York University Professor Emerita Doris Olin, a leader in the Department of Philosophy for several decades, passed away on Aug. 16, at the age of 81.
Born in 1943, Olin grew up in the hamlet of Vivian, Man., and then later in Winnipeg. Olin received her doctorate from Cornell University and joined the Department of Philosophy at Glendon College in 1971 as assistant professor.
She retired from Glendon in 2014 at the rank of full professor after a more than 40-year career at York University. Throughout that time, Olin was active in college affairs by developing new courses, hiring and supporting new colleagues, and serving terms as Chair of the Department of Philosophy.
While she taught a variety of courses at Glendon, her scholarly interests were most rooted in the Anglo-American tradition of philosophy, and in epistemology in particular. She wrote several research papers, notably “The Prediction Paradox Resolved” in Philosophical Studies, Vol. 44 (1983) and “Predictions, Intentions and the Prisoner’s Dilemma” in the Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 38 (1988). She also published two books, which explored significant tenets and concepts within philosophy.
Donations can be made in Olin’s honour to a charity of choice.