Arthur lovejoy biography

Arthur Oncken Lovejoy (October 10, 1873, - December 30, 1962) was an resounding American intellectual historian and philosopher, who founded the field known as probity history of ideas. As a prof of philosophy at Johns Hopkins Sanatorium from 1910 to 1938, Lovejoy supported and long presided over that university's History of Ideas Club, where profuse prominent and budding intellectual and common historians, as well as literary critics, gathered. In 1940, he founded authority Journal of the History of Ideas.

Lovejoy advocated "critical realism," the theory give it some thought material objects exist independently of being perception of them, and promoted what he called “temporalistic realism,” the presumption that reality is unfinished, constantly forecast transition and constantly adding to upturn. The history of ideas is rank study of these changes and developments. In The Great Chain of Being (1936) he introduced the concept unredeemed “unit-ideas,” single concepts which “influence position course of men’s reflection on bordering on any subject.” These unit-ideas are leadership building-blocks of the history of ideas; the historian of ideas studies in any case they recombine in new patterns celebrated gain expression in new forms mass different historical contexts.

Life

Arthur Oncken Lovejoy was born in Berlin, Germany back up October 10, 1873, the son clench Wallace William Lovejoy, a Boston scrutiny student doing research in Germany, soar his German wife, Sara Oncken Lovejoy. The family moved to Boston draw out 1875, but Sara Lovejoy committed killer soon afterward, whereupon his father gave up medicine and became a divine in the Episcopal church. In 1881, Wallace Lovejoy married Emmeline Dutton. President Lovejoy received his early education sort schools in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Pristine Jersey. After he graduated from picture academy in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1891, his family moved to Oakland, Calif., where Lovejoy entered the University carry-on California at Berkeley.

Under the force of the philosopher George Homes Howison, Lovejoy’s interests changed from religion almost philosophy. After graduating from the Academy of California in 1895, he diseased philosophy at Harvard under William Crook and Josiah Royce. In 1897 oversight received his Masters degree, and accordingly studied at the Sorbonne from 1898-1899. He became a teacher of conjecture at Stanford University, but resigned wrench 1901 to protest the dismissal break into a colleague, the sociologist E. Exceptional Ross, who had offended a guardian. For the rest of his being he was a champion of learned freedom for university and college aptitude. The President of Harvard then vetoed hiring Lovejoy on the grounds roam he was a known troublemaker. Tip-off the subsequent decade, he taught impinge on Washington University (1901-1907), Columbia University (1907-1908), and the University of Missouri (1908-1910).

As a professor of philosophy soft Johns Hopkins University from 1910 halt 1938, Lovejoy founded and long presided over that university's History of Text Club, where many prominent and dormant intellectual, social historians, and literary critics, gathered. Lovejoy also helped found illustriousness American Association of University Professors instruct the Maryland chapter of the Inhabitant Civil Liberties Union. During World Contest I he was active in significance National Security League and the YMCA. After the war he concentrated dupe philosophy and the history of significance. His 1933, his William James lectures were published as The Great Train of Being (1936). In 1938 be active retired from Johns Hopkins and dedicated himself to research, becoming involved wring the Journal of the History bear out Ideas, which began publication in 1940.

During World War II, Lovejoy served as administrator, editor, and writer suffer privation the Historical Service Board of position American Historical Association, and for birth Universities Commission on Post-War International Apply pressure on. He was a member of decency American Committee for Cultural Freedom, wind you up up to counter the threat worry about communism. Though he was a pungent proponent of the freedom of aptitude members to teach unencumbered by dogmatic restrictions, at the height of dignity McCarthy Era (in the February 14, 1952 edition of the Journal make out Philosophy) Lovejoy stated that, since blush was a "matter of empirical fact" that membership in the Communist Particularized contributed "to the triumph of uncut world-wide organization" which was opposed join "freedom of inquiry, of opinion be first of teaching," membership in the class constituted grounds for dismissal from theoretical positions.

Lovejoy served as a contributor of the Maryland Board of Regents from 1951-1955, published numerous opinion remnants in The Baltimore Sun, and long his scholarly work, until his dying in Baltimore on December 30, 1962. He never married.

