Deceased--Thelma Z. Lavine

Thelma Z. Lavine
February 12th, 1915 to January 28th, 2011

"Thelma Z. Lavine, who brought an accessible approach to philosophy, dies"

Thelma Z. Lavine, a professor at several Washington area universities who was known for making Western philosophy broadly accessible in her writings and television appearances, died Jan. 28 at age 95.

by

Emma Brown

February 21st, 2011

The Washington Post

Thelma Z. Lavine, a professor at several Washington area universities who was known for making Western philosophy broadly accessible in her writings and television appearances, died Jan. 28 at her home in the District of cardiac arrest. She was 95.

Dr. Lavine specialized in 19th century German philosophy, the sociology of knowledge, and American philosophy, particularly the writings of psychologist and educational reformer John Dewey.

Described in a Washington Post profile as "an evangelist for philosophy," she taught at the University of Maryland during the 1950s and '60s and then for two decades at George Washington University. She was on the George Mason University faculty from 1985 until she retired in 1998.

At all three schools, she was known for teaching popular courses that emphasized connections between philosophy, economics, history and contemporary American culture.

"One of the things that intrigues my students is that I laugh a lot," she told The Post in 1985. "Philosophy is comic because a lot of it is gamesmanship, and the efforts on either side of an issue are never entirely conclusive."

She was the author of "From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest" (1984), a concise history of Western thought that used plain language to raise provocative questions, such as whether one could prove the existence of God and the meaning of existential author Jean-Paul Sartre's statement that man is "condemned to be free."

"From Socrates to Sartre," which a Post review called "thoroughly accessible to the budding philosopher," grew out of a 30-part series of Dr. Lavine's lectures that were initially broadcast by Maryland Public Television and later were shown by public television stations across the country. The series brought thousands of letters from viewers.

"She made me see how philosophy reaches into every single minute crevice of life," a former student, Lisa Seigel, told The Post in 1985. "She taught me how to think."

Thelma Zeno Lavine was born in Boston on Feb. 12, 1915.

Her father, a designer of women's clothing, chose her middle name, which came from Zeno of Citium, founder of Stoicism - that philosophy of fortitude and self-control. "It was part of his very sober view of human life," Dr. Lavine later said. "He was not exactly an enlightened optimist."

She received a bachelor's degree from Radcliffe College in 1936 and received doctorates in philosophy and psychology from Harvard University.

Dr. Lavine taught at Wells College in Aurora, N.Y., and Brooklyn College before joining the University of Maryland faculty in 1955.

She was the author of scholarly articles and reviews and was a past president of the Washington Philosophy Club and the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy.

Dr. Lavine's other memberships included the Cosmos Club in Washington and the executive board of the Washington School of Psychiatry's Forum on Psychiatry and the Humanities.

Her husband of 40 years, Jerome J. Sachs, died in 1984. Survivors include a daughter, Margaret V. Sachs of Athens, Ga.

From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest

by

Thelma Z. Lavine

ISBN-10: 0553251619
ISBN-13: 978-0553251616