Andrew David Irvine, FSCC (born July 14, 1958) is a Canadian academic who teaches at the University of British Columbia. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Sydney University and is a professor of philosophy and mathematics at UBC Okanagan. He has served as vice-chair of the UBC Board of Governors, as head of the UBCO Department of Economics, Philosophy and Political Science, as president of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, and as a member of the board of directors of the Society for Academic Freedom and Scholarship. An advocate of traditional democratic civil liberties, Irvine has written about the importance of the rule of law for both modern and ancient democracies. He has held visiting positions at Canadian, American and British universities and has been recognized as one of British Columbia's most influential public intellectuals.Douglas Todd, "Who are B.C.'s Biggest Thinkers? Meet the Top 50," Vancouver Sun, August 25, 2000, A1, A12
Early life
Born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Irvine was raised in Oxbow, Saskatchewan."Mrs. D.L. (Henderson) Irvine", in Furrow to the Future (Oxbow: Oxbow–Glen Ewen History Book Committee, 1984), vol. II, pp. 707-708.
Academic work
Often cited for his work on the twentieth-century philosopher Bertrand Russell,Giannis Triantafillou, "Bertrand Russell is Relevant even Today," Eleftherotipia (Greece), January 21, 2010Juan Ignacio Rodriguez Medina, "Las buenas razones de Bertrand Russell," Il Mercurio (Chile), August 19, 2012Anon., "Guides to Russell's Writings," Bertrand Russell Archives, November 29, 2010, http://www.mcmaster.ca/russdocs/writings.htm Irvine has argued in favour of physicalismJames Robert Brown, "Logic, Epistemology, Philosophy of Science," The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2012, and against several commonly held views in the history of modern philosophy, including the claim that Gottlob Frege succeeded in developing a workable theory of mathematical platonismAndrew David Irvine, "Frege on Number Properties," Studia Logica, vol. 96 (2010), 239-60 and the claim that Bertrand Russell was an advocate of epistemic logicism,Andrew David Irvine, "Epistemic Logicism and Russell's Regressive Method," Philosophical Studies, vol. 55 (1989), 303-27Andrew David Irvine, "Russell on Method," in Godehard Link (ed.), One Hundred Years of Russell's Paradox, Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter Publishing Company, 2004, 481-500 a claim that one commentator has concluded is now "thoroughly debunked."Conor Mayo-Wilson, "Russell on Logicism and Coherence," Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies, vol. 31 (2011), 66; for a less sympathetic appraisal, see Anders Kraal, "The Aim of Russell's Early Logicism: A Reinterpretation," Synthese, vol. 191 (2014), 1493-1510
He has defended a two-box solution to Newcomb's problem in which he abandons "the (false) assumption that past observed frequency is an infallible guide to probability"Andrew David Irvine, "How Braess' Paradox Solves Newcomb's Problem," International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. 7 (1993), 141-60 at 157 and a non-cognitivist solution to the liar paradox, noting that "formal criteria alone will inevitably prove insufficient" for determining whether individual sentence tokens have meaning.Andrew David Irvine, "Gaps, Gluts, and Paradox," Canadian Journal of Philosophy, supplementary vol. 18 [Return of the A priori] (1992), 273-99 at 294
In modal logic (which studies theories of possibility and necessity), he has argued in favour of the non-normal system S7, rather than more traditional systems such as S4 or S5.Andrew David Irvine, "S7," Journal of Applied Logic, vol. 11 (2013), 523-529Andrew David Irvine, "A Science like any Other," Journal of Applied Logics, vol. 8, no. 7 (2021), 2219-2234, http://www.collegepublications.co.uk/downloads/ifcolog00049.pdf Unlike other systems, S7 allows logicians to choose between competing logics, each of which, if true, would be necessarily true, but none of which are necessarily the correct system of necessary truths. As Irvine puts it, "just as being physically possible means nothing more than being consistent with the laws of physics, being logically possible means nothing more than being consistent with the laws of logic. However, this leaves open the question of which logic and which consistency relation are to be adopted. S7 gives us the language to discuss the possible denial of necessary truths. S7 gives us the language to assert not only that some propositions really are necessary; it gives us the language also to note that their denials, although impossible, remain possibly possible."Andrew David Irvine, "S7," Journal of Applied Logic, vol. 11 (2013), 527 In other words, there is a mechanism in which even sets of necessary truths can be compared to their alternatives.
Together with Carl Hodge, Irvine is author of The Ethics and Economics of Liberal Democracies (2024).Carl Cavanagh Hodge and Andrew David Irvine, The Ethics and Economics of Liberal Democracies (New York: Routledge, 2024).
Political work
An advocate of traditional democratic civil liberties, Irvine has argued in favour of free speech rights, both for political reasonsAndrew David Irvine, "Free Speech, Democracy, and the Question of Political Influence," in W. Wesley Pue (ed.), Pepper in Our Eyes: The APEC Affair, Vancouver: UBC Press, 2000, 29-40Andrew David Irvine and David Sutherland, "Know Thy Neighbour's Views," Globe and Mail, April 8, 2005, A15, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/know-thy-neighbours-views/article735545/ and in the context of defending academic freedom.Andrew David Irvine, "Let Truth and Falsehood Grapple," University of Toronto Quarterly, vol. 67 (1998), 549-66Andrew David Irvine, "Bertrand Russell and Academic Freedom," Russell: the Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies, vol. 16 (1996), 5-36Andrew David Irvine, "What do the Armed Forces, the Supreme Court and Canada's Universities have in Common?" Inside Policy (Macdonald-Laurier Institute), (2020), https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/armed-forces-supreme-court-canadas-universities-common-andrew-irvine-inside-policy/Andrew David Irvine, "Escaping the Echo Chamber," C2C Journal, (2020), https://c2cjournal.ca/2020/09/escaping-the-echo-chamber/
Together with Stephen Wexler, he has argued that modern constitutional protections of the rule of law can trace their roots as far back as Socrates' demand that even lawmakers must be bound by the law.Andrew David Irvine and Stephen Wexler, "The Other Trial of Socrates," Quadrant, vol. 62 (2018), 50-3Andrew David Irvine, "Origins of the Rule of Law," in D.F. Hardwick and L. Marsh (eds), Reclaiming Liberalism, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, 179-217 It was this demand that led to Aristotle's distinction between psephismata (votes of the assembly) and nomos (statute law), and to the resulting debate over how best to decide questions of legal supremacy within a democracy.Stephen Wexler and Andrew David Irvine, "Aristotle on the Rule of Law," Polis, vol. 23 (2006), 116-38
Together with Jason Gratl, he has argued that, in its modern form, the rule of law helps resolve tensions between national security and public accountabilityJason Gratl and Andrew David Irvine, "National Security, State Secrecy and Public Accountability," University of New Brunswick Law Journal, vol. 55 (2005), 251-71 and, together with John Whyte, he has argued that care needs to be taken with regard to electoral reform, especially when it comes to implementing proposals focusing on proportional representation.John Whyte and Andrew David Irvine, "Searching for Democratic Vitality: An Analysis of Electoral Reform," Policy Dialogue, no. 17 (Winter 2008), 3-4
To help safeguard the legal system from abuse, Irvine has emphasized the importance of three key principles – the rule of law, the separation of powers and democratic accountability.Andrew David Irvine, "Principles to Ensure the Law is Not Abused in Canada," Commentary (The Macdonald-Laurier Institute), March 2022, https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Mar2022_Principles_to_ensure_the_law_is_not_abused_Irvine_COMMENTARY_FWeb_v2.pdf He is often cited in the media on issues ranging from free speechNeal Hall, "Little Sisters' Appeals to Highest Court," Vancouver Sun, February 19, 1999, A6Shawn Ohler, "Human Rights Tribunal Says Columnist's Opinion Anti-Semitic," National Post, February 4, 1999, A4Colin Freeze, "Protesters Cynical about an Apology," Globe and Mail, March 27, 2002, A6Mark Hume, "Teacher's Suspension Sparks Free Speech Fight," Calgary Herald, April 24, 2003, A3 and academic freedomBarbara Kay, "Propaganda in the Classroom" National Post, December 15, 2004, A17 to parliamentary procedureJason Unrau, "Professor Queries Speaker's Ruling," Whitehorse Star, December 12, 2008 and judicial activism.Neil Seeman, "Who Runs Canada?" National Post, July 24, 1999, B3
In 2025, Irvine and four other petitioners asked the Supreme Court of British Columbia to defend the academic freedom of students and professors at the University of British Columbia by upholding section 66(1) of the BC University, a section that states that “A university must be non-sectarian and non-political in principle”. In line with this requirement, the petitioners sought a court order prohibiting the University of British Columbia "from engaging in political activity" by making statements on Israel and Palestine, by making Indigenous land acknowledgements, and by requiring obligatory agreement from faculty about diversity, equity, and inclusion doctrines.
Theatre work
In 2007 Irvine premiered Socrates on Trial, a play depicting the life and death of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. The play tells the story of how Socrates was put on trial for corrupting the youth of Athens and for failing to honour the city's gods. The play contains adaptations of several classic Greek works including the slapstick comedy Clouds, written by Aristophanes and first performed in 423 BCE, and the dramatic monologue Apology, written by Plato to record the defence speech Socrates gave at his trial in 399 BCE. The premiere was directed by Joan Bryans of Vital Spark Theatre Company at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts in Vancouver.Anon., "Stage Listings," Vancouver Sun, May 29, 2008,
In the words of one reviewer, "The play is refreshingly illuminating on the relationship between Socrates' execution and the lasting influence of Aristophanes' negative depiction of him on the evolution of the Athenian psyche."Alapin, Maya, Review of Socrates on Trial, Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2008.08.08 According to another, the play not only gives an entertaining portrayal of Plato's famous mentor, but also a fascinating introduction to the "pompous, arrogant and often petulant" individual presented by Aristophanes,Anon., "Socrates on Trial," Riveting Riffs Magazine, 2008, http://www.rivetingriffs.com/Socrates%20On%20Trial.html giving modern audiences a greater understanding of why Socrates eventually ended up being sentenced to death.
In 2024, Irvine's adaptation of the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata by Aristophanes appeared under the title Aristophanes' Lysistrata: For Modern Performance. The adaptation situates the original play as a play within a play. The accompanying background scenes give directors the freedom to include (or omit) a few dramatic elements that may be helpful to modern audiences. As Irvine notes, "While most of Aristophanes' language has been reworked (with some sections being reordered and others omitted) ... the fact that works written over two thousand years ago can still be successfully performed today tells us a great deal about our shared humanity across the ages and around the world."Andrew David Irvine, Aristophanes' Lysistrata: For Modern Performance, Athens: Kaktos Publications, 2024, pp. 239-40.
Bibliographical work