Burleigh T. Wilkins *65

Burleigh Wilkins, retired professor of philosophy at UC, Santa Barbara, died Oct. 15, 2015, at the age of 83.

Wilkins graduated summa cum laude from Duke in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in history and earned a master’s degree in history from Harvard in 1954. He taught at MIT from 1957 to 1960. Then, in 1963, he earned another master’s degree from Harvard, this time in philosophy.

In 1965, he was awarded a Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton. Wilkins was an assistant, then associate professor of philosophy at Rice University from 1965 to 1967. In 1967, he went to UC, Santa Barbara, first as an associate professor, and then as a full professor of philosophy from 1968 to 2012. He wrote five books, including Hegel’s Philosophy of History (1974) and Terrorism and Collective Responsibility (1992). He also wrote dozens of articles for scholarly journals.

Wilkins was regarded as a devoted mentor to his students, and even later to them in their professional lives. Two remember him as “a sharp philosopher with a keen wit, unpretentious, compassionate, and humble, always ready to assist when asked.”

Wilkins is survived by daughters Brita Taylor Wilkins Lincoln and Carla Wilkins;  son William Wilkins; and two grandsons.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.