UNews - philosophy professor

Gaudet serving the greater good

trevor.kenney — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:59:15 +0000

Whether it means taking on the powers that be or courageously facing a room full of "Dragons," Kevin Gaudet (BA '91), federal director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF), stands strong in his convictions, a legacy of valour that runs in his family.

"My grandfather, Walthen Gaudet, was the mayor of Charlottetown. He saw public service as a noble profession and lived up to the values of truth, duty and honour. I was brought up that way by my parents," says Gaudet. "They taught me to stand up for what I believe in, and they incubated a curious mind, encouraged it and put up with it."

Gaudet spent much of his childhood moving across Canada with his family, ending up in Lethbridge for his Grade 12 year. After graduating from Lethbridge Collegiate Institute in 1986, Gaudet spent a year studying engineering at Royal Roads Military College in Victoria, B.C., before deciding that was not the path for him.

"I went back to Lethbridge because my family was there. I was aware of the benefits of a liberal arts undergraduate degree so it was a rather easy decision for me to attend the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. I could stay at home and get a really good quality education," explains Gaudet.

After taking an introductory philosophy course, Gaudet fell in love with the discipline and chose it as a major.

"When I told my parents, they asked me what the hell I was going to do with that, and of course I told them ,'I can do anything I want'," says Gaudet.

He was right. Studying philosophy began opening doors for him from the outset of his education. In his second year at U of L, Gaudet worked as a teacher's assistant for his philosophy professor, U of L President Emeritus Dr. John Woods. He also cut his political teeth that year by winning a seat on school council. Gaudet regards his time at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in a very positive light.

"The professors were open and friendly and with the smaller size of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ you could actually get in the doors to talk to your professors so that they could prove to you just how wrong you were when you proposed ideas," laughs Gaudet. "Lethbridge has an interesting culture with its agricultural community, influx of foreign students and religious community. It provides the campus a rich diversity of experience, opportunity and thought, all in one place."

Following his graduation in 1991, Gaudet's education and career continued to grow. He spent five years as the director of opposition research for Preston Manning, graduated with an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Western Ontario in 2000, and worked for various telecommunications, banking, computer and medical technology companies, performing marketing strategy and government relations.

In 2007, Gaudet began working as the Ontario director of the CTF and became the federal director in January 2008. As director, he is responsible for looking at all policy matters relating to the federal government. The CTF advocates for lower taxes, less waste and a more accountable government. Gaudet does whatever is necessary to get that message out, whether it is planning a rally, or presenting his flat tax message on the television show Dragons' Den.

Gaudet hopes to affect positive change on the national stage and his former professor is proud of the path he's taken since his time at the U of L.

"Kevin's skills are abundantly evident in his work. His policy analyses show an impressive analytical intelligence at work; his television appearances show a cool, elegant and engaging advocate," says Woods. "Kevin Gaudet reflects great credit upon the university that trained him."

GET THE FACTS

• Born in Halifax, N.S., Gaudet has lived in eight Canadian provinces

• He studied logic at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Amsterdam (summer 1990) and is fluent in both English and French

• Gaudet took over for John Williamson as federal director of the CTF

• Volunteering as a scout leader in Toronto, he says his greatest personal accomplishment is, "A very successful marriage and three wonderful children."

Shining a light on logic

trevor.kenney — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:19:19 +0000

Just as a scientist places a sample beneath a microscope lens to understand its subtlest parts, philosophers minutely examine an argument to determine how its components work together.

Logics that can cope with inconsistent premises are the focus of Dr. Bryson Brown's most recent work. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge philosophy professor has recently earned a $95,000 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant to pursue his research program, titled Preservationism: Applications and Extensions.

His research, a collaboration with Dalhousie ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Dr. Peter K. Schotch and Simon Fraser ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Dr. Raymond E. Jennings, examines preservationism – a philosophical approach to logic that prioritizes preserving desirable formal properties of premises when we draw conclusions from them.

"We already have a large body of work on two forms of preservationist logic and a number of other side-projects with published results," says Brown.

With this newest project, Brown hopes to look into applications of the logic (to philosophy of science and mathematics, for instance).

"Broadly, we're trying to make more people in the field aware of the work and the logical tools we've produced."

To disseminate the work, Brown, Schotch and Jennings are creating a series of books to be published by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto Press (the first will be published early in 2009), as well as presenting their research at a number of international conferences.

"Given that we're trying to produce a book and attend several major conferences over the next few years, this help from SSHRC is essential to keeping up the pace of the project," says Brown.

Shining a light on logic

trevor.kenney — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:05:04 +0000

Just as a scientist places a sample beneath a microscope lens to understand its subtlest parts, philosophers minutely examine an argument to determine how its components work together.

Logics that can cope with inconsistent premises are the focus of Dr. Bryson Brown's most recent work. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge philosophy professor has recently earned a $95,000 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant to pursue his research program, titled Preservationism: Applications and Extensions.

His research, a collaboration with Dalhousie ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Dr. Peter K. Schotch and Simon Fraser ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Dr. Raymond E. Jennings, examines preservationism – a philosophical approach to logic that prioritizes preserving desirable formal properties of premises when we draw conclusions from them.

"We already have a large body of work on two forms of preservationist logic and a number of other side-projects with published results," says Brown.

With this newest project, Brown hopes to look into applications of the logic (to philosophy of science and mathematics, for instance). "Broadly, we're trying to make more people in the field aware of the work and the logical tools we've produced."

To disseminate the work, Brown, Schotch and Jennings are creating a series of books to be published by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto Press (the first will be published early in 2009), as well as presenting their research at a number of international conferences.

"Given that we're trying to produce a book and attend several major conferences over the next few years, this help from SSHRC is essential to keeping up the pace of the project."

UNews - philosophy professor

Gaudet serving the greater good

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Shining a light on logic

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Shining a light on logic

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