pollockosmos.org

Introduction to the Works of Robert Channon Pollock

By Tom Davis

The work of Robert C. Pollock spanned a career of fifty years. Born Jewish in Glasgow, Scotland, he emigrated early to Chicago and did his undergraduate work at Harvard, studying with Alfred North Whitehead and William McDougall and completing a M.A. in psychology and philosophy. It was there at Harvard that Pollock converted from Judaism to Catholicism and then moved to Toronto’s Medieval Institute where he completed his Ph.d. under the eminent Medieval scholar Etienne Gilson. After a brief time teaching at Notre Dame, Pollock began teaching at Fordham University where he remained in the graduate philosophy department for thirty years. Here he developed his unique interpretation of Medieval and American philosophy and inspired many generations of graduate students. According to Father David Toolan, Dr. Pollock’s work focused on the continuity between the Medieval experience and the American experience. Writes Toolan: