In Memoriam: Sean Foran

Published: March 28, 2018

We’re very sad to have learned that our graduate alumnus Sean Foran died last summer from brain cancer.

Sean began the program in 1989, finishing in 1997.  His dissertation, Animal Movement, was chaired by Kit Fine and Rogers Albritton. Sean taught at Kansas State University, Bowling Green State University, and Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville.

He was treasured by his teachers, colleagues and peers for his intellectual persistence, creativity, depth, compassion, and keen sense of humor. He had broad philosophical tastes and could be captivated by nearly any philosophical question, working over questions long after others had put them aside in frustration.  His ability to immerse himself in the philosophical projects of others made him the best sort of interlocutor and philosophical friend.  As his former colleague David Shoemaker put it, “Sean wrestled with ideas with enormous integrity. He came at every problem with openness, with a willingness to engage deeply with it, and by god, he was going to untangle it if it took him all day and night and most of the next day and night.”

Sean is survived by his spouse, Nina Orechwa, and their daughter, Elodie.