Dr. Robert C. Pinto (1963-2000)

Dr. Robert C. Pinto joined the Philosophy Department at what is now the University of Windsor in 1963 and remained a member until 2000 when he retired as professor emeritus. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in November 1935, he earned his PhD at the University of Toronto (1974).

Professor Pinto was a popular and inspiring teacher. His introductory courses in philosophy had a significant impact on many undergraduate student, and he was widely sought after as  a graduate-student advisor. Firmly based in the analytic tradition of philosophy, Professor Pinto’s interests range from Marxism to Heidegger and from Wittgenstein to Sellars. 

Within the University, Professor Pinto took a turn as philosophy department head and for many years was either chair of or a member of the graduate studies committee. He also took on a leadership role in the Faculty Association, with terms as president (1985-86) and chief negotiator. Professor Pinto was an early enthusiast of computers and introduced and helped many of his colleagues to get started in computing themselves. He developed a program for tracking and scoring student assignments, the once widely-used Class Record. He also created the first web site for the Canadian Philosophical Association and for several years was its editor. 

In argumentation theory, Pinto was one of the first to recognize the essential dialectical nature of argumentation. His early papers on informal logic and argumentation develop this insight and are gathered in Argument, Inference and Dialectic (2001). His views that reasoning standards are distinct from logical standards and that arguments are invitations to inference are given concrete application in the textbook Reasoning: A Practical Guide (with J. A. Blair and K. Parr, 1993). Pinto was associate editor of the department’s journal, Informal Logic, and a member of the editorial board of Argumentation. His most recent research is focussed on the nature of reasons and the relationship between belief and acceptance. 

Professor Pinto passed away in September of 2019.