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This is a draft of a Wikipedia article on the late Professor Leslie Dewart, philosopher. See below Dewart's CV :

When he was a practising Catholic teaching in a Catholic institution, St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto, Leslie Dewart was energized by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and its call for theological renewal in the Catholic Church. In 1964 he contributed a long article to a book edited by Archbishop Thomas D. Roberts, Contraception and Holiness: The Catholic Predicament. In it he placed Pope Pius XI’s condemnation of contraception in its historical (‘pre-Freudian’) context and argued that the understanding of marriage on which it was based can and must be changed in the light of new scientific and especially social developments, such as recognition of the equality of women.

The following year Dewart contributed a short article entitled ‘Sexual Relations in Christian Marriage’ to a volume edited by Paul Harris of the Catholic Information Centre in Toronto: Brief to the Bishops, Canadian Catholic Laymen Speak Their Minds. Like most of the other contributors he was cautiously optimistic that the Council would stimulate changes in official church teaching and practice on such issues as birth control, ecumenism, political freedom, Catholic education, and especially the role of women and laypeople in general.

In 1966 Dewart published his first philosophical book, The Future of Belief: Theism in a World Come of Age. It received international attention and before long was translated into French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch. In 1967 there appeared The Future of Belief Debate, edited by Gregory Baum, a collection of commentaries by 15 well-known theologians, with a response by Dewart.

During the 1966-67 academic year, while still a member of the Philosophy Department, Dewart offered a special lecture series in the St. Michael’s Faculty of Theology entitled, ‘Philosophical Problems of Contemporary Christian Theology’. Also in 1967, he contributed to a volume edited by his colleague in the St. Michael’s Philosophy Department, William Dunphy, entitled, The New Morality: Continuity and Discontinuity (somewhat of a misnomer, since the contributors focussed almost exclusively on traditional morality). In it he examined the development of Christian morality during the first few centuries A.D. and concluded that the legal concept of morality that emerged, obedience to divine law, is not essential to Christianity and indeed must be rejected in favour of an alternative yet to be developed.

In 1968 Dewart transferred from the Philosophy Department to the Department of Religious Studies and the Faculty of Theology. His first graduate course in the Faculty was titled, ‘Metaphysics and the Problem of God’; it dealt with the impact of the critique of knowledge on the metaphysical concept of God, the post-critical position of the problem of God, and the possibility of developing a meta-metaphysical concept of God on an empirical basis. His lectures in this course were the basis of his 1969 book, The Foundations of Belief, an extensive elaboration of The Future of Belief.

The Foundations of Belief failed to match the popularity of its predecessor, mainly because of its difficulty, so in 1970 Dewart published Religion, Language and Truth, a shorter semi-popular version of his previous two books .

Dewart continued to offer graduate courses at U of T in the faculties of Philosophy, and Religious Studies and at the Toronto School of Theology until <????>. In 1989 he released his last published work titled Evolution and Consciousness: The Role of Speech in the Origin and Development of Human Nature. Evolution and Consciousness is a logical continuation of his investigation into language, though Dewart places emphasis less on the nature and role of language than on speech as central in the ab-original development and subsequent evolution of human nature.

Evolution and Consciousness is certainly a post-religious work. Following the (essentially Sartrian) notion of consciousness as self-present experience, Dewart argues that human nature is not a biological/physiological certitude. It derives from the ability of humans to learn to speak their language. Conscious experience is generated culturally and historically. The evolution of conscious (human) from non-conscious (non-human) experience is achieved as proto-human experiencers became aware of their own causality in communicative processes. There is more than one way for humans to speak, and each generates a variant form of consciousness.

Following his final publication was the creation of his last unpublished work titled The Failure of Philosophy, 

JRW


Baum, Gregory, ed. (1967): The Future of Belief Debate, New York: Herder and Herder Dewart, Leslie (1964): Casti Connubii and the Development of Dogma. In Roberts, Thomas D., ed.: Contraception and Holiness: The Catholic Predicament, New York: Herder and Herder, 202-310 Dewart, Leslie (1965): Sexual Relations in Christian Marriage. In Harris, Paul, ed.: Brief to the Bishops, Canadian Catholic Laymen Speak Their Minds, Toronto: Longmans, 223-227 Dewart, Leslie (1966): The Future of Belief: Theism in a World Come of Age, New York: Herder and Herder Dewart, Leslie (1967): Some Early Historical Development of New Testament Morality. In Dunphy, William, ed.: The New Morality: Continuity and Discontinuity, New York: Herder and Herder, 83-106 Dewart, Leslie (1969): The Foundations of Belief, New York: Herder and Herder Dewart, Leslie (1970): Religion, Language and Truth, New York: Herder and Herder

Curriculum Vitae
I. Biographical

1922 - b. Madrid, Spain

1942-47 - Royal Canadian Air Force. Pilot, bomber-reconnaissance operations

1951 - B.A. (Honour Psychology), University of Toronto

1952-54 - Teaching Fellow, Dept. of Philosophy, St. Michael’s College, U. of T.

