1981 in philosophy

January 5
- Lanza del Vasto, Italian-born philosopher, poet and activist (b. 1901)^[1]
- Frederick Osborn (born 1889)
February 1 - Morris Weitz (born 1916)
February 20 - Ioannis Theodorakopoulos (born 1900)
February 26 - Wilmon Henry Sheldon (born 1875)^[2]
March 8 - Joseph Henry Woodger (born 1894)
March 28 - Tadeusz Czeżowski (born 1889)
June 16 - Julius Ebbinghaus (born 1885)
July 27 - Paul Brunton (born 1898)
August 5 - Jerzy Neyman (born 1894)
September 2 - Knud Ejler Løgstrup (born 1905)
September 8 - Nisargadatta Maharaj (born 1897)
September 9 - Jacques Lacan (born 1901)
September 23 - Notonagoro (born 1905)
September 24 - Brahmarishi Hussain Sha (born 1905)
September 29 - Ksenija Atanasijević
October 3 - Tadeusz Kotarbiński (born 1886)^[3]
October 7 - Huberto Rohden (born 1893)
November 7 - Will Durant (born 1885)^[4]
November 15 - Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei (born 1903)
December 2 - Alexis Kagame (born 1912)
December 12 - J. L. Mackie (born 1917)
Acharya Rameshwar Jha

Events