It is with great regret that we inform our colleagues and friends of the Peruvian Circle of Phenomenology and Hermeneutics (CIphER), of the death, on April 4, 2025, of our dear friend and collaborator, Thomas Nenon, Ph.D., Distinguished University Professor emeritus of Philosophy at The University of Memphis, Tennessee, who remained active until the end, despite his long and difficult illness.

Professor Nenon, the eldest of a large family of eight, obtained his BA in Philosophy from Regis College (1972, Denver, Colorado), his MA in Philosophy from Boston College (1974, Boston, Massachusetts), and later continued his studies in phenomenological philosophy at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität (Freiburg, Germany), where he earned his PhD under the advisement of Werner Marx (1983). During his time at Freiburg, he served as an instructor at the same university and did important editorial work at the Husserl Archives. In that capacity, with Hans-Rainer Sepp, he co-edited two major volumes of the Gesammelte Werke Edmund Husserl – Husserliana, containing Husserl’s essays and lectures from the years 1911–1921 (vol. XXV, 1987) and 1922–1937 (vol. XXVII, 1989). During this period, his work also included the edition of book reviews for the journal Husserl Studies.

He returned to the United States in 1985 with his wife, Monika, a professor of classical German classics, both to work at the University of Memphis, Tennessee. There, Thomas Nenon not only assumed teaching positions as Assistant Professor of Ohilosophy (1986–1991), Associate Professor (1991–1997), and Professor (1997–2022), but, since 1993, he has held various academic and administrative responsibilities at the same university. He began as Director of the Center for Humanities (1993–1997), and continued successively in different units of the University of Memphis—as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (2013–2018), of Academic Affairs (1997–2006), Assessment, International Relations and Reports (2007–2013), Undergraduate Programs (2006–2007), and finally Vice Chancellor and Director of Academic Affairs (2019–2022). That year he was appointed Distinguished University Professor emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Memphis. He was also a visiting professor at the Bergische-Universität Wuppertal, and at the Faculty of Law of the Europa-Universität Frankfurt/Oder in Germany on different occasions.

Since assuming his teaching and academic-administrative duties at Memphis, and throughout the years, his areas of specialization and expertise in teaching, research, and publication have included not only Husserl’s phenomenology, but also the philosophies of Kant, German Idealism, and the hermeneutic-existential direction of Heidegger’s phenomenology. He also manifested a special interest in the philosophy of the social sciences.

As a professor, both in Memphis and in Germany, he taught a wide variety of introductory undergraduate courses as well as advanced graduate seminars. At the undergraduate level, he taught: Bioethics, Classical Themes in Philosophy, History of Modern Philosophy, Critical Philosophy, Existentialism, Philosophy of Social Sciences, Global Challenges, Faith, Reason and Imagination, Continental Philosophy, on Husserl’s Philosophy as a Rigorous Science, The Idea of a Philosophical Culture according to Husserl, Philosophy and Worldviews in Husserl, Dilthey and Rickert, etc. Regarding advanced postgraduate courses and seminars, he taught: Culture and Administration, Modern Theories of State and Society, Heidegger’s middle and late essays, Heidegger’s Being and Time, on the Critique of Pure Reason, the Critique of Practical Reason and Kant’s Late Essays, on Schelling, Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, Intersubjectivity in Husserl, Husserl’s Formal and Transcendental Logic, etc. He also advised multiple theses, and reviewed and evaluated a large number of works for specialized magazines and collective books on these topics.

He has translated texts by Werner Marx and Ludwig Siep from German into English, edited and co-edited numerous thematic volumes of journals and collective books (in addition to vols. XXV and XXVII of the Husserliana), among which stand out: Logos and Aisthesis: Phenomenology and the Arts, co-edited with Kwok-ying Lau (Berlin/New York: Ed. Springer, 2020); Thomas Seebohm on the Foundations of the Sciences: An Analysis and Critical Appraisal(Berlin/New York: Ed. Springer, 2020); Husserl’s Ideen, co-edited with Lester Embree (Berlin, New York: Springer, 2012); Kant, Kantianism, and Idealism: The Origins of Continental Philosophy, in the collection History of Continental Philosophy, Vol I. (London: Acumen Press, 2010); Advancing Phenomenology: Essays in Honor of Lester Embree, co-edited with Philip Blosser (Springer: Dordrecht, 2010).

