Blanchette, Oliva 1929-

PERSONAL:

Born May 6, 1929, in Berlin, NH; son of Delphis and Odelia Blanchette; married Dorothy Kennedy (a social science teacher), May 17, 1975; children: Nicole, Frances. Ethnicity: "Franco-American." Education: Boston College, A.B., 1953, M.A., 1958; College of St. Albert de Louvain, Ph.L., 1954; Weston College, S.T.L., 1961; Université Laval, Ph.D., 1966.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Natick, MA. Office—Department of Philosophy, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467.

CAREER:

Entered Society of Jesus (Jesuits; S.J.), 1947, ordained Roman Catholic priest, 1960, left the priesthood, 1975. High school teacher of Latin, Greek, and English, Boston, MA, 1954-57; Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, instructor, 1964-65, assistant professor, 1965-67, associate professor, 1967-74, professor of philosophy, 1974—, dean of School of Philosophy, 1968-73, director of Institute for Social Thought, 1972—.

MEMBER:

International Society for Metaphysics, Metaphysical Society of America (president, 1998-99, 2008), Hegel Society of America.

AWARDS, HONORS:

John Findlay Book Prize, best book in metaphysics over the past five years, Metaphysical Society of America, 2007, for Philosophy of Being: A Reconstructive Essay in Metaphysics.

WRITINGS:

For a Fundamental Social Ethic: A Philosophy of Social Change, Philosophical Library (New York, NY), 1973.

(Translator) Maurice Blondel, Action (1893), University of Notre Dame Press (Notre Dame, IN), 1984.

The Perfection of the Universe According to Aquinas: A Teleological Cosmology, Pennsylvania State University Press (University Park, PA), 1992.

(Editor, with Tomonobu Imamichi and George F. McLean) Philosophical Challenges and Opportunities of Globalization, Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (Washington, DC), 2001.

Philosophy of Being: A Reconstructive Essay in Metaphysics, Catholic University of America Press (Washington, DC), 2003.

Contributor to books, including The Word in the World: Essays in Honor of Frederick L. Moriarty, S.J., edited by Richard J. Clifford and George W. MacRae, Weston College Press (Cambridge, MA), 1973. Contributor of articles and reviews to philosophy, education, and theology journals in the United States, Canada, and France, including Studies in Soviet Thought, Journal of General Education, Review of Metaphysics, International Philosophical Quarterly, Journal of Philosophy, and Project.

SIDELIGHTS:

Oliva Blanchette once told CA: "My teaching has aimed at raising the consciousness of students with regard to their own dignity and that of others, as well as with regard to the place of human beings in the world. In teaching social justice I have sought, not only to present a theory, but also to promote a practical orientation toward achieving greater justice in the world. In all that I have done, writing as well as teaching, I have tried to promote the spiritual dimension of human existence."