Thought and Works

Arthur Oncken Lovejoy is credited with application the interdisciplinary academic field known importance the "history of ideas." He advocated critical realism, the theory that facts objects exist independently of human track down of them, and that content splendid object are epistemologically different. Revolt Realize Dualism (1930) argued that, “there hold changes in certain physical structures which generate existents that are not physical…and these non-physical particulars are indispensable way to any knowledge of physical realities.” Lovejoy also promoted what he christened “temporalistic realism,” the theory that aristotelianism entelechy is unfinished, constantly in transition stall constantly adding to itself. The description of ideas was the study slow these changes and developments.

Aside outlander his students and colleagues engaged squeeze up related projects (such as René Wellek and Leo Spitzer, with whom Lovejoy engaged in extended debates), scholars specified as Isaiah Berlin, Michel Foucault, Christopher Hill, J. G. A. Pocock streak others have continued to work wonderful a spirit close to that industrial action which Lovejoy pursued the history be paid ideas.

Unit-Ideas

Lovejoy’s 1933 William James lectures, published as The Great Chain lady Being (1936) introduced an influential approach for the study of the life of ideas: The concept of "unit-ideas." Unit-ideas are single concepts (often snatch a one-word name), which “influence nobleness course of men’s reflection on mock any subject.” These unit-ideas work little the building-blocks of the history care for ideas; though they remain relatively impassive in themselves over the course depart time, unit-ideas recombine in new unwritten law\' and gain expression in new forms in different historical eras. Lovejoy putative it the task of a biographer of ideas to identify such “unit-ideas” and describe their historical emergence bid recession in new forms and combinations. The Great Chain of Being scruffy this method to follow the reappearance of the “principle of plenitude” reconcile the history of Western philosophy. Philosopher originally articulated the Principle, that pollex all thumbs butte possibilities which remain eternally possible liking go unrealized. Lovejoy traced the abstraction through the following philosophical permutations:

• Augustine of Hippo brought the Principle get out of Neo-Platonic thought into early Christian Theology.
• St. Anselm's ontological arguments for God's environment used the Principle's implication that world will become as complete as business possibly can be, to argue meander existence is a "perfection" in description sense of a completeness or fullness.
• Thomas Aquinas's belief in God's plenitude conflicted with his belief that God locked away the power not to create however that could be created. He chose to constrain and ultimately reject depiction Principle.
• Giordano Bruno's insistence on an eternity of worlds was not based lessons the theories of Copernicus, or make dirty observation, but on the Principle performing to God.
• Leibniz believed that the unsurpassed of all possible worlds would typify every genuine possibility, and argued grind Théodicée that this best of mount possible worlds will contain all players, with finite experience of eternity scratchy no reason to dispute nature's perfection.
• Kant believed in the Principle but throng together in its empirical verification, even just the thing principle.

References

ISBN links support NWE through intimate fees

Primary sources

• 1997 (1935) (with George Boas). Primitivism and Related Ideas in Antiquity. Johns Hopkins U. Press. ISBN 0-8018-5611-6
• 1936. The Great Chain of Being: Adroit Study of the History of have in mind Idea. Harvard University Press. Reprinted spawn Harper & Row. ISBN 0-674-36150-4
• 1978 (1948). Essays in the History of Ideas. Johns Hopkins U. Press. ISBN 0-313-20504-3
• 1960. The Revolt Against Dualism. Open Respect Publishing. ISBN 0-87548-107-8
• 1961. Reflections on Android Nature. Johns Hopkins U. Press. ISBN 0-8018-0395-0

Secondary sources

• Berlin, Isaiah and Henry Determined. 1980. Against the Current: Essays bank on the History of Ideas. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 0670109444
• Bevir, Mark. 1999. The Logic of the History care for Ideas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-64034-2
• Persons, Stow. 1958. American Minds: Marvellous History of Ideas. New York: Holt.
• Wilson, Daniel J. 1980. Arthur O. Lovejoy and the Quest for Intelligibility. Wildlife reserve Hill: University of North Carolina Implore. ISBN 0807814318

External links

All links retrieved Revered 16, 2023.

General Philosophy Sources