This Festschrift seeks to honor three highly distinguished scholars in
the Department of Philosophy, University of Michigan: William K.
Frankena, Charles L. Stevenson, and Richard B. Brandt. Each has made
significant con- tributions to the philosophic literature, particularly
in the field of ethics. Michigan has been fortunate in having three such
original and productive moral philosophers serving ob its faculty
simultaneously. Yet they stand in a long tradition of excellence, both
within the Department and in the University. Let us trace that tradition
briefly. The University of Michigan opened in 184l.lts Department of
Literature, Science, and the Arts at first resembled a typical American
college ofthat period, with religious and ethical indoctrination playing
a central role in course offerings. But when Henry Tappan, a
Presbyterian clergyman and Professor of philosophy, became President in
1852, he succeeded in shifting the emphasis from indoctrination to
inquiry and scholarship. Though he was dismissed for his policies in
1863, Tappan's efforts to establish a broad and liberal curriculum
prevailed. Michigan was to take its place among the leading educational
institutions in this country, and to achieve an international reputation
as a research center. Several past philosophers are worthy of mention
here. George Sylvester Morris, an absolute idealist, joined the
Department in 1881, having served from 1870 as Chairman of the
Department of Modern Languages and Literature. He assumed the
Chairmanship of Philosophy in 1884.
