1939, in Oklahoma City, OK; son of John Montague (an administrative assistant) and Wilma (a newspaper reporter) Hull; married Barbara Elaine Mangelsdorf (a behavioral neuroscientist); children: Geoffrey Alaric (deceased). Education: Austin College, B.A., 1963; Indiana University—Bloomington, Ph.D., 1971. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Atheist. Hobbies and other interests: Classical music.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Tallahassee, FL. Office—Text and Academic Authors Association, 3241 Heather Hill Ln., Tallahassee, FL 32309. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

State University of New York at Buffalo, professor of philosophy, 1967-97; Texas Council for the Humanities, Austin, executive director, 1997-99; freelance book producer, 1999-2002; Center for Inquiry Transnational, Amherst, NY, director of development, 2002-04; Center for Inquiry Community of Tallahassee, Tallahassee, FL, founder and principal, 2005—. Agricultural Management Systems, Inc., president, 2000—; Text and Academic Authors Association, principal. Headmaster of a preparatory school, 1983-86; Southwest Texas State University, member of philosophy faculty; University of Montana, visiting distinguished professor. Military service: U.S. Army Reserve, between 1958 and 1965.

MEMBER:

American Philosophical Association, American Society for Value Inquiry (past president).

WRITINGS:

(Editor and author of introduction) Ethical Issues in the New Reproductive Technologies, Wadsworth Publishing (Belmont, CA), 1990, 2nd edition, Prometheus Books (Amherst, NY), 2005.

(Editor) A Quarter Century of Value Inquiry: Presidential Addresses of the American Society for Value Inquiry, Rodopi (Atlanta, GA), 1994.

William H. Werkmeister, Martin Heidegger on the Way, Rodopi (Atlanta, GA), 1996.

(Editor) Presidential Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, 1901-1910, Kluwer Academic (Boston, MA), 1999.

(Editor) Presidential Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, 1910-1920, Kluwer Academic (Boston, MA), 1999.

(Editor) Presidential Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, 1921-1930, Kluwer Academic (Boston, MA), 1999.

(Editor) Presidential Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, 1931-1940, Kluwer Academic (Boston, MA), 2001.

(Editor) Presidential Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, 1941-1950, Prometheus Books (Amherst, NY), 2005.

(Editor) Presidential Addresses of the American Philosophical Association, 1951-1960, Prometheus Books (Amherst, NY), 2006.

Contributor to books. Author of about one hundred articles.

SIDELIGHTS:

Richard T. Hull told CA: "My aim in my books has been to preserve the history and traditions of philosophical societies, from large ones like the American Philosophical Association to small ones like the American Society for Value Inquiry. Most professional philosophers present their work publicly before colleagues from their local region or state, and only occasionally at national meetings. An enormous amount of philosophical activity occurs in small venues. Part of my work has been to recover and preserve materials that were in danger of being lost.

"My books began flowing after I had achieved tenure and was well into my years as a professor. I write daily, usually in the early hours of the day, often before six o'clock. I believe that another habit I have cultivated is writing subconsciously, using bits of time to ‘download’ what my subconscious has written; in effect I serve as the secretary of the subconscious.

"I have also started a new career as a nonprofit organization director, and I am the president of a high-tech agricultural service corporation that is currently developing high-yield, low-input ethanol technology."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Boepple, E.D., editor, Sui Generis: Essays Presented to Richard Thompson Hull on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday, AuthorHouse (Bloomington, IN), 2005.

Soble, Alan, and Carol Steinberg Gould, A Mini-Festschrift in Honor of Richard T. Hull, 2004.