A longtime member of the Stony Brook philosophy faculty, Professor Don Ihde was well-known for his work in phenomenology and on the philosophy of technology. Ihde retired in 2012 after 43 years at Stony Brook, and when he passed away in January 2024, just after his 90th birthday, he left a legacy that will have relevance as long as humans cope with advancing technologies.
Ihde has been described as one of the most insightful and influential thinkers on technology of his generation. His work, which built on the philosophical tradition of “phenomenology” — a movement and study that aims to objectively investigate the nature of conscious experience — created a toolkit of concepts for describing and analyzing human experiences with technology.
In November, the Department of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences hosted a memorial conference in honor of the late distinguished professor. The event was organized by Department Chair and Professor Robert Crease and graduate student Juan Arteaga. Speakers included many of Ihde’s advisees — now eminent philosophers themselves — as well as Stony Brook faculty members and graduate students.
“Don Ihde was the founder of the Stony Brook philosophy department way back in the early 1970s, so he was a towering figure for us,” said Crease. “He also hired me personally, for which I am eternally grateful.”
The conference shined a light on Ihde’s long and influential career, featuring one of Ihde’s first graduate students from the 1970s, as well as his last graduate student, who earned their PhD just a few years ago, among its 40 attendees.
“He was and is America’s greatest philosopher of technology,” said Crease. “He was the pioneer. His ideas have been taken up by scholars across many fields, including scientific research, art and design. Because of that we drew a diverse group to the conference. One of the speakers was Judith Lochhead, professor of music history & theory who was chair of the Department of Music. She and Don collaborated on phenomenology of music, and she came and played some music and taught us how she and Don approached it.”
“I didn’t have the honor of meeting Don Ihde in person, but I discovered him through his work, first, when I taught postphenomenology in a course about philosophy of technology and, after, when I was looking for philosophical tools to analyze protest chants,” said Arteaga. “I used his book Listening and Voice: Phenomenologies of Sound to carry out this analysis. I’m proud to have been part of honoring the life, philosophical work, and legacy of this amazing philosopher.”
Speakers highlighted Ihde’s work as it related to science, protest movements, and environmental issues, among other topics.
“We had Peter-Paul Verbeek, Rector Magnificus and Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Science and Technology in a Changing World at the University of Amsterdam, and one attendee came all the way from Israel,” said Crease. “Professor Ihde leaves behind an incredible, bustling, international and interdisciplinary network of people he mentored — colleagues, collaborators, friends and students. And that’s why he is revered here at Stony Brook.”
Ihde was the author of more than 20 original books and the editor of many others. He gave numerous lectures and seminars internationally, and some of his books and articles have appeared in a dozen languages.
“He taught me about philosophy of technology that he put me on the track of doing philosophy of technology,” said Crease, himself an author. “He also recruited me to translate some works from Dutch on the philosophy of technology. Don’s work is very important there. He also attracted a lot of farm researchers to come to Stony Brook over the years, especially from China, where this is an important topic.”
Crease says now, as we ponder the philosophy of AI, Ihde’s work will be as relevant as ever.
“One of his students, Robert Rosenberger ’08, now a professor in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech, is carrying his work forward and has published several books and volumes related to his work,” he said.
Crease also said a conference volume will be compiled.
“This wasn’t just a memorial, it was also a serious intellectual conference that will carry Don’s work forward, as well as Stony Brook’s profile. Thanks to him, Stony Brook has an international reputation in the philosophy of technology. He put Stony Brook on the map in terms of philosophy of technology. We look forward to honoring that again next year.”
— Robert Emproto
I am sorry to have only recently learned of the passing of Professor Don Ihde. As a graduate student from China, I have read several of Professor Ihde’s works this year and have been deeply moved. I greatly admire Professor Ihde. Yesterday, I came across the news of Professor Ihde’s death on the Internet, and now I have confirmed the authenticity of the news on the website of Stony Brook University. I feel deeply regretful; this is a great loss to the philosophy community.