Canadian philosopher

The study and teaching of philosophy in Canada date from the time of New France. There has since developed no particular "Canadian" school of philosophy. Rather, Canadian philosophers have reflected particular views of established European and later American schools of philosophical thought, be it Thomism, Objective Idealism, or Scottish Common Sense Realism. Since the mid-twentieth century the depth and scope of philosophical activity in Canada has increased dramatically. This article focuses on the evolution of epistemology, logic, the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, ethics and metaethics, and continental philosophy in Canada.

The Roman Catholic Church, one of the founding institutions of New France, had a profound influence on philosophy in Canada. As early as 1665, philosophy, viewed as the handmaiden of theology, was taught in Quebec at the Jesuit College there and included studies in physics, metaphysics and ethics as well as the works of St. Thomas Aquinas (1224–1274).

The Enlightenment, and the arrival of the British after 1759, introduced new ideas into New France, including Cartesian doubt, the atheism of the Enlightenment, and the sovereignty of the polity. A reaction to these ideas ensued, inspired by the French philosopher, Felicite de Lamennais (1782–1854) and was reflected in the works of the colonial philosopher Abbé Jérôme Demers. This reaction initially took the form of an objection to, and refutation of these "unsettling" ideas, adopted by other thinkers, such as Pierre du Calvet.

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