Daniel Bonevac

Daniel Bonevac
Born
Daniel Albert Bonevac

1955 (age 70–71)
Occupations
  • Professor
  • philosopher
Education
EducationHaverford College (BA)
University of Pittsburgh (MA, PhD)
ThesisOntological Reduction and Abstract Entities (1980)
Philosophical work
InstitutionsUniversity of Texas at Austin
Main interests

Daniel Albert Bonevac (born 1955) is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. His areas of interest are metaphysics, philosophical logic, ethics, and Eastern philosophy.

Early life

Bonevac is from Baldwin, Pennsylvania, a borough near Pittsburgh. His family moved to Richmond, Virginia when he was eight-years-old and later moved to West Hartford, Connecticut. He was raised Calvinist and attended a Presbyterian church in his youth, and he met his wife in high school.

Education and career

Bonevac majored in philosophy at Haverford College, graduating in 1975. He received a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977 and a Ph.D. in 1980. His doctoral dissertation was "Ontological Reduction and Abstract Entities".

He joined the University of Texas at Austin as an assistant professor of philosophy in 1980, chaired the department from 1991 to 2001, and became full professor there in 1992.

Politics

In autumn 2016, Bonevac joined 145 other scholars and writers in declaring support for Donald Trump for president. He was one of four philosophy professors in the United States, including fellow UT philosophy professor Robert Koons, to be included on the list. Bonevac's support is because he believes Trump is correct in pointing out the "dangers of a globalist attitude" to U.S. interests and because of Trump's opposition to the adminstrative state.

On May 15, 2024, Bonevac and another UT-Austin professor filed a lawsuit in federal court demanding the right to fail students if they miss class for abortion, and to refuse to hire teaching assistants who have used mail-order abortion medicine. In his statement on the issue, Bonevac stated that he has "no intention of complying with" new Title IX regulations prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and requiring accommodation for absences caused by abortion, will not use students' preferred pronouns, and will not allow "cross-dressing" teaching assistants.

Books

Reduction in the Abstract Sciences won the Johnsonian Prize for the best "first book" in philosophy from The Journal of Philosophy

References

  1. ↑ Birth year from publication information of Reducation in the Abstract Sciences
  2. ↑ "DANIEL BONEVAC". What Is It Like to Be a Philosopher?. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Curriculum vitae". Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Daniel Albert Bonevac, Ontological Reduction and Abstract Entities". PhilPapers. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  5. ↑ Daniel Bonevac."What it’s like to be a college professor who supports Donald Trump", Washington Post, October 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ Swartz, David L. (April 2020). "The academic Trumpists: American professors who support the Trump presidency". Theory and Society. 49 (4): 493–531. doi:10.1007/s11186-020-09391-4.
  7. ↑ Goldhill, Olivia (October 22, 2016). "Four philosophy professors in the US support Donald Trump". Quartz. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  8. ↑ Hendricks, Scotty (April 28, 2017). "Two Reasons Why Trump Won Over This Philosophy Professor". Big Think. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
  9. ↑ Aldridge, Olivia; Fogel, Becky (May 31, 2024). "In new lawsuit, two UT Austin professors say they won't excuse absences for abortion patients". KUT News. Austin, TX. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  10. ↑ Moody, Josh (June 3, 2024). "Texas Professors Sue to Further Limit Student Access to Abortion". Inside Higher Education. Washington DC. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  11. ↑ Reviews of Understanding Non-Western Philosophy:
  12. ↑ Reviews of Deduction: