Gerald J. Massey

Renowned philosopher Dr. Gerald (Jerry) Massey of (Pittsburgh/Slippery Rock) passed away peacefully with family by his side on September 13, 2024. Brother of the late James Massey (twin) and the late Joanie (Massey) Kramer, and grandfather of the late Helen Christine Riordan. He is survived by four children with Dr. Ann Massey: Charles (Lena), Mary, Stephane (David) Lubin, and Roberta (Tim) Riordan. He is survived by eight grandchildren, Jason Lubin, Daniel (Bre) Lubin, Rachel (John) Simpson, Jonathan Massey, David Massey, John Riordan, Catherine Riordan, and Joseph (Grace) Riordan; as well as four great-grandchildren, Leilani Massey, Izabella Massey, Emilio Massey, and Ari Lubin. He is also survived by his constant companion and feline best friend, Chai.
Jerry spent most of his youth in Mendota and Ottawa, Illinois. His deceased mother Ethel (Pry) Massey and father Charles Massey (tragically passing when Jerry was 7 years old), and his beloved grandfather William (Bill) Pry were instrumental in developing his passions for education, patriotism, and sharing a good story. Grandpa Bill was a U.S. Army veteran of WWI and fought in the trenches in France. After his return to the U.S., Bill continued to farm and served as a Deputy Sheriff. Jerry loved to regale his family with stories of his escapades with his grandfather. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame on a Navy ROTC scholarship where during his senior year he was student commander of the Navy Battalion and the ND ROTC regiment, Jerry served three years (1958-61) on active duty (field artillery) as a Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, from which he was honorably discharged from the Reserves at the rank of Captain in 1971.
After his service in the Marine Corps, Jerry took M.A. (1962) and Ph.D. (1964) degrees in philosophy at Princeton University, where Dr. Carl G. Hempel directed his dissertation and Dr. Alonzo Church served as First Reader. Apart from a semester as Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Michigan in 1967, he taught from 1963 to 1969 at Michigan State University, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 1966 and then to Professor of Philosophy in 1968. From 1963 to 1970 he served as Managing Editor of the journal Philosophy of Science, and from 1964 to 1970 as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Philosophy of Science Association. He spent 1969-70 as an Andrew Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh.
In 1970 Dr. Massey accepted the position as Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh, charged with the task of pulling the department together and moving it forward. His seven-year chairmanship has been called the "Golden Age" of the Pittsburgh Department, which by 1975 was ranked as the second-best philosophy department in the nation by the National Research Council. He served as President of the University of Pittsburgh's Faculty Senate in 1976-77. In 1988, Dr. Massey began what Dr. Adolf Grünbaum called "an action-packed" nine-year term (1988-1997) as Director of Pitt's renowned Center for Philosophy of Science, greatly expanding its international reach, influence, and prestige. In 1992, Dr. Massey was appointed Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy. Dr. Massey taught undergraduate and graduate courses until 2007. He continued his research and writing until 2022.
Dr. Massey had a love for languages and conducted research and writings in English, German, Greek, and Latin. His love of German and the history of philosophy of science was very important for the University of Konstanz, Germany, and its philosophy of science department, as well as for philosophy of science in Germany. Several important initiatives stand out. First, Dr. Massey initiated a cooperation between the two philosophical archives (Pitt and Konstanz) and let Konstanz make copies of the Pitt holdings (Carnap, Reichenbach etc.). His second initiative was the establishment of the "Pittsburgh-Konstanz Colloquia in the Philosophy of Science." The first took place in Konstanz in 1991 to celebrate the 100th birthday both of Carnap and Reichenbach. The colloquia continued for seventeen years, with the last event in Pittsburgh in 2008. Dr. Massey also initiated a student exchange between Konstanz and Pitt and supported fellowships of German philosophers to Pitt.
To honor Dr. Massey's exceptional merits for his contributions to German philosophy and the academic cooperation between Germany and America, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Roman Herzog, bestowed on him the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse) on September 10, 1997. The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the highest tribute the Federal Republic of Germany can pay to individuals for services to the nation.
Dr. Massey is the author of Understanding Symbolic Logic (Harper & Row, 1970) and co-editor (with the late Tamara Horowitz) of Thought Experiments in Science and Philosophy (Rowman & Littlefield, 1991), co-editor (with John Earman, Allen Janis, and Nicholas Rescher) of Philosophical Problems of the Internal and External Worlds (University of Pittsburgh Press & University of Konstanz Press, 1993), and co-editor (with Martin Carrier and Laura Ruetsche) of Science at Century's End: Philosophical Questions on the Progress and Limits of Science (University of Pittsburgh Press & University of Konstanz Press, 2000). Prominent among his latest publications are A New Approach to the Logic of Discovery in Theoria 2006, St. Thomas Aquinas on the Age of the Universe: Pious Advocate or Self-Interested Partisan? in Divinatio 2006, A New Reconstruction of Zenos Flying Arrow (with co-authors Milos Arsenijevic and Sandra Scepanovic) in Apeiron 2008, and St. Thomas Aquinas on the Age of the Universe: Replies to Critics, Divinatio 2009. He authored many other essays and articles in mathematical logic, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and the history of philosophy.
In recent years, Dr. Massey worked to establish a new approach to philosophy, the zoological approach, which takes into account what science and experience teach us about animals. He and Dr. Barbara Massey served as guest editors of a special 1999 book-length issue of the journal Philosophical Topics devoted to philosophical ethology and zoological philosophy. He delivered lectures in universities and at conferences in Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the USA..
Dr. Massey took his family on a month-long camping vacation many summers during his children's childhoods, visiting such places as the Florida Keys, Washington, D.C., and Niagara Falls. Dr. Massey was also an avid sailor often taking colleagues and family on sailing adventures. In retirement, he also pursued his passion for animals on his horse farm in Stoneboro, Pennsylvania, where he made hay and trained, studied, and rode Morgan horses. Combining his passion for service and horses, he served as an Auxiliary Deputy Sheriff with the Butler County Mounted Posse, a volunteer civic organization that conducts mounted patrols at large public events.
Jerry's friends remember him for his mentorship, encouragement, friendship, and service as a role model. He was instrumental in guiding others into very successful military and academic careers. Semper Fi
Friends will be received on Saturday, September 21, 2024 at the D'Alessandro Funeral Home & Crematory Ltd; 4522 Butler Street, Lawrenceville, from 11 a.m. with a memorial service at 12:30 p.m. Interment with military honors to follow at Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 718 Hazelwood Ave., Greenfield. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Salvation Army or your local food bank; www.dalessandroltd.com.