George Francis McLean (1929.6.29-2016.9.6)
George F. McLean, Founding President of The
Council for Research in Values and Philosophy and
Founding Director of The
Center for the Study of Culture and Values (now McLean
Center for the Study of Culture and Values), was Professor
of Metaphysics, the School of Philosophy of The Catholic
University of America, Washington, DC.
Yet this expresses only a small
part of who he was. Over the years, Professor McLean was a
scholar and a teacher, but most importantly he worked to
democratize philosophy promoting the research of
philosophers coming from many different cultural traditions
and publishing the academic work of teams of scholars from
countries and regions around the globe in order to enhance
the interchange of philosophical insight.
George Francis McLean was born on 29 June 1929 to a
Scottish-Irish Catholic family. His great grandparents on
both sides of his family came to the United
States from Ireland 150
years ago. He grew up in Lowell , Massachusetts ,
the earliest developed industrial community in the United
States .
George F. McLean was the second youngest of five children
(three boys and two girls). At the age of eleven, he
made up his mind to join what he refered to as his “family”
– the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), a Catholic
missionary community founded by Eugene de Mazenod,
a French priest. Its chief mission is to help the poor, the
neglected and the abandoned across the world. After high
school, McLean went to Newburgh , New
York , to
begin college.
In 1949 McLean was sent to Rome for
studies at the Gregorian University where
he remained there for seven years, three years of philosophy
and four of theology. This was a mind-opening experience for
the young student by living with 100 scholars from 20
different countries. In 1955 McLean was ordained an Oblate
priest, and in 1956 he was called back to the United
States to
pursue a doctorate in philosophy at The Catholic University
of America (CUA) in Washington,
D.C.. In 1958 McLean finished his
doctorate with a dissertation on Paul Tillich and
began teaching at The Catholic University of America (CUA)
as well as at Oblate College.
In 1960 McLean was asked by the CUA
School of Philosophy to
organize a summer workshop for philosophy professors across
the country, which he did annually until 1968.
Because of the success of the workshops, Professor McLean
was asked by Professor James A. Weisheipl, O.P.,
the President of the American Catholic Philosophical
Association (ACPA), to serve as
its Secretary, a position he held for fifteen years
(1965-1980). In 1968 Professor McLean went to Vienna to
attend the World Congress of Philosophy. There began his
involvement with the work of International Federation of
Philosophical Societies (FISP).
From 1978 to 1988 McLean served
its Board, developing policies for the World Congresses of
Philosophy and other philosophical meetings sponsored by FISP.
In 1974, Professor H.D.
Lewis of King’s College ( London )
and President of the International Society for Metaphysics
(ISM), appointed Professor McLean Secretary General of that
organization. In the same year he began his service as the
Secretary General of the World Union of Catholic
Philosophical Societies (WUCPS)
(with Professor Carlo Giacon of Italy, the
Director of the Enciclopedia Filosofica as
President). Professor McLean held both of these positions
from 1974 to 1998. In the following year, 1975, he
participated in founding as the first Secretary of The
Inter-university Committee on Research and Policy Studies (ICR)
and The Joint-Committee of Catholic Learned Societies and
Scholars (CLS).
One of the first steps of Professor McLean’s international
activity was his initiation of a series of conferences,
beginning in 1976, sponsored by the International Society
for Metaphysics (ISM). These conferences took place in major
University centers around the world Shantiniketan ( India ), New
York , Jerusalem , Bogota ( Columbia ), Nairobi ,
and other locales on the themes of the human person,
society, and culture. Some of the conference papers
presented at those meetings were later published by the
Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP).
In the early 1970s Professor McLean began to work with
philosophers in Latin America, especially in the countries
along the Andes . A
series of colloquia on moral education were held in Mexico , Colombia , Ecuador , Venezuela , Peru ,
and Brazil .
Within a few years this initiative had extended to virtually
all the countries of Central and South America.
By the mid 1970s Professor McLean began to organize joint
colloquia with the Academies of Sciences of most countries
in Central and Eastern Europe,
such as in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechslovakia,
Hungary, etc. Thusfar more than 50 volumes have been
published by the RVP in its publication series.
By the mid 1980s McLean began to organize a similar series
of colloquia with the Academies of Sciences in Beijing and Shanghai, and
with Peking, Fudan and
other universities in China. More
than 30 volumes have been published from these joint
conferences.
In 1983 McLean founded
The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy (RVP)
as an extension of The International Society for Metaphysics
(ISM) and The World Union of Catholic Philosophical
Societies (WUPCS). The objective of the Council is to move
beyond ideologies in order to engage deep human concerns, to
bridge traditions and cultures, and to seek new horizons for
social transformation. It aims to form research teams in
order to study the nature, interpretation, and development
of cultures; to bring their work to bear on the challenges
of contemporary change; to publish and distribute the
results of these efforts; and to organize both extended
seminars for deeper exploration of these issues and regional
conferences for the coordination of their work.
Starting in the early 1980s, through visits, lectures, and
regional conferences, Professor McLean had been involved
with the work of philosophers at a number of African
universities. His initial trip to Africa brought
him to some twelve universities and subsequent visits to a
total of twenty-two African universities across the entire
continent: South Africa, Lesotho,
Zimbabwe, the Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Cameroon,
Nigeria, Ghana, Cote Divoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal.
