John Micallef (1923–2003) was a Maltese philosopher. Although his thoughts remained philosophically grounded in the Christian tradition, he was primarily interested in

Existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...

Life

Micallef was born in

Victoria, Gozo Victoria ( mt, Il-Belt Victoria, meaning "the city Victoria"), also known among the native Maltese as Rabat (which is the name of the old town centre) or by its title Città Victoria, is an administrative unit of Malta, the largest and most p ...

, one of Malta's subsidiary islands, in 1923. After completing his studies at the Lyceum in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, he continued studying at the Gregorian University of

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. From Gregorian, he acquired a Masters in Philosophy. He also studied philosophy at Heythop College in

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, England. From the

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he acquired a

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, and another Master’s degree in

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. He completed "3rd cycle" studies at

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Lux ...

in Quebec City, receiving a Doctorate in Philosophy. From the University of Western Colorado in the

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he acquired, in 1973, a second

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in Arts. In 1980, he also acquired a Masters in Christian Studies from

Regent College Regent College is an interdenominational evangelical Christian College of Christian studies, and an affiliated college of the University of British Columbia, located next to the university's campus in the University Endowment Lands west of V ...

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, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to his prior studies, he pursued further coursework at the University of

Oña Oña is a municipality and town located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2011 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 1,219 inhabitants. Main sights * Benedictine monastery of San Salvador de O� ...

, in Spain, and at the University of Innsbruck, in Austria. During the fifties, Dr.John Micallef was a teacher of languages. He was elected and he served for some time as Member of the Malta Legislative Assembly before he emigrated from Malta to Canada in 1964. He eventually settled in Nelson, British Columbia, and then in

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, United States. In

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, he was Associate Professor of Philosophy at Notre Dame University of Nelson. He was also Associate Professor of Philosophy at the

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, and at Mount Angel College, both in

. Micallef died in 2003 in Vancouver, BC Canada.

Work

''Philosophy of Existence'',''Ibid.'', Vol. I, p. 155 was published in 1969 (Philosophical Library, New York, U.S.A.). As its title indicates, in this 225-page composition, Micallef reveals his thorough

Existentialist Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and value ...

perspective. The book is basically divided into four parts, each one sub-divided into chapters. The composition is a highly elaborate philosophical exercise into the nature of existence. Successively, Micallef deals with the affirmation of existence, the process of existence, the properties of existence, and the dialectics of existence. Unfortunately, since the book was issued abroad, it has been seldom read in Malta. Consequently, its influence on the Maltese philosophical tradition has been relatively slight. Additional publications by John Micallef are: "No Destination- A Travellers Way" - a collection of poems and "Joy is my Gift" a collection of poems. Dr. Micallef was a prolific writer who produced numerous finished manuscripts and plays most of which remain unpublished to date.

References

Sources

* Mark Montebello, ''Il-Ktieb tal-Filosofija f’Malta'' (''A Source Book of Philosophy in Malta''), PIN Publications, Malta, 2001. * Mark Montebello, ''Malta’s Philosophy & Philosophers'', PIN Publications, Malta, 2011.

Life

Work

References

Sources

See also