Curt John Ducasse (; 7 July 1881 – 3 September 1969) was a French-born American philosopher who taught at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

and Brown University.Chisholm, R. M. (1970). ''C. J. Ducasse (1881-1969)''. ''

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research ''Philosophy and Phenomenological Research'' (''PPR'') is a bimonthly philosophy journal founded in 1940. Until 1980, it was edited by Marvin Farber, then by Roderick Chisholm and since 1986 by Ernest Sosa. It considers itself open to a variety o ...

'' 30: 631–633.

Career

Ducasse was born in

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a commune, the prefecture of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins'' o ...

, France. He obtained

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

and A.M. degrees in philosophy from

. In 1912, he obtained his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He is most notable for his work in

philosophy of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology and nature of the mind and its relationship with the body. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are ad ...

and

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, Epistemology, knowledge, Ethics, values, Philosophy of ...

. His influence can be seen in the work of

Roderick Chisholm Roderick Milton Chisholm (; November 27, 1916 – January 19, 1999) was an American philosopher known for his work on epistemology, metaphysics, free will, value theory, and the philosophy of perception. The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosoph ...

and

Wilfrid Sellars Wilfrid Stalker Sellars (May 20, 1912 – July 2, 1989) was an American philosopher and prominent developer of critical realism, who "revolutionized both the content and the method of philosophy in the United States". Life and career His father ...

. Ducasse served as the president of the Eastern division of the

American Philosophical Association The American Philosophical Association (APA) is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly ...

(1939–40) and president of the

Philosophy of Science Association The Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) is an international academic organization founded in 1933 that promotes research, teaching, and free discussion of issues in the philosophy of science from diverse standpoints. The PSA engages in activit ...

(1958–61). Ducasse was influenced by

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the la ...

and

Josiah Royce Josiah Royce (; November 20, 1855 – September 14, 1916) was an American objective idealist philosopher and the founder of American idealism. His philosophical ideas included his version of personalism, defense of absolutism, idealism and his ...

Parapsychology

Ducasse wrote on

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near- ...

. He joined the

American Society for Psychical Research The American Society for Psychical Research (ASPR) is the oldest psychical research organization in the United States dedicated to parapsychology. It maintains offices and a library, in New York City, which are open to both members and the gener ...

in 1951 and served a term as vice president beginning in 1966. His book ''A Critical Examination of the Belief in a Life After Death'' is a philosophical attempt to examine the idea of

life after death The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

. In it he expressed his belief in survival. The book was praised by parapsychologists. Criticism came from philosopher

Corliss Lamont Corliss Lamont (March 28, 1902 – April 26, 1995) was an American socialist and humanist philosopher and advocate of various left-wing and civil liberties causes. As a part of his political activities, he was the Chairman of National Counc ...

who asserted that some of the content was based on

wishful thinking Wishful thinking is the formation of beliefs based on what might be pleasing to imagine, rather than on evidence, rationality, or reality. It is a product of resolving conflicts between belief and desire. Methodologies to examine wishful think ...

. Ducasse was a believer in

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

. Science writer

Martin Gardner Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914May 22, 2010) was an American popular mathematics and popular science writer with interests also encompassing scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literatureespecially the writings of L ...

observed that Ducasse was notable for "combining nonbelief in God with a belief in the preexistence and the afterlife of human souls."Gardner, Martin. (2009). ''When You Were a Tadpole and I Was a Fish: And Other Speculations About This and That''. Hill & Wang. p. 193.

Publications

* Ducasse, ''Causation and the Types of Necessity'', (1924) * Ducasse, ''The Philosophy of Art'', (1929) * Ducasse,
Philosophy as a Science
', (1941) * Ducasse, ''Art, the Critics, and You'', (1944) * Ducasse, ''Is a Life After Death Possible?'', (1948) * Ducasse, ''Nature, Mind, and Death'', (1951) * Ducasse, ''A Philosophical Scrutiny of Religion'', (1953) * Ducasse, ''A Critical Examination of the Belief in a Life after Death'', (1961) * Ducasse, ''Truth, Knowledge, and Causation'', (1968)

References

External links

*
Biography from Brown.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducasse, Curt John 1881 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American philosophers 21st-century French essayists 21st-century French male writers Action theorists American logicians American male essayists American male non-fiction writers French emigrants to the United States American spiritual writers Analytic philosophers Brown University faculty American consciousness researchers and theorists Epistemologists Harvard University alumni Metaphysicians Metaphysics writers Near-death experience researchers Ontologists Parapsychologists Phenomenologists Philosophers of art Philosophers of identity Philosophers of logic Philosophers of mind Philosophers of religion Philosophers of science Philosophy academics Philosophy writers Presidents of the American Philosophical Association Reincarnation researchers University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni Writers about religion and science Writers from Angoulême

Career

Parapsychology

Publications

References

Further reading

External links