William S. Hatcher
In a message of
condolence, the Universal House of Justice said that Dr. Hatcher will long be
remembered for his "stalwart faith, forceful exposition, and penetrating
insights which characterized nearly half a century of ceaseless service to the
Baha'i Faith." "The Baha'i
world has lost one of its brightest minds, one of its most prolific pens,"
the Universal House of Justice said.
Dr. Hatcher, 70,
died of an illness on 27 November 2005, having made substantial contributions
in mathematics, logic, philosophy, religion, and ethics. His popular and
scholarly writings and talks were infused with a characteristic clarity of
expression, wit, and warmth.
Dr. Hatcher enrolled in the Baha'i Faith in 1957. He spent the decades that followed in dedicated service to the Baha'i community and its administrative development, at the local and national level, in the United States, Switzerland, Russia, and Canada. He served on National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Canada (1983-91) as well as on the inaugural National Spiritual Assemblies of Switzerland (1962-65) and the Russian Federation (1996). He lived in Russia from 1993 to 1998. Dr. Hatcher traveled extensively to teach the religion in Central and West Africa and Russia, and he played a vital role in the founding of the Association for Baha'i Studies in North America.
Born in
Charlotte, North Carolina, Dr. Hatcher received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from
Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and his doctorate in
mathematical logic from the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland. Dr. Hatcher
settled with his wife, Judith, in Canada in 1968, serving as professor of
mathematics at the Universite Laval in Quebec City until 1995.
He wrote 50
articles, books, and monographs, including "The Logical Foundations of Mathematics"
(1982), and "Logic and Logos: Essays on Science, Religion and
Philosophy" (1990). Among his major
publications are "Love, Power, and Justice: The Dynamics of Authentic
Morality" (1998), in which he argues for the existence of an authentic and
universal moral standard.
"The Baha'i
Faith: The Emerging Global Religion" (1985), co-authored with Douglas
Martin, was named by Encyclopedia Britannica in 1986 as book of the year in
religion. One of his most
acclaimed essays, "A Logical Proof of the Existence of God," was the
subject of his popular speaking tour of Canadian university campuses in the
late 1990s. In 2003, his book
"Minimalism: A Bridge Between Classical Philosophy and the Baha'i
Revelation" was published to critical acclaim for its innovative
philosophical approach, and the development of his logical proof for the
existence of God.
Dr. Hatcher is
one of the eight Platonist philosophers listed in the section devoted to the
latter half of the 20th century in the Encylopedie Philosophique Universelle.
William Hatcher
is survived by his wife, three children, and seven grandchildren.
(Adapted from
Baha’i World News Service)
