Johan Frederik (Frits) Staal (November 3, 1930 – February 19, 2012) was Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and South & Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Staal specialized in the study of Vedic ritual and mantras, and the scientific exploration of ritual and mysticism. He was also a scholar of Greek and Indian logic and philosophy and Sanskrit grammar.
Staal was born in Amsterdam, the son of the architect Jan Frederik Staal, and studied mathematics, physics and philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. He continued with Indian philosophy and Sanskrit at Madras and Banaras. Staal was Professor of General and Comparative Philosophy in Amsterdam, 1962–67. He became Professor of Philosophy and South Asian Languages at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1968, and he retired in 1991.