On all these topics he gave around eighty lectures in various universities and cities in countries in North America (USA and Mexico) and South America (Colombia, Peru), Europe (Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic), Asia (India, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea) and Oceania (Australia).

Sobre todos estos temas dictó alrededor de ochenta conferencias en diversas universidades y ciudades de países de Norteamérica (EEUU y México) y Sudamérica (Colombia, Peru), Europa (Alemania, Dinamarca, España, Francia, Irlanda, Italia, República Checa), Asia (India, China, Japón, Taiwán, Corea del Sur,) y Oceanía (Australia).

In addition to his book, Objektivität und endliche Erkenntnis: Kants transzendental-philosophische Theorie der Wahrheit (Freiburg/Munich: Ed. Alber, 1986), he published more than a hundred articles and book reviews in numerous specialized journals and collections.

He served on the Editorial Board of several international academic journals and publications, as well as on the editorial boards of philosophical circles and societies. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP) (1995–1998), and President and Director of the Center for Advanced Research in Phenomenology (CARP) (1995–2025). In these capacities, he participated in the organization of numerous philosophical meetings and conferences of the Husserl Circle, SPEP, CARP, the Organization of Phenomenological Organizations (OPO), and the International Kant Congress; but also (between 1994 and 1996) conferences related to the Mississippi River area and its people, the Civil Rights movement, and so on.

Since 2002, he has been to Peru five times, attending various events held at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP). From July 11–14, 2002, he attended the 32nd meeting of the Husserl Circle (held for the first time outside the US). He returned in 2004 for the 3rd Latin American Colloquium on Phenomenology (January 12–16), organized at PUCP by the Secretariat of the Latin American Circle of Phenomenology (CLAFEN), within the framework of the 15th Inter-American Congress of Philosophy and the 2nd Ibero-American Congress of Philosophy (Tolerancia–Tolerância-Toleration), joint conferences convened by the Center for Philosophical Studies (CEF) of the Department of Humanities. The following year, he returned again for the 2nd Meeting of the Organization of Phenomenological Organizations (OPO), also organized by the CLAFEN Secretariat at PUCP. In 2018, he co-sponsored from CARP, and returned to participate in the Inter-American Phenomenological Workshop (bilingual) —on Methods and Problems. Current Phenomenological Research and Perspectives—held at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima (July 5–7, 2018) honoring the memory of Lester Embree (1938–2017), organized by the Secretariat of the Peruvian Circle of Phenomenology and Hermeneutics (CIphER), additionally co-sponsored by CLAFEN, and CEF-PUCP.

Finally, already advanced in his illness and making an effort, he agreed to come to Peru for the fifth time to the 20th Peruvian Journeys on Phenomenology and Hermeneutics, on Tracking Kant’s Legacy in Contemporary Continental Philosophy (November 19–21), organized by the CIphER Secretariat, with the support of the CEF and the Postgraduate Program in Philosophy at PUCP, in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of Kant’s birth. After taking his wife on a final trip to the Colca Valley and the city of Arequipa, he participated as one of our main speakers, alongside two other renowned academics and researchers in Phenomenology and Hermeneutics—Dennis Schmidt and Steven G. Crowell—with whom he had shared decades earlier common experiences as graduate students in Freiburg, Germany. His lecture was titled “The Significance of Heidegger’s Emphasis on Schematism in Kant’s Transcendental Philosophy”

His absence is deeply felt globally by his students, colleagues, and academic friends around the world.

From the Secretariat of CIphER and CLAFEN (Department of Humanities, PUCP), we wish to pay our grateful tribute to him for the friendship and unconditional support he provided us over these two and a half decades.

Rosemary Jane Rizo-Patrón Boylan de Lerner

Secretary (2005-2025)