John Searle, Carbonate, Italy, September 14, 2017. Photo: Getty Images
United States philosopher John Searle expounded on the philosophy of the mind and of language, before pioneering work helping to create the "philosophy of society". However, it was the end of his academic career, when he was accused of sexual harassment and stripped of his "emeritus" professorship by the University of California, Berkeley, which placed Searle most firmly in the spotlight. Born in Denver, Searle became a Rhodes Scholar and earned three degrees at Oxford. He began teaching at Berkeley, where he spent his entire career, in 1959. Always politically active, Searle became the secretary of "Students against Joseph McCarthy" as an undergraduate, and as a newly tenured professor joined the Free Speech Movement in 1964. He continued to write about politics his entire career. Searle won several prizes and was known for long-running disputes with thinkers Daniel Dennett and Jacques Derrida. John Searle died on September 17 aged 93. — Agencies/Allied Media
