D.Z. Phillips
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Dewi Zephaniah Phillips (24 November 1934 – 25 July 2006), known as D. Z. Phillips or simply DZ, was a Welsh philosopher. He was a leading proponent of the
Wittgensteinian Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian- British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is cons ...
philosophy of religion. He had an academic career spanning five decades, and at the time of his death he held the Danforth Chair in Philosophy of Religion at
Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate (Pomona College, Claremont McKenna Co ...
, California, and was Professor
Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
of Philosophy at Swansea University.


Biography

Dewi Zephaniah Phillips was born in
Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
,
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
, on 24 November 1934. He was the youngest son of David and Alice Phillips, and one of three brothers. (He was predeceased by the Reverend Cadfan Phillips and Keri Phillips.) He attended the Bishop Gore School, Swansea, and studied at Swansea University (1952–58) and the University of Oxford (St Catherine's Society) (1958–61). From 1959 until 1961 he was Minister of Fabian's Bay
Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
, Swansea. In 1959 he married Margaret Monica Hanford. They had three sons, Aled, Steffan and Rhys – and four grandchildren,
Ceri Ceri () is a hamlet (''frazione'') of the ''comune'' of Cerveteri, in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio (central Italy). It occupies a fortified plateau of tuff at a short distance from the city of Cerveteri. History Inhabited before the 7t ...
, Bethan, Sian and Emyr. Phillips began his academic career at
Queen's College, Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , t ...
, in 1961, before joining the University College of North Wales, Bangor, in 1963. In 1965 he returned to Swansea University, to take up a lectureship in the Department of Philosophy. Promoted to a senior lectureship in 1967, he became professor and head of department in 1971. He also served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts (1982–1985) and as a Vice-Principal (1989–1992). In 1993 he was appointed Danforth Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the
Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate (Pomona College, Claremont McKenna Co ...
in California, and thereafter divided his time between Claremont and Swansea where, in 1996, he became the Rush Rhees Professor Emeritus and Director of the Rush Rhees Archives and Peter Winch Archives based in Swansea University. He held both positions until his death in 2006. Phillips gave many endowed lectures during his tenure at California's
Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate (Pomona College, Claremont McKenna Co ...
. These included the Cardinal Mercier Lectures (Leuven),
Marett Lecture The Robert Ranulph Marett Memorial Lectureship at Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college ...
(Oxford), Riddell Lectures (Newcastle), McMartin Lectures (Carleton University, in Ottawa), Hintz Lecture (Tucson), the Aquinas Lecture (Oxford), and Vonhoff Lectures (Groningen). His teachers at Swansea – J. R. Jones, R. F. Holland,
Peter Winch Peter Guy Winch (14 January 1926 – 27 April 1997) was a British philosopher known for his contributions to the philosophy of social science, Wittgenstein scholarship, ethics, and the philosophy of religion. Winch is perhaps most famous f ...
, and, most importantly, Rush Rhees inspired an untiring devotion to philosophy. His research interests included the philosophy of religion, ethics, philosophy and literature, Simone Weil,
Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...
, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. He contributed much to Swansea University's reputation as a centre of Wittgenstein's philosophy. Indeed, Phillips's distinctive contribution to philosophy, and a handful of other philosophers associated with Swansea, is recognised among professional philosophers as "the Swansea school" of philosophy. The Swansea school of thought is, perhaps, most thoroughly articulated as a positive research program in Phillips' own book on the subject, "Philosophy's Cool Place" (1999), in which he argues for the merits of "contemplative philosophy." On this view, philosophy is an activity involving both inquiries about reality and elucidations of the various contexts in which people live and speak. In contrast to the New Wittgenstein school of thought, philosophy is not limited to purely "therapeutic" treatments and the removing of philosophical confusion. Here, Phillips is primarily indebted to the work of Rush Rhees. For Phillips, what gives philosophy its unique disciplinary feature is its primary concern with the question of the nature of reality: "How can philosophy give an account of reality which shows that it is necessary to go beyond simply noting differences between various modes of discourse, without invoking a common measure of 'the real' or assuming that all modes of discourse have a common subject, namely, Reality?"DZ Phillips, ''Philosophy's Cool Place'' (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999), 11. Outside philosophy and academia, his commitment to the language and culture of Wales was clear. He was instrumental in the founding of the Taliesin Arts Centre on the university campus in Swansea, and promoted the use of the Welsh language in local schools. He was honoured by membership of the
Gorsedd A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton. When the term is used without qualification, it usually r ...
Circle of the National Eisteddfod. Phillips died of a heart attack in Swansea University Library, on 25 July 2006. He was 71.


Published works

D. Z. Phillips was perhaps best known for his publications in the philosophy of religion, but he has also published articles in ethics, philosophy and literature, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Welsh language publications in Welsh literature. He was editor of the journal Philosophical Investigations (Blackwells) and the Swansea Series in Philosophy (Palgrave), as well as the Claremont Studies in the Philosophy of Religion and Wittgensteinian Studies series. Selected publications: *''Athronyddu Am Grefydd'' (''Philosophising About Religion'') *''Belief, Change and Forms of Life'' *''Concept of Prayer, The'' *''Death and Immortality'' *''Dramâu Gwenlyn Parry'' *''Faith after Foundationalism'' *''Faith and Philosophical Enquiry'' *''From Fantasy to Faith'' *Ffiniau (Y Lolfa) *''Interventions in Ethics'', London: Blackwell, 1992 *''Introducing Philosophy: The Challenge of Scepticism'' *''Kant and Kierkegaard on Religion'' (co-edited with Timothy Tessin) *''Moral Practices'' (with H O Mounce) *''Philosophy's Cool Place''
''Problem of Evil and the Problem of God''
(2005) *''Recovering Religious Concepts'' *''Religion and Friendly Fire'' *''Religion and Hume's Legacy'' (co-edited with Timothy Tessin) *''Religion and the Hermeneutics of Contemplation'' *''Religion without Explanation'' *''R.S. Thomas: Poet of the Hidden God'' *''Sense and Delusion'' (with Ilham Dilman) *''Through a Darkening Glass'', Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1982 *''Wittgenstein and Religion'' *''Wittgensteinian Fideism?'' (Co-written with Kai Nielsen)


References


External links


Interview conducted by Steven McMeans in Claremont California, 1995



Obituary in ''The Independent'', 9 August 2006

Obituary in ''The Times'', 18 August 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Dewi 1934 births 2006 deaths Analytic philosophers Wittgensteinian philosophers Welsh philosophers Alumni of Swansea University People from Morriston People from Swansea People educated at Bishop Gore School 20th-century British philosophers 20th-century Welsh writers 20th-century Welsh educators 21st-century British philosophers 21st-century Welsh writers 21st-century Welsh educators