17 volumes have been published in the African philosophical
studies series by the RVP.
In 1991 and 1992 Professor McLean went toe Cairo, Egypt, to
study Islamic philosophy and religion at The Institute for
Oriental Studies with Professor G. Anawati.
There he lectured at the al-Azhar University , the world’s oldest
university and center for Islamic learning. He
gave lectures and organized joint conferences with Muslim
scholars in such Muslim countries as Egypt, Mali, Senegal,
Morocco, Tunisia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and several
Central Asian countries, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,
Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He also taught one
month course in Qom,
Iran.18 volumes done by the Muslim scholars have been
published by the RVP.
Since 1993, when Professor McLean took early retirement from
his teaching position, he worked full-time promoting global
philosophical dialogue and cooperation. He lectured in
dozens of countries, traveling to places where key
philosophical and cultural issues were debated. He helped to
bring together professors from many countries and regions in
order to create opportunities for dialogue, communication,
and cooperation, and to assist in building research teams
who, through their scholarly work, contribute to answering
the vital questions of the day. In addition, each year he
invited professors from different countries to participate
in ten to five week seminars in Washington, D.C., on current
and urgent philosophical issues. He initiated the annual
seminar in 1984. It has lasted 33 years and will continue
with the inspiration of his spirit.
Professor McLean served philosophy and philosophers in other
ways as well. As the general editor of the RVP publication
series “Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change,” he
helped to bring the work of philosophers from the farthest
reaches of the planet into the public eye. Much of this work
is published in edited volumes, the result of regional teams
working together on themes of common interest. He carefully
edited each paper in every volume as he prepared them for
publication. Thusfar 300 volumes have been
published to date, and in addition to marketing through
regular channels, they are distributed free to 350
university libraries throughout the world, particularly to
institutions in 'developing countries'. The full text of
most of these volumes is also made available on the internet
(see www.crvp.org). For Professor McLean, the dividends from
the dissemination of ideas are of far greater interest than
those from sales.
Professor McLean devoted not only all his mind, heart, and
hands but all his energy, his financial resources, and
virtually every waking hour to the philosophical endeavor.
For him philosophy is a vocation, and his support for global
dialogue stems from a deep sense of faith, hope, and love.
There are, Professor McLean
believes, many philosophical traditions, cultures, and
schools that seek truth, goodness, beauty, harmony, and
above all wisdom.
At the
end of any meeting, colloquium, or gathering, he always
asked scholars to think “Where do we go from here?” “What is
lying ahead of us?” “How can philosophy make a contribution
to our complex globalized world" With his deep sense
of faith, hope and love, he devoted himself for decades to
serving society through promoting ideas that may serve to
bridge cultures and traditions.
Professor McLean
authored and co-authored 25 books and nearly 100 articles,
as well as hundreds of lectures.
The following are the festschrists done by scholars from
many parts of the world on the ocassion of Professsor
McLean's 75th and 80th birthdays respectively:
Books Dediated to Professor George F. McLean's 75th birthday
Diversity and Dialogue: Culture and Values in the Age of
Globalization: Essays in Honour of Prof. George F. McLean;
edited by Andrew Blasco and Plamen Makariev; Minerva, Sofia,
Bulgaria; 2004.
To the Mountain: Essays in Honour of Professor George F.
McLean;
edited by William Sweet and Hu Yeping; Fu Jen Catholic
University Press, Taipei, Taiwan; 2004.
Philosophical Traditions and Contemporary World:
Russia-West-East:
edited by Nur S. Kirabaev and Yuriy M. Pochta; People's
Friendship University of Russia, Moscow, Russia; 2004.
Prajna Vihara: Journal of Philosophy and Religion (Vol.5
No.1 January-June 2004); Assumption University of Thailand,
Bangkok, Thailand; 2004.
Cultural Heritage and the Future of China,
edited by Gan Chensong, Zou Shipeng and Hu Yeping; Jiangxi
People's Press, Nanchang, China; 2004.
Books dedicated to Professor George F. McLean's 80th
birthday
Asian Philosophy in the Making: Essays in Honor of George
Francis McLean;
edited by Tran Van Doan; Encyclopedia Publishing House,
Hanoi, Vietnam; 2009.
Islam, Cultural Transformation and the Re-emergence of
Falsafah: Studies Honoring Professor George Fransic McLean
on His Eightieth Birthday;
edited with an Introduction by Karim Douglas Crow; Iranian
Institute of Philosophy, Tehran, Iran; 2009.
Philosophy in Times of Social Crisis: Integrity and
Dialogue: Essays in Honor of George F. McLean;
edited by Plamen Makariev, Andrew Blasko and Dariusz
Dobrzanski; Minerva, Sofia, Bulgaria; 2009.
Christianity, Culture and the Contemporary World: Challenges
and New Paradigms: Reflections of International Catholic
Thinkers in Honor of George Francis McLean on the Occasion
of His 80th Birthday; edited
by Edward J. Alam; Notre Dame University, Louaize, Lebanon,
2009.
50 Years Anniversary of the Institute of Philosophy,
Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences;
Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences; Shanghai, China, 2009.
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