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Dr. W. T. Stace
Walter Terence Stace (November 17, 1886 - August 2, 1967) was a British civil servant, educator, public philosopher and epistemologist, who wrote on Hegel, mysticism, and moral relativism. He worke...view moreWalter Terence Stace (November 17, 1886 - August 2, 1967) was a British civil servant, educator, public philosopher and epistemologist, who wrote on Hegel, mysticism, and moral relativism. He worked with the Ceylon Civil Service from 1910-1932, and from 1932-1955 he was employed by Princeton University in the Department of Philosophy. He is most renowned for his influential work in the philosophy of mysticism, and for books like Mysticism and Philosophy (1960) and Teachings of the Mystics (1960).
Born in Hampstead, London into an English military family, he was educated at Bath College, England (1895-1901), Fettes College, Edinburgh, Scotland (1902-1904), and later at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Originally planning on becoming a priest in the Anglican Church, it was at Trinity College, through the influence of Hegel scholar and professor of moral philosophy, Henry Stewart Macran, that Stace developed a deep interest in the systematic philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel (1770-1831). He graduated in philosophy in 1908.
Under family pressure, Stace joined the British Civil Service and between 1910-1932 served in the Ceylon Civil Service (now Sri Lanka), then a part of the British Empire. He held several positions in the Ceylonese government, including District Judge (1919-1920) and Mayor of Colombo (1931-1932). It was during this period in Ceylon that he developed an interest in Hinduism and Buddhism, religions which were to influence his subsequent studies of mysticism. He published several philosophical works, as well as his thesis for his 1929 honorary LittD degree from Trinity College, between 1920-1932.
Following his retirement from the Ceylon Civil Service after 22 years, he began a career at Princeton University, first as Lecturer in Philosophy (1932-1935) and then as Stuart Professor of Philosophy (1935-1955). From 1955-1967 he was Professor Emeritus.
He died in Laguna Beach, California in 1967, aged 80.view less