Thomas Anderson Goudge (1910–1999) was a Canadian philosopher and university professor.

Career

He was born on January 19, 1910, in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, son of Thomas Norman and Effie (Anderson) Goudge. He graduated from the Halifax Academy in 1927, and studied for a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1931 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in 1932 from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

. He obtained his

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in 1937 (he was a student of

George Sidney Brett George Sidney Brett (5 August 1879 Briton Ferry, Wales – 27 October 1944 Toronto, Ontario, Canada) was a British-Canadian psychologist. Work Brett's main contribution to psychology was his three-volume ''History of Psychology'' (1912–1921), w ...

) after having briefly studied from 1936 to 1937 at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He married Helen Beryl Christilaw in Blind River,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, on June 23, 1936, and had one son, the jurist

Stephen T. Goudge Stephen T. Goudge is a justice of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, Canada. Life and career Goudge is a graduate of University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1982. Goudge was the commissioner of the Goudge Inquir ...

and five grandchildren, Jennifer, Suzanne, Daniel, Timothy and Amy. He became an interim lecturer on

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

Waterloo College Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...

in 1934 and later served as a tutor, fellow and then lecturer in philosophy at

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

from 1935 to 1938. He lectured in philosophy at Toronto after that, becoming an assistant professor in 1940, an associate professor in 1945 and a full professor in 1949. He also served on the editorial committee of the ''

University of Toronto Quarterly The ''University of Toronto Quarterly'' is an interdisciplinary academic journal of the humanities published by the University of Toronto Press. It was established in 1931 under the editorship of the philosopher George Sidney Brett. The current ...

'' from 1951 on, serving as acting editor in 1955. In 1963, he became Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Toronto. Goudge was influential in developing the

noosphere The noosphere (alternate spelling noösphere) is a philosophical concept developed and popularized by the Russian-Ukrainian Soviet biogeochemist Vladimir Vernadsky, and the French philosopher and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. Vernads ...

concept.Pitt, David; Samson, Paul R. (1999). ''The Biosphere and Noosphere Reader: Global Environment, Society and Change''. Routledge. p. 150. He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, joining the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1943 as a sub-lieutenant. He was discharged at the end of the war in 1945 with the rank of a Lieutenant-Commander. He wrote ''Bergson's Introduction to Metaphysics'' (1949), ''The Thought of C. S. Peirce'' (1950), ''The Ascent of Life'' (1961, winning the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

) and many articles on philosophy and related subjects. He was a member of the American Philosophical Association, the Mind Association and the Humanities Association of Canada; he also served as President of the Canadian Philosophy Association in 1964 and as President of the Charles S. Peirce Society from 1957 to 1959. He was noted for his passion for oil painting. He died on June 20, 1999, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Publications

*''Bergson's Introduction to Metaphysics'' (1949) *''The Thought of C. S. Peirce'' (1950)
''The Ascent of Life: A Philosophical Study of the Theory of Evolution''
(1961)

References

External links

Thomas Anderson Goudge
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

Thomas A. Goudge archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goudge, Thomas A. 1910 births 1999 deaths University of Toronto alumni Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian philosophers