News from the chair of the Department of Philosophy at Stanford, Prof. Lanier Anderson:
With great sadness, I write to share the news that our great friend and colleague Patrick Suppes died Monday at home, peacefully and surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife, five children, three step children, and five grandchildren.
The influence of Pat on the intellectual life and shape of our department simply cannot be overstated. He has been at Stanford since 1952, and has been a major influence on our department and many other units on campus. He made huge contributions to the philosophy of science, to formal philosophy, and was recently heavily involved in empirical research into the brain. He was a leading inspirational figure behind the so-called “Stanford School” in the philosophy of science, and his intense and brilliant persona as a philosophical interlocutor has decisively shaped the personality of our department and the philosophical sensibilities of those of us who knew him while working here.
It is a great loss to our community, and I ask you to join me in keeping his family and many friends in your thoughts.
(Prof. Anderson notes that a proper remembrance is in preparation.)
