Professor Schmitt spent his career in the Department of Philosophy at Brown University, where he was emeritus. He wrote widely on figures in the post-Kantian Continental traditions in philosophy, including Husserl and Marx. He was a founder of the Radical Philosophy Association, which shared this obituary:
Richard Schmitt died on January 13th, 2024 at 6:00 PM at the age of 96. Born in 1927 in Frankfurt, Germany to a Jewish mother, he survived the Holocaust in Holland and came to the US in 1946. He was a professor emeritus of philosophy at Brown University, where his irreverence toward authority and his expertise on Marxism made him a pillar of student-led organizing in the 1960s. He was a devoted activist, immersed in global movements for pacifism, feminism, racial justice, and indigenous sovereignty over the course of many decades. The author of many books and articles on philosophy and politics, he was endlessly curious about people and ideas, and he approached the dilemmas he encountered in the world with humor, skepticism, and a resistance to oversimplified answers.
In retirement, he trained and became active as a community mediator in the Worcester court system, as well as teaching at several local colleges. He loved being a member of the Worcester Friends Meeting (Quakers), where he played a vital leadership role in peace and social concerns. He was cherished and beloved by his community, and made many friends, across generations and geographies. His commitment to feminism extended to his role as a spouse and a father, through which he lived his belief that raising children and doing housework should be shared responsibilities. He will be dearly missed by his partner of 41 years, Lucy Candib, of Worcester, MA, by his daughters, Addie Candib and her partner Max Morange, of Bellingham, WA, and Hannah Schmitt and her partner Emily Shinada, of Chatham, NY and New York City, and by one grandson, Anatole Candib.
Donations in Richard’s memory can be made to Jewish Voice for Peace via jewishvoiceforpeace.org/contribute.
Comments are open for remembrances from those who knew Professor Schmitt, or who wish to comment on the significance of his work. (Thanks to Phil Gasper for the information).