1952 - M.A. (Philosophy), University of Toronto

1954 - Ph.D. (Philosophy), University of Toronto

1954-56 - Instructor, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Detroit

1956-61 - Assistant Professor, Dept. of Philosophy, St. Michael’s College, U. of T.

1961-68 - Associate Professor, ibid.

1961-68 - Associate Professor, Dept. of Philosophy, School of Graduate Studies, U. of T.

1964-70 - Associate editor, Continuum

1967-74 - Associate editor, Internationale Dialog Zeitschrift

1968- - Member, Societé Europeénne de Culture

1968-75 - Professor, Dept. of Religious Studies, St. Michael’s College, U. of T.

1968-88 - Professor, Faculty of Theology, St. Michael’s College

1968-70 - Associate Editor, Concurrence

1969-79 - Professor, Institute of Christian Thought, St. Michael’s College

1970-80 - Member, Editorial Board, Studies in Religion—Sciences réligieuses

1970-71 - Chair, Combined Departments of Religious Studies, U. of T.

1974-78 - Member, Advisory Board, Journal of Ultimate Reality and Meaning

1975-88 - Professor, Dept. of Religious Studies, U. of T.

1976-88 - Professor, Centre for Religious Studies, School of Graduate Studies, U. of T.

1979 - Ll.B., Faculty of Law, U. of T.

1981 - Barrister-at-Law, Osgoode Hall, Toronto

1981- - Member, Bar of the Province of Ontario

1982-83 - Member, Advisory Committee on the Future of Education, Ministry of Education of Ontario

1988- - Professor Emeritus, St. Michael’s College, U. of T.

1988- - Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto

1995-2005 - Senior Research Associate, Faculty of Divinity, Trinity College

II. Books

1. Christianity and Revolution, (New York: Herder & Herder, 1963), pp. 320 (Translations: Spanish, Catalán)

2. The Future of Belief, (New York: Herder & Herder, 1963), pp. 223. (Translations: Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese)

3. The Foundations of Belief, (New York: Herder & Herder, 1966), pp. 526. (Translation: German)

4. Religion, Language and Truth, (New York: Herder & Herder, 1969), pp. 174

5. Evolution and Consciousness: The Role of Speech in the Origin and Development of Human Nature, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1989), pp. 399.

III. Contributions to books

1. “Some early historical developments of the New Testament morality,” in William Dunphy, ed., The New Morality, (New York: Herder & Herder, 1967), 83-106.

2. “Education and political values,” in Abraham Rotstein, ed., The Prospect of Change, (Toronto: McGraw-Hill, 1965), 286-307.

3. “Foreword” to Gabriel Marcel, Problematic Man, (New York: Herder & Herder, 1967), 7-12.

4. “Neo-Thomism and the continuity of philosophical experience,” in Gregory Baum, ed., The Future of Belief Debate, (New York: Herder & Herder, 1967), 211-229

5. “God and the supernatural,” in Martin Marty and Dean Peerman, eds., The New Theology, (New York: Macmillan, 1968), 142-155.

6. “Metaphysics and the concept of God,” in Christopher Mooney, ed., The Presence and Absence of God, (New York: Fordham University Press, 1969), 87-108.

7. “The fear of death and its basis in the nature of consciousness,” in Florence M. Hetzler and Austin H. Kutscher, eds., Philosophical Aspects of Thanatology, vol. 1, (New York: Arno Press, 1978), pp. 53-63.

8. “Properties of speech and ideas of reality,” in Bruce Alton, ed., Religions and Languages, (New York: Peter Lang, 1991), 67-83.

IV. Articles

1. “Existentialism and the degrees of knowledge,” The Thomist, XIX (1956), 2, 193-218.

2. “American leadership and the future of the West,” Liberation, VII (1962), 5, 23-28.

3. “War and the Christian tradition,” Commonweal, LXXVII (1962), 6, 145-148.

4. “The prospects of peace,” Liberation, VII (1962), 10, 5-10.

5. “Modern war and Catholic morality,” Current, III (1962), 3, 182-193.

6. “Christianity’s vocation in the nuclear age,” Blackfriars, XLIV (1963), 512, 57-62.

7. “Christians and Marxists in dialogue: possibilities, prospects, and perils,” Continuum, I, 2 (Summer, 1963), 139-153.

8. “Is this a post-Christian age?” Continuum, I, 4 (Winter, 1964), 556-567.

