Homage to Steve Resnick: A Mensch, A Mentor, and a Twenty-First-Century Mind

Abstract

Steve Resnick championed overdetermination. He also understood that in spite of the unknowable, one had to take a stand and fight. He and Rick Wolff used questions such as the following to judge what was worth fighting for: What are the social consequences of different political views? During the U.S. war in Vietnam, they asked what were the social consequences of that war on the Vietnamese, on the American soldiers, and on the American and Vietnamese nations. Such questions persuaded Steve to be a courageous part of the antiwar movement even if it made him ineligible for an Ivy League career. Steve was a man of principle who stood for what he saw was just. He identified with those who are exploited and despised lies, pretense, and injustice on a personal, political, and social level. He was a deep friend, a mentor, and a mensch.