Steven Burns

Steven Burns - of Halifax, Nova Scotia, died at home on September 19th at the age of 83. He is survived by his wife, Janet Ross; children Maggy (Archie Gillis), Emma (Georg Hofmann) and Ross (Laura Healy); grandchildren Maya, Rosalie and Sofia Hofmann; and siblings Colin (Lina Champagne) and Susanna (Brendan Coyne).

Appointed to the Department of Philosophy at Dalhousie University in 1969, he taught courses on the Philosophy of Art, Marxist Theory, Plato and various thinkers whose last names - he liked to joke - begin with the letter “W”: Wagner, Weil, Weininger, Winch, and Wittgenstein.

He served his department as graduate co-ordinator for 13 years and as chair from 1987-92. He chaired the Dalhousie committee that proposed the structure eventually adopted for King’s Honours Programmes. Cross-appointed to the Contemporary Studies Programme at the University of King’s College in 1993, he served as director of that programme from 2001-03. He was a founding co-organizer of the Atlantic Region Philosopher's Association, and served on the executive and board of the Canadian Philosophical Association. He was the author of nearly 90 professional articles and reviews. He retired from teaching at Dalhousie in 2006, but taught part-time at King’s until 2013. He continued to publish until 2024.

Janet Ross appeared in his life in 1970 and altered everything. They married in 1972. Janet revived his interests in music and the German language. They sang together in a wide variety of ensembles for the rest of their lives, and performed annually at the Crousetown Festival for three decades. They developed together an affection for Vienna, which resulted in many close friendships and a good deal of research. He was Visiting Professor at the University of Vienna in 2006. He was also known for teaching some philosophy of music to his thousands of Philosophy of Art students at Dalhousie, and offering an interdisciplinary class on Wagner’s Ring cycle at King’s.

A runner in his youth, Steven remained a jogger, but was also proud of having taken up downhill skiing in his forties and ice hockey in his sixties. He started golfing as he approached seventy, but it was a bit too late.

A memorial concert will be held at Saint George’s Round Church, 2222 Brunswick St, October 20, 2024, at 4 pm.

DONATIONS

Donations in his memory may be given to the Steven Burns Undergraduate Essay Prize in the History of Philosophy, care of the Philosophy Department, Dalhousie University; the Music Programme at St. George’s Round Church (c/o Friends of St. George’s Society), or the Ecology Action Centre.