James Doull

James Alexander Doull (1918–2001) was a Canadian philosopher and academic who was born and lived most of his life in Nova Scotia. His father was the politician, jurist, and historian John Doull.

Biography

From the late 1940s until the mid-1980s, he taught in the Department of Classics at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He was himself educated at Dalhousie as well as at the University of Toronto, Harvard University, and the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.

In 2003, the University of Toronto Press published a substantial volume containing a number of his works together with commentary provided by former colleagues and students. The appearance of this compilation, which also contains biographical details upon which this article is largely based, is perhaps among the reasons that Doull is now rather better known than he was at any point during his life. It contains writings on Greek poetry; the culture of ancient Rome; ancient, medieval, and modern philosophy; and twentieth-century politics; and certain key figures (such as Plato, Augustine, and Hegel) receive particular attention. In general the collection reflects Doull's deep conviction that the western philosophical tradition as a whole remains of great relevance and also his special interest in Hegel, with whose philosophical position Doull was in close agreement. Indeed, his Hegelian views (especially his judgement that Hegel had been successful in his attempt to articulate in the form of self-developing concepts the inner content of the Christian revelation) were no doubt a major reason that he was regarded as outside the philosophical mainstream.

He studied with Werner Jaeger at Harvard, and during the course of his life met a number of important figures (Gilson for example) in twentieth-century philosophy; but he did not in general show much sign of having been formed philosophically by those he met, or indeed by anyone after Hegel. The Canadian philosopher Charles Norris Cochrane, with whom he studied in Toronto, is perhaps the only notable exception to this.

He greatly admired the playing of the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, with whom he shared, in addition to an extraordinary independence of mind, a vision of Canadian spiritual life (which for Doull encompassed such spheres as politics, art, religion, and philosophy) that combined both a receptivity to the possibilities of the new world and a strong sense of continuity with the European past. Hans-Georg Gadamer expressed surprise at having encountered a person of such comprehensive erudition in North America. Emil Fackenheim called him the only Hegelian. His colleague and friend George Grant said of him: 'Of all the Canadians of my generation, he certainly has the clearest intellect of any I have known. Nothing I would ever have to say about philosophy will compare to his knowledge of it'.

Many of his published articles can be found in the journal Dionysius, of which he was one of the founding Editors and in connection with which he was (together with his fellow Editors A. H. Armstrong and R. D. Crouse) remarkably successful in recruiting as Editorial Advisors many distinguished scholars, among whom were Werner Beierwaltes, Henry Chadwick, Mary T. Clark, Emil Fackenheim, Eugene Fairweather, J. N. Findlay, Hans-Georg Gadamer, George Grant, Malcolm Ross, Wilfred Cantwell Smith, and George Williams. He also published a number of essays in the electronic journal Animus, the tenth Volume of which was devoted to essays on his life and thought.

In 1989, he was admitted honoris causa to the degree of Doctor Civilis Legis (DCL) of the University of King's College in Halifax.

His papers have been deposited in the James Alexander Doull Archive at the Grenfell Campus of the Memorial University of Newfoundland.

