George Anastaplo (1925–2014)


“The Socrates of Chicago”

Sometimes called “The Socrates of Chicago”, George Anastaplo was a fixture at the University of Chicago from 1945 and at the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults from 1948 until his death in 2014. As such he probably made a greater contribution to the Basic Program than all of other instructors combined. During his lifetime Professor Anastaplo was recognized for his contributions to the Basic Program through:

  • Establishment in 2001 of the annual Anastaplo Lecture delivered each year as part of the Basic Program’s Works of the Mind lecture series; and,
  • Awarding in 2005 of the first Basic Program Excellence Teaching Award.

In addition to his work at the University of Chicago, Professor Anastaplo was Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Philosophy at Dominican University. A prolific author, Professor Anastaplo was the author of numerous books, maintained an online blog and two online archives of his writings.  Between 1980 and 1992 he was annually nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Professor Anastaplo was profiled in The University of Chicago Magazine in an article entitled “One Door Closes” — a reference to a famous controversy concerning the State of Illinois’s refusal to admit the young Anastaplo to the bar that went all the way to the US Supreme Court. Curious yet?


On and by George Anastaplo