Dan Goldstick

Daniel "Danny" Goldstick (born 1940) is a Canadian philosopher, writer, and political activist. He is currently a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto. Goldstick was born in Toronto and received his B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1962. He pursued graduate studies at Oxford University, earning a B.Phil in 1964 and a D.Phil. in 1969. His doctoral thesis, supervised by Alfred Jules Ayer, aimed to refute empiricism. In 1965, he began teaching at Carleton University, first as a lecturer and then as an assistant professor. In 1967, he returned to Toronto to teach at the University of Toronto, specializing in Marxism, synthetic apriority, and ethics. His philosophical work spans metaphysics and epistemology, resulting in approximately 75 papers. His book, *Reason, Truth, and Reality*, defends pre-Kantian rationalism and explores the nature of the world and moral obligations, with arguments for universal impermanence, deterministic causality, and utilitarianism. The book also addresses the Marxian concern of relating theory to practice. In 2024, the University of Toronto's Philosophy Department honored Goldstick's contributions to philosophy and pedagogy. Goldstick has also been active in various social and political movements, including advocating for atheism, participating in communist party politics, and campaigning on issues like tuition reduction, anti-sexism, anti-homophobia, and anti-racism.