Gaskin, J(ohn) C(harles) A(ddison) 1936-

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GASKIN, J(ohn) C(harles) A(ddison) 1936-

PERSONAL:

Born April 4, 1936, in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England; son of Harry James (an engineer) and Evelyn Mary (an accountant; maiden name, Addison) Gaskin; married Diana Dobbin, May 20, 1972; children: Rupert John Addison, Suzette Jane Addison. Education: St. Peter's College, Oxford, M.A., 1963, B.Litt., 1965; Trinity College, Dublin, M.A., 1967, D. Litt., 1997. Politics: "Conservative." Religion: "Stoicism."

ADDRESSES:

Home—Crook Crossing, Morpeth, Northumberland, England. Office—Department of Philosophy, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Hatfield College, Durham DH1 3RQ, England.

CAREER:

Royal Bank of Scotland, Edinburgh, accountant, 1960-62; Trinity College, Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, lecturer, 1965-78, fellow, 1978—, professor of philosophy, 1982-94, professor of naturalistic philosophy, 1994-98, head of department of philosophy, 1995-98; Hatfield College, Durham, Durham, England, tutor, 1997—.

MEMBER:

Kildare Street Club (Dublin).

WRITINGS:

David Hume, Philosophy of Religion, Macmillan (London, England), 1978, revised edition, 1988.

The Quest for Eternity: An Outline of the Philosophy of Religion, Penguin (London, England), 1984.

Varieties of Unbelief from Epicurus to Sartre, Macmillan (London, England), 1989.

(Editor) David Hume, Dialogues concerning Natural Religion, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1993.

(Editor) Thomas Hobbes, The Elements of Law, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1994.

(Editor) The Epicurean Philosophers, Dent (London, England), 1995.

(Editor) Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1996.

The Dark Companion: Ghost Stories and Tales of Twilight, Lilliput (Dublin, Ireland), 2001.

Contributor of stories to magazines and the BBC; contributor of articles and reviews to philosophy journals.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Tales of Twilight and Borderlands: The Collected Ghost Stories of an Uncommon Philosopher and a sequel, The Long Retreating Day; the novel The Pit; The Quest for Reality: Essays on Religion and Atheism.

SIDELIGHTS:

J. C. A. Gaskin told CA: "At the age of sixteen, I read 'On the Nature of Things,' the great Epicurean poem by Lucretius. More than anything else in my life this work provoked the doubts and thoughts which eventually made me a philosopher and which have always led me to seek a full and joyful life. My earlier recreations were rowing, riding, climbing, travel, antiquarianism, and of course sex. In middle and old age they have tended toward walking, gardening, writing, and antiquarianism. I am by inclination a countryman and writer of stories, by profession a philosopher, and by necessity, on occasions, a dweller in great cities."

"Since partial retirement in 1998, I have traveled with delight in ancient lands, drunk finer wines, and written with more imagination; the first fruits being The Dark Companion. A second collection of tales of twilight and borderlands, The Long Retreating Day, is now with the Tartarus Press. A full-length story of mystery and fear, The Pit, is written and awaits revision. I write because I enjoy doing so: not to portray ghoulish impossibilities, but to amuse with things half seen at the edges of life and experience."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Times Literary Supplement, July 28, 1978; January 25, 1985.