Haskell Fain

Born July 1, 1926 in New York City, Haskell Fain ("Hack") of San Rafael, CA (formerly of Madison, WI) passed away on Thursday, July 26, 2018 at the age of 92 from renal cancer.

Hack was a philosophy professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1956 to 1993 after earning his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley and serving as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Oslo in Norway from 1954 to 1955. During his career, Hack was a senior Fulbright professor at the University of Bergen, Norway from 1961-62 and also twice served as a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University. He also was a visiting professor at University of California-Berkeley, University of British Columbia, Florida State University, and the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Hack published two books, Between Philosophy and History (Princeton University Press) and Normative Politics and the Community of Nations (Temple University Press) as well as a number of articles and was an invited speaker at many universities and colleges all over the world.

Living through some of the most turbulent times in the 20th Century, Hack was greatly affected by the Great Depression. He joined the U.S. army at age 17 soon after becoming an Eagle Scout and served as a private first class during WWII (1944-1946). The GI Bill enabled Hack to go to college, which led to his career as a university professor. He taught at the first teach-in at UW-Madison on April 1, 1965 and chaired the UW-Madison philosophy department from 1968-70 and 1972-73, during some of the most intense Vietnam War protests. Hack also taught for the UW program in Florence, Italy in 1983, which instilled in him a lifelong love of Italian language and culture. He continued to learn Italian for many years and was fluent in Norwegian. After he retired, he helped start a Madison coffee group engaged in daily philosophical discussions.

Hack loved telling jokes, playing chess, cooking, and eating delicious meals with good friends. He was greatly loved and will be sorely missed. Hack is survived by his wife Linda Fain, his children Jonathan Fain and Madeline Ellis, his daughter-in-law Erin Fain and son-in-law James Ellis, his stepson Kenneth Lopes and stepdaughter-in-law Jenifer Lopes, his grandchildren Robert, Benjamin, Susan and Daniel Fain and Maximo, Levi, and Bram Ellis, and his sister Mary Fain. He was predeceased by his first wife, Elaine Fain, and his parents, Max and Ethel Fain.

A memorial service honoring Hack will be held at 10:30 AM on Sunday, September 2nd at Cress Funeral Home at 3610 Speedway Road in Madison, WI. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial donation to the UW-Madison "Department of Philosophy Fund - 132679040" at https://secure.supportuw.org/give/ or Oxfam America at https://www.oxfamgifts.com/gift-category/tribute/.

Cress Funeral and Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road, Madison
608-238-3434