Gareth Matthews
Encyclopedia
Gareth Matthews was a renowned American philosopher who specialized in ancient philosophy
, and the philosophy of children
.
. As a Boy Scout, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout
. He earned his B.A. at Franklin College (Indiana) where his father was a professor. Matthews began his graduate work at Harvard University
, where he earned an M.A. in 1952. He spent a year as a Rotary Fellow
at the Free University of Berlin
.
Matthews served as an Intelligence officer
in the United States Navy
, during the Cold War
. He was assigned to the Naval Security Group
, and the National Security Agency
. He later served in the reserves, and retired as a Lieutenant.
Matthews earned his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1961. His teaching appointments have been at the University of Virginia
(1960–61), the University of Minnesota
(1961–69), and the University of Massachusetts
(1969–2005).
Matthews first established himself with a series of important papers on Aristotle
. He also wrote a number of scholarly articles on St. Augustine
. His later works on the philosophy of children have been translated into a dozen languages, including Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian, as well as various European languages.
Matthews regularly taught undergraduate and graduate courses at UMass Amherst on ancient philosophy
, medieval philosophy
, existentialism
, applied ethics
, and various topics in metaphysics
. He has directed reading groups for graduate students on Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations
and Heidegger's Being and Time
.
Matthews was a visiting professor at Amherst College
, Brown University
, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College
, and the Harvard Summer School
. He has been a member of the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton and directed four summer seminars sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities
. He was twice awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities
Fellowship.
Matthews lectured regularly in the US and abroad and has conducted philosophy discussions with elementary-school children in Austria, Australia, China, Israel, Germany, Japan, Norway, and Scotland, as well as in various schools in the U.S.
Prior to his death, he lived for many years with his wife, Mary, in Amherst, Massachusetts
.
Matthews died of colon cancer on April 17, 2011, in Boston.
Ancient philosophy
This page lists some links to ancient philosophy. In Western philosophy, the spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire marked the ending of Hellenistic philosophy and ushered in the beginnings of Medieval philosophy, whereas in Eastern philosophy, the spread of Islam through the Arab Empire...
, and the philosophy of children
Philosophy for Children
Philosophy for Children, sometimes abbreviated to P4C, is a movement that aims to teach reasoning and argumentative skills to children. There are also related methods sometimes called "Philosophy for Young People" or "Philosophy for Kids". Often the hope is that this will be a key influence in the...
.
Biography
Gareth Matthews was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 8, 1929. He grew up near Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. As a Boy Scout, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
. He earned his B.A. at Franklin College (Indiana) where his father was a professor. Matthews began his graduate work at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he earned an M.A. in 1952. He spent a year as a Rotary Fellow
Rotary Foundation
The Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs...
at the Free University of Berlin
Free University of Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...
.
Matthews served as an Intelligence officer
Intelligence officer
An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile and/or analyze information which is of use to that organization...
in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. He was assigned to the Naval Security Group
Naval Security Group
The Naval Security Group was an organization within the United States Navy, tasked with intelligence gathering and denial of intelligence to adversaries. A large part of this is Signals Intelligence gathering, Cryptology and Information Assurance...
, and the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
. He later served in the reserves, and retired as a Lieutenant.
Matthews earned his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1961. His teaching appointments have been at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
(1960–61), the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
(1961–69), and the University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
(1969–2005).
Matthews first established himself with a series of important papers on Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
. He also wrote a number of scholarly articles on St. Augustine
St. Augustine
-People:* Augustine of Hippo or Augustine of Hippo , father of the Latin church* Augustine of Canterbury , first Archbishop of Canterbury* Augustine Webster, an English Catholic martyr.-Places:*St. Augustine, Florida, United States...
. His later works on the philosophy of children have been translated into a dozen languages, including Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian, as well as various European languages.
Matthews regularly taught undergraduate and graduate courses at UMass Amherst on ancient philosophy
Ancient philosophy
This page lists some links to ancient philosophy. In Western philosophy, the spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire marked the ending of Hellenistic philosophy and ushered in the beginnings of Medieval philosophy, whereas in Eastern philosophy, the spread of Islam through the Arab Empire...
, medieval philosophy
Medieval philosophy
Medieval philosophy is the philosophy in the era now known as medieval or the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century AD to the Renaissance in the sixteenth century...
, existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
, applied ethics
Applied ethics
Applied ethics is, in the words of Brenda Almond, co-founder of the Society for Applied Philosophy, "the philosophical examination, from a moral standpoint, of particular issues in private and public life that are matters of moral judgment"...
, and various topics in metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
. He has directed reading groups for graduate students on Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations
Philosophical Investigations
Philosophical Investigations is, along with the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, one of the most influential works by the 20th-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein...
and Heidegger's Being and Time
Being and Time
Being and Time is a book by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger. Although written quickly, and despite the fact that Heidegger never completed the project outlined in the introduction, it remains his most important work and has profoundly influenced 20th-century philosophy, particularly...
.
Matthews was a visiting professor at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, and the Harvard Summer School
Harvard Summer School
The Harvard Summer School is the summer session school of Harvard University.-Origins:Harvard Summer School was founded in 1871. It is the first academic summer session established and the oldest summer school present in the United States...
. He has been a member of the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
in Princeton and directed four summer seminars sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
. He was twice awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
Fellowship.
Matthews lectured regularly in the US and abroad and has conducted philosophy discussions with elementary-school children in Austria, Australia, China, Israel, Germany, Japan, Norway, and Scotland, as well as in various schools in the U.S.
Prior to his death, he lived for many years with his wife, Mary, in Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...
.
Matthews died of colon cancer on April 17, 2011, in Boston.
External links
- Gareth B. Matthews at University of Massachusetts Amherst
- Interview with Gareth Matthews, Children and Youth Philosophers, Norway