Education
In 1961, he graduated summa cum laude from Monmouth College and in 1969, he received as Ph.
In 1961, he graduated summa cum laude from Monmouth College and in 1969, he received as Ph.
Doctorate. from Johns Hopkins University in philosophy. His philosophical research focused on ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophy of Kant. He retired and became professor emeritus in 2010.
He was born and raised in Mount Morris, Illinois, the son of professional baseball player Nels Potter and Hazel (Park) Potter.
In 1965, he became a faculty member of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and was chair of the department from 1980 to 1985. He was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He was a member of Nebraskans Against the Death Penalty and the American Civil Liberties Union.