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C.O. Evans, 1934 - 2000
Although his contribution to philosophy was original and profound, Cedric did not
use the classroom to promote himself or his work. Making the progress of his students
his sole objective in teaching, he always sought only to help them learn how to articulate their deepest insights and engage creatively in productive philosophical dialogue. As one student put it, in sheer amazement at his extraordinary skill as a facilitator, "You expressed exactly what I MEANT to say, not what I ACTUALLY said!".
When pressed for a biography to be used at this site Dr. Evans provided
the following short essay. He described himself in a low-keyed manner with
characteristic charm, grace, and humility. Also present, however, is a sharp
intellect that is equally characteristic. His life's work, which can only be described
as ahead of its time, continues indeed to pose a serious philosophical challenge to those
who are today at the cutting edge of consciousness research.
Before I went to college, I discovered philosophy when I read a critique
of F.H. Bradley by Bertrand Russell. It awakened in me a whole new world
of the possibilities of thinking. At my first University, the University
of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg South Africa, I was fortunate to
have two great teachers. Professor E.E. Harris was an idealist
philosopher, and Mr. F.S. McNeilly was a linguistic philosopher. I learned
the thrill of philosophical discovery from Harris, and the beauty of
argument from McNeilly. When I continued my philosophical education at
Merton College Oxford, my tutor was the Senior Tutor of Merton College, Mr
W. H. Walsh. Mr Walsh rose to the position of Vice Chancellor of the
University of Edinburgh. At Oxford I heard the lectures of Sir Isaiah
Berlin, Sir Peter Strawson, J.L. Austin, R.M. Hare, Jeoffrey Warnock, and
George Kennan. I met Gilbert Ryle who was then at the height of his fame.
His book The Concept of Mind 1 was the single greatest challenge to my
philosophical propensities. The philosophy examiners for my oral
examination for the degree of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics were J.L
Austin, and Martha Kneale the logician. My supervisor for the Ph.D.
degree at the University of Edinburgh was Dr. Frederick Broadie. My
external examiner was Professor H. H. Price. The philosopher who accepted my book The Subject of Consciousness 2 for publication in the Muirhead
Library of Philosophy was Professor H.D. Lewis.
As a teacher of philosophy I have been equally blessed by a number of
great students. These include James Moulder, Ian Bunting, Ian McDonald,
Rinty Van Straaten, David Tucker, John Fudjack, John Schumacher, Mike Zenzen
and Stephen Pike. I have a great affection for many students not on this list.
I have taught philosophy at universities in South Africa, Scotland, the
United States and Australia.
Just as Hume awoke Kant from his dogmatic slumbers, so did Kant awake me
from my transcendental slumbers. I was determined to do justice to
self-experience. It seemed to me to be all too often true that under the
treatment of philosophers the self became the absentee-landlord in the
house of consciousness. I set about putting that right. All my
subsequent work has been aimed at consolidating the advance made to the
philosophy of consciousness in my published work.
When I published my book on consciousness not a single reference to
consciousness could be found in the indexes of any leading work in the
philosophy of mind. That was thirty years ago. Now it is probably the
most frequently found word in the philosophical lexicon. And yet
"consciousness" still remains a woolly concept in the hands of modern
practitioners. I am convinced that a view in which attention gives
structure to consciousness can dispel that woolliness and put us on a sure
path for the integrative work of which consciousness is capable.
C. O. Evans, 8/23/99
 [mentalstates]
Notes and references
1. The Concept of Mind, Gilbert Ryle (Chicago, 1984).
2. The Subject of Consciousness, C.O. Evans (London, 1970).
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