See also

• Hegelianism
• Canadian Idealism
• Philosophy in Canada

Further reading

• Angus, Ian (2005). "James Doull and the Philosophic Task of Our Time" (PDF). Animus. 10. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Badcock, Gary D. (2002). "Faith and Enlightenment: A Response to James Doull" (PDF). Animus. 7. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Badcock, Gary D. (2005). "James Doull on Theology and Public Life" (PDF). Animus. 10. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Bronstein, David (2005). "Hegel and the Holocaust" (PDF). Animus. 10. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Bruce-Robertson, Lawrence (2002). "A Commentary on Book Alpha Elatton of Aristotle's Metaphysics" (PDF). Animus. 7. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
• Bruce-Robertson, Lawrence (2005). "An Introduction to James Doull's Interpretation Of Aristotle" (PDF). Animus. 10. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Crooks, James (2005). "Heidegger, Self, and State: Doull, Nicholson, and the Problem of Postmodern Politics" (PDF). Animus. 10. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Diamond, Eli (2005). "James Doull on What It Means to be a Philosopher in Canada" (PDF). Animus. 10. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Doull, Floy E. (2005). "Toward an Intellectual Biography: James Doull's Work from 1980 to 2001" (PDF). Animus. 10. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Doull, James (1999). "The Argument to the Hypotheses in Parmenides" (PDF). Animus. 4. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Doull, James (1979). "Augustinian Trinitarianism and Existential Theology". Dionysius. III: 111–159.
• Doull, James (1982). "The Christian Origin of Contemporary Institutions". Dionysius. VI: 111–165.
• Doull, James (1984). "The Christian Origin of Contemporary Institutions Part II: The History of Christian Institutions". Dionysius. VIII: 53–103.
• Doull, James (1973). "Comment on Fackenheim's Hegel and Judaism". In O'Malley, Joseph J.; Algozin, K.W.; Kainz, H. P.; et al. (eds.). The Legacy of Hegel: Proceedings of the Marquette Hegel Symposium 1970. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 186–195. ISBN 90-247-1528-8.
• Doull, James (1970). "Comment on Quentin Lauer's Hegel on the Identity of Content in Religion and Philosophy". In Christensen, Darrel E. (ed.). Hegel and the Philosophy of Religion (The Wofford Symposium). The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 279–283. ISBN 90-247-5002-4.
• Doull, James (1977). "A Commentary on Plato's Theaetetus". Dionysius. I: 5–47.
• Doull, James (1984). "The Concept of Enlightenment". In Frühsorge, Gotthardt; Manger, Klaus; Strack, Friedrich (eds.). Digressionen: Wege zur Aufklärung: Festgabe für Peter Michelsen. Heidelberg: Carl Winter. pp. 25–31. ISBN 3-533-03456-9.
• Doull, James (1979). "Dante on Averroism". Actas del V Congreso Internacional de Filosofía Medieval. Vol. I. Madrid: Editora Nacional. pp. 669–676. ISBN 84-276-0508-0.
• Doull, James (1977). "Editorial Comment". Dionysius. I: 3–4.
• Doull, James (1980). "Editorial Comment". Dionysius. IV: 3–4.
• Doull, James (1986). "Faith and Enlightenment". Dionysius. X: 129–135.
• Doull, James (1985). "Findlay and Plato". In Cohen, Robert Sonné; Martin, Richard Milton; Westphal, Merold (eds.). Studies in the Philosophy of J.N. Findlay. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 250–262. ISBN 0-87395-795-4.
• Doull, James (2003). "Freedom and History: From Antiquity to Post-Modernity". In Peddle, David G.; Robertson, Neil G. (eds.). Philosophy and Freedom: The Legacy of James Doull. The University of Toronto Press. pp. 3–17. ISBN 0-8020-3698-8.
• Doull, James (1973). "Hegel and Contemporary Liberalism, Anarchism, and Socialism: A Defense of the Rechtsphilosophie against Marx and His Contemporary Followers". In O'Malley, Joseph J.; Algozin, K.W.; Kainz, H. P.; et al. (eds.). The Legacy of Hegel: Proceedings of the Marquette Hegel Symposium 1970. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 224–248. ISBN 90-247-1528-8.
• Doull, James (2000). "Hegel on the English Reform Bill" (PDF). Animus. 5. ISSN 1209-0689. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Doull, James (1985). "Hegel's Critique of Hellenic Virtue". Dionysius. IX: 3–17.
• Doull, James (2000). "Hegel's "Phenomenology" and Postmodern Thought" (PDF). Animus. 5. ISSN 1209-0689. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Doull, James (2003). "Heidegger and the State". In Peddle, David G.; Robertson, Neil G. (eds.). Philosophy and Freedom: The Legacy of James Doull. The University of Toronto Press. pp. 357–377. ISBN 0-8020-3698-8.