9. “Academic freedom and Catholic dissent,” Commonweal, LXXX (1964), 2, 33-36.

10. “A comparison of the concepts of ‘peaceful coexistence’ in John XXIII’s Pacem in Terris and in Soviet-American diplomacy,” Co-existence, I (1964), 1, 21-38.

11. “Pacem in Terris and Soviet-American relations: a comparative analysis of the basis of international peace,” Cross Currents, XIV (1964), 3, 287-312.

12. “Neo-traditionalists and pseudo-progressives: a note on recent conflicts within the Catholic Church,” Continuum, III, 1 (Spring, 1965), 121-123.

13. “Les bases morales the la paix,” (1re partie), Comprendre, XXVIII (1965), 137-154.

14. “The school of conformity: a phenomenological critique,” Continuum, IV, 2 (Summer, 1966), 171-177.

15. “Catholic philosophy and the socialization of the intellect,” Ecumenist, V (1967), 4, 52-55.

16. “Les bases morales de la paix” (conclusion), Comprendre, XXIX (1966), 85-102.

17. “Wahrheit, Irrtum, und Dialog,” Internationale Dialog Zeitschrift, I, 4 (1968), 330-345.

18. “Towards a new form of faith,” Ferment, II (1968), 2, 10-12.

19. “On transcendental Thomism,” Continuum, VI, 3 (Autumn, 1968), 389-401.

20. “The meaning of religious belief,” Commonweal, XC (1969), 1, 15-17.

21. “The nature of truth in relation to language,” Continuum, VII, 2 (Summer, 1969), 332-340.

22. “The fact of death,” Commonweal, XCI (1969), 7, 206-208.

23. “A response to J. Donceel,” Continuum, VII, 3 (Autumn, 1969), 453-462.

24. “Hope and immortality,” Agora, XII (1970), 12-16.25. “Unité et verité,” Lumière et Vie, XX, 103 (Juin, 1970), 70-89.

26. “Sprache und Wahrheit,” Theologie der Gegenwart, XIV (1971), 4, 198-202.

27. “Christianity and the philosophy of language,” Drijarkara (Indonesia), I (1972) 4, 96-102.

28. “Der Zustand der römisch-katholischen Kirche,” Wort und Wahrheit, XXVII (1972), 2, 116-119.

29. “Language and religion,” Philosophic Exchange, I (1972) 3, 35-44.

30. “The relevance of Thomism today,” Proc. Am. Cath. Phil. Assn., XLVIII (1974), 308-317.

31. “The grounds for observing the law: a critical analysis of H.L.A. Hart’s foundations of a theory of law,” Queen’s Law J., V (1979), 1, 116-152.

Obituary
This text is based on his obituary (not intending to keep this verbatim, but as a biographical outline):

SATURDAY JANUARY 2, 2010 PH. D. LLB PROFESSOR EMERITUS UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PROFESSOR LESLIE DEWART His plan completed, Leslie Sutherland Dewart died in Toronto on December 20, 2009, eight days after his 87th birthday. It was marked by a hard won, determined peace that finally vanquished the devastating effects of a series of strokes. Leslie is survived by his cherished wife and soul-mate, Doreen Dewart (Brennan) and his four children from his 1st marriage to the late Joanne McWilliam: Leslie (Philip), Elizabeth (George), Sean (Lori) and Gonzalo (Ivette). He was the proud 'Grandfuff' to Gabe, Genn, James and Christopher; Alison, Karen and Geoffrey; Nora and George; Anne Marie, Joanna and Marc Francis. Leslie was born Gonzalo Gonzales Duarte on December 12th, 1922 in Madrid, Spain of a Spanish father, the late Gerardo Gonzales, and a Cuban mother, the late Adamina Duarte. His father died suddenly a few weeks before Leslie was born and his mother returned to Cuba a few years later; hence, Leslie spent his formative years there. In 1942, the 19 year old Leslie came to Canada to join the R.C.A.F., trained as a pilot and served on bomber-reconnaissance operations on the Atlantic coast. He also became a Canadian citizen after serving in the R.C.A.F. from 1942-47. As if to signal a new stage in life, he changed his name, began studies at the University of Toronto and returned to Cuba only to visit family. After earning his Ph.D. in Philosophy, he taught philosophy at the University of Detroit for 2 years, then returned to University of Toronto where he spent more that 30 years teaching at St. Michael's College and the University of Toronto. His life was filled with teaching, writing, contributing to publications both here and in Europe, publishing five books and contributing to others. As well he wrote many articles for publication in scholarly magazines both here and abroad. It was a life dedicated to academic thinking that was both creative and original, to patient polishing of written articles and books, and to taking on his share of administrative tasks. His love of philosophy remained undiminished: as late as mid-August he was completing his final book.