Louis Mackey

Louis Henry Mackey (September 24, 1926 – March 25, 2004) was an American philosopher and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. He earned his B.A. at Capital University and his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1954, with a dissertation on Kierkegaard. Mackey taught at Yale and Rice University before joining the University of Texas at Austin in 1967, where he gained a reputation as an engaging teacher and received the Harry Ransom Award for Teaching Excellence in 1987. His scholarly work focused on Kierkegaard, notably his book "Kierkegaard: A Kind of Poet" (1972), and he also wrote on Saint Augustine and Medieval Philosophy. Mackey was interested in the intersection of philosophy and literature, applying critical tools to philosophical texts and exploring the works of authors like Gilbert Sorrentino and Thomas Pynchon. He was also an accomplished singer and appeared in two films by Richard Linklater, "Slacker" (1991) and "Waking Life" (2001). Linklater later dedicated "A Scanner Darkly" to his memory.