The UW Department of Philosophy offers our sympathy regarding the death of Professor Emerita Lynn Hankinson Nelson in summer 2024.
Lynn specialized in feminist philosophy, philosophy of biology, and Quine. She received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from Temple University in 1987. Before joining the University of Washington, she worked at the University of Missouri, and over her career, she held visiting appointments at Swarthmore College, the University of Pennsylvania, Arizona State University (Biology and Society Program in the School of Life Sciences), and the University of Arizona Medical School in Phoenix (where she co-taught history and philosophy of medicine). She worked at the University of Washington from 2003-2016.
Lynn was a fantastic scholar. In addition to many fine articles, her books included Who Knows: From Quine to a Feminist Empiricism (Temple University Press 1990) and Biology and Feminism: A Philosophical Introduction (Cambridge University Press 2017), the textbooks On Feminist Philosophy, co-authored with Jack Nelson (Wadsworth 2008) and On Quine, co-authored with Jack Nelson (Cengage 1999), and the edited volume Feminist Interpretations of W.V. Quine, co-edited with Jack Nelson (Penn State Press 2003).
At the University of Washington, Lynn taught a wide range of courses, from Intro to Logic and Intro to Philosophy of Science to Topics in Feminism (on feminist philosophy of biology) and graduate seminars on Philosophy of Science. She had recently been teaching an asynchronous online course on Topics in Philosophy of Science for the UW Professional and Continuing Education program. Her students adored her. A small sampling of their online comments: “Best teacher ever.” “Lynn is hilarious, engaging, and fun.” “Lynn is not a woman, she's a goddess.” “Great professor. She genuinely cares about her students and how they do in her class.”
Lynn was a staunch supporter for women in philosophy, and for feminist philosophy of science and feminist science studies. She was also an advocate for collaborative philosophical work. Her husband and writing partner Jack Nelson died in spring 2024.
Lynn’s family will hold a private memorial. For those who would like to honor Lynn’s legacy, they suggest donations made in her memory to her favorite charities:
The Center for Reproductive Rights