Background
William was born December 27, 1857, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. His parents were Margaret Wright McIntryre and William Francis Lighthall. He grew up in Montreal.
McGill University, Canada.
historian lawyer philosopher scientist writer
William was born December 27, 1857, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. His parents were Margaret Wright McIntryre and William Francis Lighthall. He grew up in Montreal.
William attended the High School of Montreal and McGill University, where he graduated B.A. in 1879, Bachelor of Civil Laws in 1881, and M.A. in 1885. In 1921 he was made an honorary Doctor of Laws by McGill.
Admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1881, William Douw Lighthall practiced law in Montreal to 1944. In 1893 W.D. Lighthall did the legal work pro bono to incorporate the Montreal Women's Club. He served as mayor of Westmount from 1900 to 1903. He also served as vice president of the National Municipal League of America.
Lighthall also wrote historical romances, initially under the pen name of Wilfrid Châteauclair, beginning with The Young Seigneur, or Nation Making in 1888.
He took a long-time interest in Canadian history, originating the Château Ramezay Historical Museum, and serving on the Royal Historical Monuments Commission and as chairman of the McCord Historical Museum. He wrote historical books, such as Montreal After 250 Years, and monographs, like The Manor House of Lacolle. He was an early supporter of the Canadian Authors Association, becoming its president in 1930.
He died in Montreal, Quebec in 1954.
The Lighthall system was an attempt to remarry science and religion in a single philosophical understanding of reality. Within the structure of that system Lighthall claimed to have avoided what he called the "metaphysical" problem. He insisted that all that was proposed in the hypothesis was derived from his observation of scientific fact. To be precise Lighthall considered the principles of his theory to be "proven" scientific facts and the proof to be founded upon deductive reasoning.
The system equated Instinct with Will. Further it viewed Will as the manifest cause of both the conscious and unconscious act. Lighthall stated: ''All living action is willing, and all is by nature purposive.''
Lighthall was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1902.
In 1890 William married Cybel Charlotte Wilkes, and they had three children: Alice Margaret Schuyler Lighthall (born 1891), Cybel Katharine Schuyler Lighthall, (born 1893), and William Wilkes Schuyler Lighthall, born 1896.