Canadian Common Sense Philosophy / Psychology

 The Scottish common sense tradition

Large scale Scottish emigration (1750-1850) to Canada

 Thomas Reid (1710-1796): Scottish "Common Sense" philosophy

Rejected the representational "copy theory of knowledge"

Rejected Hume's skepticism

• Perception is acquired from immediate experience
   in the form of direct perception of the external object
• Common sense can argue against objections and theories
   that challenge its reliance upon the "Judgment of the Crowd "
• Common sense provides a "self evident moral premise" 
  where there is more obvious falsity in its denial
• Reason directs belief and conduct

The Establishment of Universities in Canada (1790-1915)

Philosophy, religion, and morals are important to education

1790 - Kings' College at Windsor Nova Scotia: Image of Edinburgh  

1802 - Linked with the Church of England

1818 - Moved to Halifax 

1838 - Thomas McCulloch First psychology course

Rev. William Lyall (1811-1890) Common sense and Augustinian Theology

1885 - The intellect, the emotions, and the Moral Nature

• Commitment to intelligible material world 
• non-rational, intuitive and infallible connection of the mind to material order 
• Feelings and emotions provide primary response, not thinking 
• Love gives rise to morality

1886 - Chair of Psychology and Metaphysics

 1923 - Established a Chair of Psychology (non-sectarian)

1821 - McGill University at Montreal: George IV Royal Charter

Medical school until 1843 when Arts courses started

~1850 - W. T. Leach (Edinburgh) taught psychology

John Clark Murray (1836-1917) 

1862-Queens - Mental and Moral Philosophy

1872-McGill Reformer, Champion of rights of workers and women

1885 - Handbook of Psychology

• Realist: Sensation depends on the action of the bodily organism 
• Instrumentalism & physicalism not reduced to brain 
• Perception involves association and comparison 
• "Objectification" of self and not-self internally in subjective experience 
• Dialectics of subject, object and community

1903 - William Caldwell: Chair in Mental Philosophy

1909 - William Dunlop Tait: 
Established a psychological laboratory in 1910

1922 - Established a department of Psychology

1827 - King's College at Toronto: George IV Royal Charter (Anglican) 

University of Toronto: Secularized in 1850

Rev. James Beaven (Oxford): 1843 - Professor of theology  

Rev. George Paxton Young (1818-1889)

1853-Theological Chair at Knox College
1868-Chair of Philosophy
1871-Logic, metaphysics & ethics

Common Sense realism along with Kantianism

• Knowledge of world through unequivocal direct realism, not reasoning 
• Opposed utilitarianism because it could not account for "the practice of benevolence" 
• Against logic: Real facts are not proved but are immediately known 
• Knowing requires a feeling  
• Internal conception of Self and not-self are indivisible

1889 - Philosophy Department 
The Academy in Crisis: J.G. Hume & J.M. Baldwin

Psychology, Logic and Metaphysics
The history of philosophy and ethics

1891 - James Mark Baldwin (Princeton & Leipzig) (not Titchener)

Established Canada's first Psychological Laboratory
Handbook of Psychology: Bio-evolution and physiological psychology
1898 - APA president and a Charter Member

1893 - August Kirschmann: "Titchener's Society"

Canadian students: E.A. Bott & R.B. Liddy

1841 - Queens College at Kingston: Victoria's Royal Charter (Presbyterian)

1847 - Teaching psychology as Mental and Moral Philosophy

 John Watson: (1847-1939) 

1872-1924: Chair of Mental and Moral Philosophy

1872 The relation of Philosophy to science

• Rejected the nihilism of empiricism (Locke, Hume, ...) 
• Hedonistic morality is the destruction of all morality 
• Need to conform to reason to maintain
  "true motive to good action" 
• Social Impulse involves the idea of
  community of self-conscious beings

1849 - College of Bytown: Bilingual men's college (RC) 

1861 - College of Ottawa
1866 - University of Ottawa

1852 - Laval University at Quebec city

1863 - Huron College at London Ontario: Church of England

1881 - Arts, medicine & theology courses

1898 - Began teaching psychology

Later used Angell's functionalist book

1923 - University of Western Ontario (founded in 1878)

July 1, 1867 - Confederation of the Dominion of Canada 

1877 - University of Manitoba established from colleges

1855 - St Boniface Roman Catholic college
1866 - St John Anglican college of Arts and theology
1870 - Manitoba College at Kildonan then Winnipeg (1874)

1878 - Laval University at Montreal: Roman Catholic 

1919 - University of Montreal: R.C. challenge to Laval

 1887 - McMaster University at Toronto: Moved to Hamilton 1930

1888 - Department of Philosophy
1940 - Courses in psychology
1947 - Department of psychology

1908 - University of Alberta: Non-denominational

1909 - University of Saskatchewan: Non-denominational 

1915 - University of British Columbia: Non-denominational

Armour and Trott (1981): The faces of Reason

Reason was a way to make sense and to bring about a unity

Mathews (1988): The dialectics of Canadian identity

Dialectics of English vs. French (1534-Jacques Cartier),
Protestantism and Catholicism,
individualism and communitarianism,
Conservative vs. Liberal 

 Government as humanitarian leader: National railway,
broadcasting, airlines, medicare, EIC, education