• Doull, James (2003). "The Hypotheses of Plato's Parmenides". In Peddle, David G.; Robertson, Neil G. (eds.). Philosophy and Freedom: The Legacy of James Doull. The University of Toronto Press. pp. 83–139. ISBN 0-8020-3698-8.
• Doull, James; Jackson, F.L. (2003). "The Idea of a Phenomenology of Spirit" (PDF). Animus. 8. ISSN 1209-0689. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Doull, James (1983). "The Logic of Theology Since Hegel". Dionysius. VII: 129–136.
• Doull, James (1983). "Naturalistic Individualism: Quebec Independence and an Independent Canada". In Combs, Eugene (ed.). Modernity and Responsibility: Essays for George Grant. Toronto: The University of Toronto Press. pp. 29–50. ISBN 0-8020-2445-9.
• Doull, James (1999). "Neoplatonism and the Origin of the Cartesian Subject" (PDF). Animus. 4. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Doull, James (1997). "Neoplatonism and the Origin of the Older Modern Philosophy". In Cleary, John J. (ed.). The Perennial Tradition of Neoplatonism. Leuven: Leuven University Press. pp. 486–516. ISBN 90-6186-847-5.
• Doull, James (1997). "The Philosophical Basis of Constitutional Discussion in Canada" (PDF). Animus. 2. ISSN 1209-0689. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Doull, James (2001). "The Problem of Participation in Plato's Parmenides". Dionysius. XIX: 9–26.
• Doull, James (1992). "The Relation of the Charter of Rights to the Canadian Constitution". The Machray Review. 2: 13–25.
• Doull, James (1961). "Review of F. Clairmonte's Economic Liberalism and Underdevelopment". The Dalhousie Review. 41 (3): 404–407.
• Doull, James (1968). "Review of Emil Fackenheim's The Religious Dimension in Hegel's Thought". Dialogue. 7 (3): 483–491. doi:10.1017/S0012217300031309. ISSN 0012-2173. S2CID 170589627.
• Doull, James (1959). "Review of G.S. Kirk and J.E. Raven's The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts". The Dalhousie Review. 39 (4): 550–551.
• Doull, James (1972). "Review of Two Translations of Hegel's Philosophy of Nature, by Michael John Petry and by Arnold V. Miller". Dialogue. 11 (3): 379–399. doi:10.1017/S001221730002686X. ISSN 0012-2173. S2CID 170732784.
• Doull, James (1975). "Review of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, with Marx's Commentary: A Handbook for Students by Howard P. Kainz". The Owl of Minerva. 7 (1): 5–7. doi:10.5840/owl19757114. ISSN 0030-7580.
• Doull, James (1966). "Review of J. Loewenberg's Hegel's Phenomenology: Dialogues on the Life of the Mind". Dialogue. 5 (1): 96–101. doi:10.1017/S001221730003626X. ISSN 0012-2173. S2CID 227325721.
• Doull, James (1959). "Review of Jacques Maritain's The Degrees of Knowledge, translated by Gerald B. Phelan". The Dalhousie Review. 39 (4): 546–547.
• Doull, James (2002). "Secularity and Religion" (PDF). Animus. 7. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Doull, James (1967). "The Theology of the Great Society" (PDF). The Canadian Journal of Theology. 13 (1): 5–18.
• Doull, James (1988). "What is Augustinian Sapientia?". Dionysius. XII: 61–67.
• Doull, James; Fackenheim, Emil (1970). "Would Hegel Today Be a Hegelian?". Dialogue. 9 (2): 222–235. doi:10.1017/S0012217300028730. ISSN 0012-2173. S2CID 170579361.
• Hankey, W.J. (2000). "James Doull, Étienne Gilson and George Grant on Modernity and Platonism". The Friend. 2 (1): 18–21. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Hankey, W.J. (2003). "Neoplatonism and Contemporary Constructions and Deconstructions of Modern Subjectivity". In Peddle, David G.; Robertson, Neil G. (eds.). Philosophy and Freedom: The Legacy of James Doull. The University of Toronto Press. pp. 250–278. ISBN 0-8020-3698-8. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• House, D.K. (1996). "Did Aristotle Understand Plato?" (PDF). Animus. 1. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Kooy, Vernon Eugene. "The Turn to Neo-Platonism in Philosophical Theology" (PDF). Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• MacIsaac, D. Gregory (2005). "Neoplatonism and the Hegelianism of James Doull" (PDF). Animus. 10. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Peddle, David G.; Robertson, Neil G. (2002). "Lamentation and Speculation: George Grant, James Doull, and the Possibility of Canada" (PDF). Animus. 7. ISSN 1209-0689. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
• Peddle, David G.; Robertson, Neil G., eds. (2003). Philosophy and Freedom: The Legacy of James Doull. The University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-3698-8.

External links

• The Department of Classics of Dalhousie University
• Animus
• Dionysius