Paul Weiss

Paul Weiss (May 19, 1901 – July 5, 2002) was an American philosopher, best known as the founder of *The Review of Metaphysics* and the Metaphysical Society of America. Born in New York City, he grew up on the Lower East Side. After dropping out of high school, he enrolled in free night classes at the College of the City of New York, graduating cum laude in 1927. He then pursued his Ph.D. at Harvard University under the guidance of Alfred North Whitehead, completing his degree in 1929. His doctoral thesis was titled *The Nature of Systems*. During his time at Harvard, Weiss also assisted Charles Hartshorne in editing the extensive unpublished works of Charles Sanders Peirce. Weiss began his teaching career at Bryn Mawr College in 1931. In 1946, he accepted a position at Yale University, where he taught for twenty-four years until reaching the mandatory retirement age. He later taught at the Catholic University of America, where he faced and successfully litigated an age discrimination lawsuit after his contract was not renewed, eventually retiring in 1994. His philosophical work is primarily characterized by his metaphysical writings, including his book *Being and Other Realities*. He also wrote extensively in epistemology and cosmology, and published eleven volumes of *Philosophy in Process*, documenting his ongoing philosophical reflections. A central tenet of his philosophy is the concept of Being as a plurality of individuals unified by a universal structure. Weiss was known for his systematic approach to philosophy, often engaging in grand-scale system-building, which contrasted with the more popular analytic and logical positivist philosophies of his time. He was described as fierce in argument but gentle and personally regardful towards his students. His final book, *Surrogates*, was published posthumously. His papers are held at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis.