A philosophy lecturer in Hawaii has resigned after getting into a disagreement with university administrators over his use of profanity in the classroom.

Daniel Petersen, who taught at both Hawaii Community College and the University of Hawaii at Hilo, said he has never sworn directly at his students but would use profanity to add emphasis to his lectures.

"The first thing I say is '[expletive] happens,' in the context of free will and determinism," he told Hawaii's Tribune-Herald this week.

A student at Hawaii Community College had complained about Peterson's choice of language to her father, who then brought it up with the school. The professor posted a copy of the father's complaint onto his university website and encouraged his students to discuss the issue, which further escalated the situation.

The college informed Peterson, 61, last week that he would not be needed for classes next semester. Peterson immediately tendered his resignation and says he intends to sue the university for infringing on his free speech rights.

When contacted by the Tribute-Herald, the school's vice-chancellor for academic affairs said he couldn't discuss the issue or comment on personnel action.

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