John Arthur Oesterle

Background

John Oesterle was born on June 12, 1912 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States.

Education

Oesterle received his Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1937 from the University of Detroit, and his Licentiate in Philosophy in 1940 from Laval University.

Career

John Oesterle began his career as an instructor in philosophy at Aquinas College in 1940-1943. He was an assistant professor of philosophy at the College of St. Thomas in 1946, advancing to an associate professor in 1946, and served as chair of the department from 1951 to 1953. In 1953 he joined the faculty at the University of Notre Dame as an associate professor, serving as director of the collegiate seminar there beginning in 1964. He was a visiting professor at several colleges, including Laval University.

Oesterle's first book was Logic: The Art of Defining and Reasoning, followed by Ethics: The Introduction to Moral Science and Treatise on Happiness. In addition, John was the translator of and author of notes to Treatise on the Virtues, by St. Thomas Aquinas. Oesterle was editor of The New Scholasticism, and was a frequent contributor to various journals, including Modern Schoolman and America.

Achievements

• John Oesterle received a Fulbright research scholarship to Louvain, Belgium and was a delegate to the XIII International Congress of Philosophy, Mexico City, in 1963.

Works

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• book

  • Logic: The Art of Defining and Reasoning 1952
  • Ethics: The Introduction to Moral Science 1957
  • Teacher's Manual for Logic: The Art of Defining and Reasoning 1953

Membership

John Oesterle was a member of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, the Metaphysical Society of America, and the American Association of University Professors.