Arthur lovejoy biography

Arthur Oncken Lovejoy (October 10, 1873, - December 30, 1962) was an influential American intellectual archivist and philosopher, who founded illustriousness field known as the life of ideas. As a prof of philosophy at Johns Moneyman University from 1910 to 1938, Lovejoy founded and long presided over that university's History believe Ideas Club, where many attention-grabbing and budding intellectual and collective historians, as well as mythical critics, gathered.

In 1940, significant founded the Journal of influence History of Ideas.

Lovejoy advocated "critical realism," the theory that issue objects exist independently of soul in person bodily perception of them, and promoted what he called “temporalistic realism,” the theory that reality pump up unfinished, constantly in transition standing constantly adding to itself.

High-mindedness history of ideas is class study of these changes reprove developments. In The Great Bond of Being (1936) he exotic the concept of “unit-ideas,” unique concepts which “influence the ambit of men’s reflection on about any subject.” These unit-ideas trust the building-blocks of the wildlife of ideas; the historian method ideas studies how they recombine in new patterns and attain expression in new forms urgency different historical contexts.

Life

Arthur Oncken Lovejoy was born in Songster, Germany on October 10, 1873, the son of Wallace William Lovejoy, a Boston medical fan doing research in Germany, famous his German wife, Sara Oncken Lovejoy.

Goodness family moved to Boston get a move on 1875, but Sara Lovejoy dedicated suicide soon afterward, whereupon fulfil father gave up medicine meticulous became a clergyman in integrity Episcopal church. In 1881, Rebel Lovejoy married Emmeline Dutton. President Lovejoy received his early teaching at schools in Ohio, Penn, and New Jersey. After subside graduated from the academy family unit Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1891, circlet family moved to Oakland, Calif., where Lovejoy entered the Creation of California at Berkeley.

Under the influence of the doyen George Homes Howison, Lovejoy’s interests changed from religion to conclusions. After graduating from the Introduction of California in 1895, sharptasting studied philosophy at Harvard below William James and Josiah Royce. In 1897 he received surmount Masters degree, and then deliberate at the Sorbonne from 1898-1899.

He became a teacher time off philosophy at Stanford University, on the other hand resigned in 1901 to show support the dismissal of a ease, the sociologist E. A Transport, who had offended a guardian. For the rest of diadem life he was a espousal of academic freedom for sanatorium and college faculty. The Principal of Harvard then vetoed location Lovejoy on the grounds give it some thought he was a known incendiary.

Over the subsequent decade, lighten up taught at Washington University (1901-1907), Columbia University (1907-1908), and honesty University of Missouri (1908-1910).

As a professor of philosophy look down at Johns Hopkins University from 1910 to 1938, Lovejoy founded duct long presided over that university's History of Ideas Club, site many prominent and budding pupil, social historians, and literary critics, gathered.

Lovejoy also helped exist the American Association of Doctrine Professors and the Maryland period of the American Civil Liberties Union. During World War Funny he was active in rank National Security League and magnanimity YMCA. After the war be active concentrated on philosophy and honourableness history of ideas. His 1933, his William James lectures were published as The Great Link of Being (1936).

In 1938 he retired from Johns Actor and devoted himself to digging, becoming involved in the Journal of the History of Ideas, which began publication in 1940.

During World War II, Lovejoy served as administrator, editor, countryside writer for the Historical Boldness Board of the American True Association, and for the Universities Commission on Post-War International Squeezing.

He was a member attention to detail the American Committee for Native Freedom, set up to clash the threat of communism. Granted he was a strong backer of the freedom of flair members to teach unencumbered get by without ideological restrictions, at the climax of the McCarthy Era (in the February 14, 1952 demonstration of the Journal of Philosophy) Lovejoy stated that, since flux was a "matter of functional fact" that membership in rectitude Communist Party contributed "to honourableness triumph of a world-wide organization" which was opposed to "freedom of inquiry, of opinion ground of teaching," membership in depiction party constituted grounds for dispossession from academic positions.

Lovejoy served as a member of description Maryland Board of Regents stay away from 1951-1955, published numerous opinion throw somebody into disarray in The Baltimore Sun, skull continued his scholarly work, up in the air his death in Baltimore speculate December 30, 1962. He at no time married.

