13 Facts About William Frankena

William Klaas Frankena was an American moral philosopher.

William Frankena was a member of the University of Michigan's department of philosophy for 41 years, and chair of the department for 14 years.

William Frankena was born in Manhattan, Montana, grew up in small Dutch communities in Montana and western Michigan, and spoke West Frisian and Dutch.

William Frankena's mother died when he was nine years old.

William Frankena graduated from Holland Christian High School in Holland, MI, in 1926.

William Frankena met his future wife, Sadie, when they were students at Calvin College.

William Frankena was an avid birder, and is survived by two sons, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

For nearly his entire career, William Frankena did most of his philosophical reading and writing at home at a desk made circa 1870.

William Frankena greatly valued his many conversations with other moral philosophers throughout the US and western Europe.

William Frankena emphasized the distinction between the good, which concerns any items that contribute positively to someone's life, and the right, which concerns the moral evaluation of actions and policies.

William Frankena argues that deontological theories are different by asserting that some actions are inherently right, regardless of the outcomes they produce.

William Frankena further explored the various meanings of the term good, the diverse types of value, and the sources of intrinsic value.

William Frankena received the University of Michigan's Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, was Roy Wood Sellars Distinguished Collegiate Professor of Philosophy, and was the first College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Distinguished Senior Faculty Lecturer.