[1] Born in Hamilton, Canada West, to Margaret Wright McIntyre and William Francis Lighthall, W.D.

[3] Lighthall also wrote historical romances, initially under the pen name of Wilfrid Châteauclair, beginning with The Young Seigneur, or Nation Making in 1888.

[1] In literary circles, though, Lighthall "is remembered mainly for his anthology, Songs of the Great Dominion ... which included a large number of poets whose names are still familiar, for example, Wilfred Campbell, Carman, Crawford, Johnson, Lampman, and Charles G.D.

The main problem lies in the fact that Lighthall seldom completely reworked the lecture notes, pamphlets, and texts that he used to create the works as he published them.

Ironically, the logical progression of deductive reasoning, so important to Lighthall's system, is often under stress because of this style.

The Lighthall system was an attempt to remarry science and religion in a single philosophical understanding of reality.

To be precise Lighthall considered the principles of his theory to be "proven" scientific facts and the proof to be founded upon deductive reasoning.

Lighthall informed his readers that it was the phenomenon of the altruistic act that had been the initial "middle" ground that had led him to the formulation of the theory: