Obituary: Antony Flew
Maurice O'Brien • Published 14 Apr 2010 08:00
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ANTONY Flew, former professor of philosophy at Reading University, died on April 8 at the age of 87.
Professor Flew, a rationalist philosopher, was a strong advocate of atheism for much of his life, arguing that atheism should be presupposed until practical evidence of God's existence surfaces. He also argued against the concept of life after death and the idea of free will as a defence to the problem of evil.
But in a 2004 interview he suddenly declared an allegiance to deism, and in 2007 he wrote the book 'There is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind', one of his 23 philosophical works.
Born the son of a Methodist minister on February 11, 1923, he worked in RAF intelligence during World War Two before resuming his studies at St John's College, Oxford, winning several philosophy awards and graduating with a First in Greats.
He became Professor of Philosophy at Keele University in 1954, transferring to a similar role at Reading University in 1973. He remained there until early retirement in 1982, later working part-time as Professor of Philosophy at York University, Toronto.
He married Annis Harty in 1952 and they had two daughters.
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