Burton Porter received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and his Ph.D. from St. Andrews university, Scotland, with graduate study at Oxford University. He has taught at various institutions including Russell Sage College and Drexel University, and he has held positions as Department Chair and Dean of Arts and Sciences. At present he is Professor of Philosophy at Western New England University, having taught previously as Visiting Professor at Mount Holyoke College. He received the award of Outstanding Educator of America.

In addition to The Good Life, Burton Porter is the author of several other academic works, as well as novels, plays, and children's poetry. His books include The Great Perhaps, What the Tortoise Taught Us, Philosophy through Film, The Head and the Heart, The Voice of Reason, Philosophy through Fiction and Film, Religion and Reason, Personal Philosophy, Reasons for Living, Philosophy: A Literary and Conceptual Approach, and Deity and Morality.