In Memoriam 

Perry Weddle (1939-2006) 

Perry Weddle, a long-time friend of this journal and of many on its editorial board and 
contributors to its pages, died on January 2nd , 2006. Perry was one of the first and most 
loyal supporters of Informal Logic. Back in the late 1970s, when its predecessor, the 
informal logic newsletter, began publication, it was Perry who first suggested that the 
newsletter publish articles. Following thought with deed, he sent us a paper in which he 
challenged the distinction, then taken for granted, between deductive and inductive 
arguments. "Inductive, Deductive," ILN 2:1 (1979), pages 1-5, was the first article 
published in the newsletter. 

A native of San Francisco, Perry studied philosophy at California State University, 
San Jose for his B.A. and did his graduate work (M.A. and Ph.D.) in philosophy at the 
University of Nebraska, where he was strongly influenced by the work of O.K. Bouwsma 
and Wittgenstein. He joined the faculty of the philosophy department at California 
State University, Sacramento in 1965 and remained there until his retirement as professor 
emeritus in 1995, serving a term as chair (1972-78). In 1990 he received the John C. 
Livingston award, given annually to a faculty member at CSU Sacramento for excellence 
in teaching, intellectual leadership and scholarly productivity. 

Perry's academic contributions in the area of critical reasoning were considerable. 
He wrote one of the early textbooks in the field of critical thinking, the useful and 
charmingly written, Argument: A Guide to Critical Thinking (McGraw Hill, 1978). Perry 
was a founding member of the Association for Informal Logic and Critical Thinking, and 
sat on its first executive (1983-86). As a member of the editorial board of Informal Logic 
he provided its contributors with thoughtful and constructive critical reviews of many 
manuscripts of articles over the years. He also served on the advisory board of 
Argumentation, and he founded and edited Critical Thinking News, a newsletter that 
supported the development of the critical thinking educational reform movement in its 
early years. He helped organize and contributed to many conferences and workshops 
on critical thinking 

His academic accomplishments, however, do not do justice to the whole man. Perry 
was a gracious host to his colleagues and out-of-town visitors in Sacramento and 
elsewhere, a connoisseur of wine and an excellent cook. At conferences he discovered 
the best restaurants in town and led the way to themHe was an avid cyclist and he loved 
hiking in the forests and mountains of his native state. He had an impressive knowledge 
of art and was himself an collector. His letters, full of humour andjoie de vivre, acerbic 
and wise comments on a wide range of subjects from the events of the day to baseball 
and redolent oflearning lightly-held-always connecting-were a pleasure to receive. 
He was a man of integrity, notable generosity, and commitment to social justice. The 
lives of his students, colleagues and friends are the richer for their having known him. 

Perry is survived by his wife Mary Weddle. 

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