Best remembered for his exploration of Continental Philosophy and Platonism.
He read an article about the University of Chicago in Reader's Digest when he was 13, and he decided that's where he wanted to study. A couple of years later, he was admitted into a program for gifted students at the University.
He wrote his last book Love and Friendship while paralyzed in a hospital. He would dictate his words and a close associate would pen them down.
His parents were both Jewish social workers. He died of AIDS in 1992.
He and footballer Jay Berwanger both attended the University of Chicago.