Addison Yancy Gunter III (“Pete” is a nickname) was born October 20, 1936, in Hammond, Indiana. His father worked at a Cities Service refinery in adjacent East Chicago. A decade later, the family returned to Texas.
He was to graduate from the University of Texas in 1958 (Plan II, honors). In 1960, he graduated (as a Marshall Scholar) with a BA from Cambridge University, and in 1963 garnered his PhD from Yale University. He was the first person to receive a basketball letter in the history of Cambridge University. (The team defeated Oxford.)
Although pursuing a philosophy major throughout, he also maintained a strong interest in literature and the arts.
Prof. Gunter began teaching at Auburn University (1962-1965) followed by four years at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. In 1969, he became the founding chairperson of the Philosophy Department at (then) North Texas State University. He retired there in 2010.It is convenient (though a bit misleading) to divide his life into three parts.
- A deep concern with philosophy resulting in numerous books, articles, and reviews related to process philosophy (notably, but not exclusively, that of the French intuitionist Henri Bergson).
- An active involvement in environmental issues (primarily those surrounding Southeast Texas’s Big Thicket region). His work was instrumental in the creation of the Big Thicket National Preserve.
- An effort to bridge the gap between philosophy & ecology/environmentalism. This effort resulted not only in various books & articles, but in the first fully worked out university program in philosophy & the environment (“environmental ethics”).
It is tempting to regard this progression as a Hegelian dialectic. This must be resisted.
Throughout this period, he has continued to write fiction (including a novel, poetry, & short stories), to edit, to write various historical works, and to compose music (notably a collection of philosophical songs).
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