Mark Nyvlt

Biography

I initially came to Philosophy by way of travelling in my youth to Rwanda and Central America, and participating in social justice movements – in the spirit of the Gracci brothers. The pursuit of fundamental norms to measure political behaviours was a search for an arche that would lead me to the domain of Philosophy, and to Dominican University College, where I did my undergraduate studies in Philosophy. Having been inspired by my professors, I actively pursued a speculative life. After having completed my undergraduate and masters in Philosophy, in the area of Ancient Greek Philosophy and German Idealism, I then completed a PhD in Philosophy (2004) at Boston University under the supervision of K. Brinkmann and J.Cleary. My dissertation focused on the role and status of Intellect in the works of Aristotle and Plotinus. I equally benefitted from courses taught at Boston University by Stanley Rosen, Rémi Brague, Daniel Dahlstrom, David Roochnik, Henry Allison, Jaakko Hintikka, Juliet Floyd, amongst others, in the Department of Philosophy during its heyday. In 2007, I returned to my intellectual home, at Dominican University College, where I was hired full-time and where I have since served as Vice-Dean, Director of Graduate Studies, and as editor in Philosophy for the house journal Science et Esprit. In 2012, I published my book entitled, Aristotle and Plotinus on the Intellect: Monism and Dualism Revisited. In 2017, I founded the Canadian Aristotle Society, which is housed at the Dominican University, where we host conferences every May on a given theme related to Aristotle. In 2017-2018, I will be on sabbatical, writing on the philosophical and musical insights of Aristoxenus. My main intellectual interests are in Aristotle, Plotinus, Arabic Philosophy, Ancient Metaphysics, German Idealism, Political Philosophy, and Music. The Peripatetic life appeals most to me, and I have fostered in my students an appreciation for this life, and continue to encourage them to challenge basic conventional presuppositions that too often animate an uncritical mind. It is a great pleasure to work at Dominican University College, where intellectual integrity remains an effortless and unapologetic standard of the Philosophical life. I attempt to demonstrate in my own life to students that one can be a philosopher and also a person engaged in the world. A peripatetic life requires such integration of intellect and action.

Research Interest

My main intellectual interests are in Aristotle, Plotinus, Arabic Philosophy, Ancient Metaphysics, German Idealism, Political Philosophy, and Music.