Blog Logico-Philosophicus: Gregory S. Kavka, Philosophy

1947-1994

Professor

Gregory Kavka died on February 16, 1994, at the age of 46. After cancer was first detected in January of 1984, Greg underwent intensive radiation and three major operations over the next three years. The cancer recurred after a remission of seven years.

Despite the debilitating and disfiguring nature of his operations and treatments, Greg fought his way back to a full and productive schedule of writing and teaching and to a new and rich period of his personal life. He published one book and thirteen articles between 1987 and the end of his life. He was also well along on another book, provisionally entitled, Governing Angels. In his own view, however, perhaps the most important achievement of this period was the birth of his beloved daughter, Amber, in 1989.

Greg grew up in Chicago. After earning a B.A. in philosophy from Princeton University, Greg entered the Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan, where he met his wife, Virginia Warren. After completing a dissertation under the supervision of Richard Brandt, he took a job at UCLA in 1973. He joined the philosophy department at Irvine as an associate professor in 1979.

Greg produced an influential body of work that established him as one of the leading political philosophers of his generation. He wrote more than fifty philosophical articles and reviews, some of which were widely reprinted. He published two important books, Hobbesian Moral and Political Theory and Moral Paradoxes of Nuclear Deterrence. His work on Hobbes and on rationality is internationally admired. The brilliant work on nuclear deterrence instituted a new field of practical philosophy. He was also a recipient of prestigious awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities (may it survive the Republican Contract with America!) and the Ford Foundation.

Two scholarly meetings have been held in 1995 on Greg's work. A three-day conference, Rationality Commitment and Community: A Conference in Honor of Gregory Kavka, was held in February at UC Irvine. Plans are underway to publish the proceedings of this conference in a major press. A symposium on Kavka's later work was held in March at the Pacific Meetings of the American Philosophical Society, in San Francisco.

Greg's other contributions to the profession, to the University, and to the department were numerous and important. He was a professor of social science as well as of philosophy. He participated in the founding of the Global Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Irvine and was active in the Interdisciplinary Program on Public Choice. He was also a member of the Planning Committee for an Interdisciplinary Program in Bioethics.

Greg's contributions to departmental affairs were energetic, judicious, and humorous. (He broke the tension of many a departmental meeting with his dry and punning wit.) Even in the face of his illness he played central roles on graduate admissions, personnel, and recruitment committees. He was a very popular undergraduate teacher and one of the most active and effective dissertation supervisors on the faculty.

Personally, Greg was a deeply kind, thoughtful, and egalitarian human being. His lack of pretension and vanity was manifest in his relations with colleagues and students alike. He was also deeply dedicated in his personal and philosophical life to clarity and truth. These latter qualities probably explain Greg's attraction to Hobbes, whose line “The question is not what is fit to be preached but what is true,” could almost be his motto.

However, Greg's honesty was inextricably bound up with his humanity, with his humaneness. These traits are difficult to combine. His humaneness prevented his honesty from becoming ruthless or cynical; his honesty prevented his humanity from lapsing into sentimentality or wishful thinking. These qualities must have helped to give him the nearly incomprehensible courage to endure the terrible ravages of his disease and to endure them without illusion: to love life all the same. By this rare achievement he gave those who knew him even more to live for.

Greg is survived by his wife, Professor Virginia Warren of Chapman University; his daughter, Amber Kavka-Warren; his parents, Jerome Kavka, M.D. and Georgine Kavka M.D; and his sister, Audrey Kavka Moretti M.

A memorial fund in Greg Kavka's name has been established to support the work of younger scholars in social and political philosophy. To make a contribution to the fund, write a check to “UCI Foundations, Gregory Kavka Memorial Fund,” in care of the Department of Philosophy at UC Irvine, 92717.

Tyler Burge Gary Watson

Gregory S. Kavka (20091992). Disability and the Right to Work. Social Philosophy and Policy 9 (01):262-.

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Jules L. Coleman, Christopher W. Morris & Gregory S. Kavka (1998). Rational Commitment and Social Justice: Essays for Gregory Kavka. Cambridge University Press.

Greg Kavka (1947-1994) was a prominent and influential figure in contemporary moral and political philosophy. The new essays in this volume are concerned with fundamental issues of rational commitment and social justice to which Kavka devoted his work as a philosopher. The essays take Kavka's work as a point of departure and seek to advance the respective debates. The topics include: the relationship between intention and moral action as part of which Kavka's famous 'toxin puzzle' is a focus of discussion, (...)

Justice in Social and Political Philosophy

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Gregory S. Kavka (1995). The Rationality of Rule-Following: Hobbes's Dispute with the Foole. Law and Philosophy 14 (1).

Rationality in Epistemology

Rule-Following in Philosophy of Mind

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Gregory S. Kavka (1994). The Costs of Crimes: Coleman Amended:Risks and Wrongs. Jules L. Coleman. Ethics 104 (3):582-.

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Gregory S. Kavka (1993). Book Review:Justice Between Age Groups and Generations. Peter Laslett, James S. Fishkin. Ethics 104 (1):184-.

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Gregory S. Kavka (1991). Book Review:Reason and Morality: A Defense of the Egocentric Perspective. Richard Fumerton. Ethics 101 (3):644-.

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Gregory S. Kavka (1991). Was the Gulf War a Just War? Journal of Social Philosophy 22 (1):20-29.

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Gregory S. Kavka (1989). Sweethearts of SDI: A Response to Woodward. Ethics 99 (3):572-573.

Value Theory

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Gregory S. Kavka (1986). A Critique of Pure Defense. Journal of Philosophy 83 (11):625-633.

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Gregory S. Kavka (1985). Space War Ethics. Ethics 95 (3):673-691.

Value Theory

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Gregory S. Kavka (1983). Doubts About Unilateral Nuclear Disarmament. Philosophy and Public Affairs 12 (3):255-260.

Social and Political Philosophy

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Gregory S. Kavka (1983). Hobbes's War of All Against All. Ethics 93 (2):291-310.

Value Theory

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Gregory S. Kavka (1983). Review. Topoi 2 (2).

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Gregory S. Kavka (1983). Rule by Fear. Noûs 17 (4):601-620.

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Gregory S. Kavka (1983). The Toxin Puzzle. Analysis 43 (1):33-36.

The Toxin Puzzle in Philosophy of Action

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Gregory S. Kavka (1983). When Two 'Wrongs' Make a Right: An Essay on Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics 2 (1).

Sometimes two wrongs do make a right. That is, others' violations of moral rules may make it permissible for one to also violate these rules, to avoid being unfairly disadvantaged. This claim, originally advanced by Hobbes, is applied to three cases in business. It is suggested that the claim is one source of scepticism concerning business ethics. I argue, however, that the conditions under which business competitors' violations of moral rules would render one's own violations permissible are quite restricted. Hence, (...)

Business Ethics in Applied Ethics

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Gregory S. Kavka (1982). The Paradox of Future Individuals. Philosophy and Public Affairs 11 (2):93-112.

Social and Political Philosophy

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Gregory S. Kavka (1979). The Numbers Should Count. Philosophical Studies 36 (3).