Eileen A. O’Neill *83

Eileen O’Neill, professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, died Dec. 4, 2017, at the age of 64.

O’Neill graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. In 1983, she earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton. She joined the philosophy department of UMass in 1995 and taught a wide range of courses in the history of modern philosophy, plus courses in feminist philosophy.

A deeply committed teacher, she gave generously of her time and effort, inspiring loyalty among undergraduate and graduate students. She had set her sights on finding long-lost texts of early modern women and explaining their most important ideas. She created a very robust list of the texts and philosophies of early modern women.

O’Neill published many important papers, and her 1998 paper, “Disappearing Ink: Early Modern Women Philosophers and their Fate in History,” is an example of her erudition and power of persuasion. She was celebrated in 2009 at a conference at Barnard College in her honor: “Women, Philosophy, and History.”

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.