John Arents

From Philosopedia

Arents, John (Stephen) (1926— )

Although his parents were religiously conservative and he was a child gospel singer, Arents retired at age six because of ill health, never resuming that career.

A Brooklyn-born chemist whose research has been in quantum chemistry, Arents taught and did graduate work at Columbia University from 1950 to 1956, then was a lecturer and professor at The City College of the City University of New York (CCNY) from 1956 until his retirement in 1991.

With Chester B. Kremer he co-authored Theory and Problems of Modern General Chemistry (1965) and, with Leonard C. Labowitz, Physical Chemistry: Problems and Solutions (1969). With F. Brescia, H. Meislich, and A. Turk, he was co-author of General Chemistry (5 editions with various titles, 1966—1988).

Arents is a fiercely independent thinker, as critical of liberal and humanist irrationality as of any other kind.