David Sidorsky

David Sidorsky (July 7, 1927 – December 28, 2021) was an American professor emeritus of philosophy, who joined the faculty of Columbia University in 1959.

Background David Sidorsky was born on July 7, 1927, in Calgary, Alberta, after his Jewish parents emigrated from Lithuania. He received a BA in 1948 and MA in 1954 from New York University. He received his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University in 1962.

Career

Military Sidorsky served in the 72nd Infantry Battalion in the Israeli Army's 7th Brigade during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. On his way to join the army, he was held captive for six weeks in Baalbek, Lebanon. After the fighting stopped, he studied at Hebrew University, where professors included Hugo Bergman. By 1987, he had moved to JINSA's advisory board, where he remained a member until at least as late as 2011. (JINSA, is a pro-Israel non-profit think-tank, founded in 1976 and based in Washington, DC.)

Personal life and death Sidorsky was a lifelong disciple of John Dewey. Teachers and colleagues include: Frank Tannenbaum, James Goodman, Horace L. Friess, John Herman Randall Jr., J. L. Austin, and Gilbert Ryle. Eater.com described Sidorsky as "doe eyed cupid of a classics [sic] professor."

David Sidorsky died age 94 on December 28, 2021.

Legacy

Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff dedicated his book To Do the Right and the Good (2004) to Sidorsky.

Books Edited or Introduced: The Alliluyev Memoirs: Recollections Of Svetlana Stalina's Maternal Aunt Anna Alliluyeva And Her Grandfather Sergei Alliluyev with David Tutaev (1968) The Liberal Tradition in European Thought (1970) The Future of the Jewish Community in America: Essays Prepared for a Task Force on the Future of the Jewish Community in America of the American Jewish Committee (1973) with Walter I. Ackerman John Dewey: The Essential Writings (1977) The Later Works of John Dewey, Volume 3, 1925 - 1953: 1927-1928, Essays, Reviews, Miscellany, and "Impressions of Soviet Russia", edited by Jo Ann Boydston (1988) Vision Confronts Reality: Historical Perspectives on the Contemporary Jewish Agenda (1989) edited by Ruth Kozodoy