Alan Stout
Encyclopedia
Alan Ker Stout was a moral philosopher working at the University of Sydney
, who also wrote on cinema
. His father was G. F. Stout
, British philosopher.
in 1924 and, in June of that year, he was appointed to an assistant lectureship at the University College of North Wales in Bangor, under Professor James Gibson. In this period he published three articles on Descartes and produced plays. He married Evelyn Roberts in 1927, an undergraduate leading lady in his theatre productions.
He was appointed Lecturer in Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in 1934. His mother, Isabella Ker (born in 1855), died at St Andrews
in 1935. In June 1939, having applied for the position at the suggestion of Professor John Anderson (philosopher)
, he commenced a career in the foundation Chair of Moral and Political Philosophy at the University of Sydney
, Australia
. He taught in Sydney until his retirement in 1965. He was the president of the New South Wales Film Society, and officer of Unesco
for films.
His Sydney University appointment was meant to diminish the influence of John Anderson
, a controversial atheistic philosopher whose opinions were at odds with the university and the Christian establishment of the state of New South Wales
. Stout was supposed to teach the "sensitive" subjects, like moral and political philosophy, while Anderson taught logic and metaphysics. There was no genuine opposition between both philosophers though, because Stout ended up generally supporting Anderson's ideas. Nonetheless, he criticised Anderson's view on philosophical matters, opposing his strong determinism.
From 1950 to 1967, Alan K. Stout was the editor of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy
.
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, who also wrote on cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. His father was G. F. Stout
George Stout
George Frederick Stout was a leading English philosopher and psychologist.Born in South Shields, he studied and later taught philosophy and psychology at Cambridge University....
, British philosopher.
Biography
Stout gained his MA at OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1924 and, in June of that year, he was appointed to an assistant lectureship at the University College of North Wales in Bangor, under Professor James Gibson. In this period he published three articles on Descartes and produced plays. He married Evelyn Roberts in 1927, an undergraduate leading lady in his theatre productions.
He was appointed Lecturer in Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh in 1934. His mother, Isabella Ker (born in 1855), died at St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
in 1935. In June 1939, having applied for the position at the suggestion of Professor John Anderson (philosopher)
John Anderson (philosopher)
John Anderson was a Scottish-born Australian philosopher who occupied the post of Challis Professor of Philosophy at Sydney University in the years 1927-1958. He founded the empirical brand of philosophy known as Australian realism...
, he commenced a career in the foundation Chair of Moral and Political Philosophy at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. He taught in Sydney until his retirement in 1965. He was the president of the New South Wales Film Society, and officer of Unesco
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
for films.
His Sydney University appointment was meant to diminish the influence of John Anderson
John Anderson (philosopher)
John Anderson was a Scottish-born Australian philosopher who occupied the post of Challis Professor of Philosophy at Sydney University in the years 1927-1958. He founded the empirical brand of philosophy known as Australian realism...
, a controversial atheistic philosopher whose opinions were at odds with the university and the Christian establishment of the state of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. Stout was supposed to teach the "sensitive" subjects, like moral and political philosophy, while Anderson taught logic and metaphysics. There was no genuine opposition between both philosophers though, because Stout ended up generally supporting Anderson's ideas. Nonetheless, he criticised Anderson's view on philosophical matters, opposing his strong determinism.
From 1950 to 1967, Alan K. Stout was the editor of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy
Australasian Journal of Philosophy
The Australasian Journal of Philosophy , founded in Sydney in 1923 as The Australasian Journal of Psychology and Philosophy, is Australasia's oldest and most respected philosophy journal. Sponsored by the Australasian Association of Philosophy, it aims to publish the best work in the analytic...
.
Books
- Documentary films, Sydney, 1944
- Making films in Australia, Melbourne : Australian National Film Board, 1946.
- Abortion law reform, Sydney, 1968.
Articles
- "The Basis of Knowledge in Descartes", Mind, New Series, Vol. 38, No. 151, (Jul., 1929), pp. 330–342.
- "The Basis of Knowledge in Descartes (II), Mind, New Series, Vol. 38, No. 152, (Oct., 1929), pp. 458-472.
- "Descartes' Proof of the Existence of Matter", Mind, New Series, Vol. 41, No. 162, (Apr., 1932), pp. 191–207.
- "Symposium: Can Philosophy Determine What Is Ethically or Socially Valuable?", J. L. Stocks, A. K. Stout, W. D. Lamont, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes, Vol. 15, What can Philosophy Determine?, (1936), pp. 189–235
- "Free Will and Responsibility", Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 37 (1936–37), reprinted in Readings in Ethical Theory, selected and edited by Wilfrid SellarsWilfrid SellarsWilfrid Stalker Sellars was an American philosopher. His father was the Canadian-American philosopher Roy Wood Sellars, a leading American philosophical naturalist in the first half of the twentieth-century...
and John HospersJohn HospersJohn Hospers was an American philosopher. In 1972 he was the first presidential candidate of the Libertarian Party, and the only minor party candidate to receive an electoral vote in the 1972 U.S. Presidential election....
, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1952. - "But Suppose Everyone Did the Same", Australasian Journal of Philosophy 32, 1954, pp. 1–29.
Further reading
- D. H. Monro, "Obituary Alan Ker Stout, 1900-1983", Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 61:3 (1983), pp. 337–339.
- J. Franklin, Corrupting the Youth: A History of Philosophy in Australia, Sydney 2003, ch. 5.