Thought and Works

Arthur Oncken Lovejoy is credited with intrusion the interdisciplinary academic field careful as the "history of ideas." He advocated critical realism, blue blood the gentry theory that material objects grow independently of human perception counterfeit them, and that content weather object are epistemologically different.

Revolt Against Dualism (1930) argued lose concentration, “there are changes in make up your mind physical structures which generate existents that are not physical…and these non-physical particulars are indispensable course to any knowledge of incarnate realities.” Lovejoy also promoted what he called “temporalistic realism,” blue blood the gentry theory that reality is raw, constantly in transition and day in adding to itself.

The anecdote of ideas was the memorize of these changes and developments.

Aside from his students paramount colleagues engaged in related projects (such as René Wellek boss Leo Spitzer, with whom Lovejoy engaged in extended debates), scholars such as Isaiah Berlin, Michel Foucault, Christopher Hill, J.

Downy. A. Pocock and others fake continued to work in capital spirit close to that get which Lovejoy pursued the version of ideas.

Unit-Ideas

Lovejoy’s 1933 William James lectures, published as The Great Chain of Being (1936) introduced an influential methodology aim for the study of the account of ideas: The concept assiduousness "unit-ideas." Unit-ideas are single concepts (often with a one-word name), which “influence the course be keen on men’s reflection on almost man subject.” These unit-ideas work kind the building-blocks of the legend of ideas; though they stay put relatively unchanged in themselves see in your mind's eye the course of time, unit-ideas recombine in new patterns move gain expression in new forms in different historical eras.

Lovejoy considered it the task allude to a historian of ideas just about identify such “unit-ideas” and arrange their historical emergence and consumption in new forms and combinations. The Great Chain of Being used this method to take delivery of the recurrence of the “principle of plenitude” in the characteristics of Western philosophy.

Aristotle at first articulated the Principle, that rebuff possibilities which remain eternally likely will go unrealized. Lovejoy derived the concept through the succeeding philosophical permutations:

• Augustine of Artiodactyl brought the Principle from Neo-Platonic thought into early Christian Theology.
• St.

  Anselm's ontological arguments for God's existence used the Principle's involvement that nature will become similarly complete as it possibly gawk at be, to argue that stand is a "perfection" in primacy sense of a completeness character fullness.

• Thomas Aquinas's belief in God's plenitude conflicted with his solution that God had the stroke not to create everything lose one\'s train of thought could be created.

  He chose to constrain and ultimately veto the Principle.

• Giordano Bruno's insistence handle an infinity of worlds was not based on the theories of Copernicus, or on examination, but on the Principle factual to God.
• Leibniz believed that significance best of all possible earths would actualize every genuine danger, and argued in Théodicée focus this best of all viable worlds will contain all clearing, with finite experience of vastness giving no reason to impugn nature's perfection.
• Kant believed in illustriousness Principle but not in dismay empirical verification, even in principle.

References

ISBN links support NWE through cite fees

Primary sources

• 1997 (1935) (with Martyr Boas).

  Primitivism and Related Essence in Antiquity. Johns Hopkins U. Press. ISBN 0-8018-5611-6

• 1936. The Skilled Chain of Being: A Read of the History of entail Idea. Harvard University Press. Reprinted by Harper & Row. ISBN 0-674-36150-4
• 1978 (1948). Essays in rectitude History of Ideas.

  Johns Moneyman U. Press. ISBN 0-313-20504-3

• 1960. The Revolt Against Dualism. Open Pursue Publishing.
  Biography martin

  ISBN 0-87548-107-8

• 1961. Reflections on Human Nature. Johns Hopkins U. Press. ISBN 0-8018-0395-0

Secondary sources

• Berlin, Isaiah and h Hardy. 1980. Against the Current: Essays in the History taste Ideas. New York: Viking Plead. ISBN 0670109444
• Bevir, Mark. 1999. The Logic of the History point toward Ideas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Partnership.

  ISBN 0-521-64034-2

• Persons, Stow. 1958. American Minds: A History of Ideas. New York: Holt.
• Wilson, Daniel List. 1980. Arthur O. Lovejoy ray the Quest for Intelligibility. Sanctum Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807814318

External links

All correspondence retrieved August 16, 2023.

General Philosophy Sources