Alfred Edward Taylor
Encyclopedia
Alfred Edward Taylor was a British idealist philosopher most famous for his contributions to the philosophy of idealism in his writings on metaphysics, the philosophy of religion
, moral philosophy, and the scholarship of Plato
. He was a fellow of the British Academy
(1911) and president of the Aristotelian Society
from 1928 to 1929. At Oxford he was made an honorary fellow of New College in 1931. In an age of universal upheaval and strife, he was a notable defender of Idealism in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Educated at Oxford
in the closing days of the great European idealist movement, Taylor was early influenced by the school of British Idealism
, especially neo-Hegelianism. He was educated at New College, where he obtained a First in Litterae Humaniores or 'Greats' in 1891 and held a prize fellowship at Merton College (1891-6). His first major book, Elements of Metaphysics (1903), dedicated (in heartfelt acknowledgment) to F.H. Bradley, is a systematic treatise of metaphysics covering such topics as ontology, cosmology, and rational psychology, and influenced by such luminaries as Josiah Royce
, James Ward
, George Frederick Stout, Richard Avenarius
, and Hugo Munsterberg
, as well as Robert Adamson, Wilhelm Ostwald
, Bertrand Russell
, and even Louis Couturat
.
In later years, most notably in The Faith of a Moralist, Taylor began to move away from certain doctrines of his early idealistic youth, towards a more mature and comprehensive idealist philosophy. While students at Oxford and Cambridge were in thrall of anti-idealism, Taylor for many years influenced generations of young people at the University of St. Andrews (1908–1924) and the University of Edinburgh
(1924–1941), two of the most ancient and prestigious universities of the United Kingdom, where he was Professor of Moral Philosophy.
As a philosophical scholar he is considered, alongside Francis Macdonald Cornford, one of the greatest English Platonists of his time. In the first half of the 20th century, Taylor remained, in a reactionary age of anti-metaphysics and growing political irrationalism, a lonely but stalwart defender of 19th century European philosophical idealism in the English-speaking world.
But his scholarship was not confined to Greek philosophy. In 1938 Taylor published in Philosophy
, 13, 406-24, a landmark article, 'The Ethical Doctrine of Hobbes'. This argues that 'Hobbes's ethical theory is logically independent of the egoistic psychology and is a strict deontology' (Stuart Brown, 'The Taylor Thesis', Hobbes Studies, ed. K. Thomas, Oxford : Blackwell, 1965 : 31). (The text of Taylor's article is reprinted in the same volume.) The deontological angle was developed, though with divergencies from Taylor's argument, by Howard Warrender in The Political Philosophy of Hobbes, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1957.
, he is perhaps most famous for presenting evidence in support of the position the vast majority of the statements of Socrates
in the Platonic dialogues accurately depict ideas of the historical man himself. His magnum opus, Plato: The Man and His Work (1926) and his commentary on the Timaeus
(1927) are particularly important contributions to the higher learning of his time.
In moral philosophy he explored such issues as free will and the relationship between rightness and goodness. Taylor was greatly influenced by the thought of classical antiquity, by such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle
, as well as medieval scholasticism.
His contribution to the philosophy of religion is mainly his 1926-1928 Gifford Lectures
, The Faith of a Moralist (1930). Taylor made many contributions to the philosophical journal, Mind.
Philosophy of religion
Philosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy concerned with questions regarding religion, including the nature and existence of God, the examination of religious experience, analysis of religious language and texts, and the relationship of religion and science...
, moral philosophy, and the scholarship of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
. He was a fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
(1911) and president of the Aristotelian Society
Aristotelian Society
The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Square which resolved "to constitute a society of about twenty and to include ladies; the society to meet fortnightly, on Mondays at 8 o'clock, at the rooms of the Spelling...
from 1928 to 1929. At Oxford he was made an honorary fellow of New College in 1931. In an age of universal upheaval and strife, he was a notable defender of Idealism in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Career
Taylor was both a philosopher in his own right, addressing all the central problems of philosophy, and a philosophical scholar.Educated at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in the closing days of the great European idealist movement, Taylor was early influenced by the school of British Idealism
British idealism
A species of absolute idealism, British idealism was a philosophical movement that was influential in Britain from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century. The leading figures in the movement were T.H. Green , F. H. Bradley , and Bernard Bosanquet . They were succeeded by the...
, especially neo-Hegelianism. He was educated at New College, where he obtained a First in Litterae Humaniores or 'Greats' in 1891 and held a prize fellowship at Merton College (1891-6). His first major book, Elements of Metaphysics (1903), dedicated (in heartfelt acknowledgment) to F.H. Bradley, is a systematic treatise of metaphysics covering such topics as ontology, cosmology, and rational psychology, and influenced by such luminaries as Josiah Royce
Josiah Royce
Josiah Royce was an American objective idealist philosopher.-Life:Royce, born in Grass Valley, California, grew up in pioneer California very soon after the California Gold Rush. He received the B.A...
, James Ward
James Ward (psychologist)
James Ward was an English psychologist and philosopher. He was born in Kingston upon Hull, the eldest of nine children. His father was an unsuccessful merchant...
, George Frederick Stout, Richard Avenarius
Richard Avenarius
Richard Heinrich Ludwig Avenarius was a German-Swiss philosopher. He formulated the radical positivist doctrine of "empirical criticism" or empirio-criticism....
, and Hugo Munsterberg
Hugo Münsterberg
Hugo Münsterberg was a German-American psychologist. He was one of the pioneers in applied psychology, extending his research and theories to Industrial/Organizational , legal, medical, clinical, educational and business settings. Münsterberg encountered immense turmoil with the outbreak of the...
, as well as Robert Adamson, Wilhelm Ostwald
Wilhelm Ostwald
Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald was a Baltic German chemist. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 for his work on catalysis, chemical equilibria and reaction velocities...
, Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
, and even Louis Couturat
Louis Couturat
Louis Couturat was a French logician, mathematician, philosopher, and linguist.-Life:Born in Ris-Orangis, Essonne, France, he was educated in philosophy and mathematics at the École Normale Supérieure...
.
In later years, most notably in The Faith of a Moralist, Taylor began to move away from certain doctrines of his early idealistic youth, towards a more mature and comprehensive idealist philosophy. While students at Oxford and Cambridge were in thrall of anti-idealism, Taylor for many years influenced generations of young people at the University of St. Andrews (1908–1924) and the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
(1924–1941), two of the most ancient and prestigious universities of the United Kingdom, where he was Professor of Moral Philosophy.
As a philosophical scholar he is considered, alongside Francis Macdonald Cornford, one of the greatest English Platonists of his time. In the first half of the 20th century, Taylor remained, in a reactionary age of anti-metaphysics and growing political irrationalism, a lonely but stalwart defender of 19th century European philosophical idealism in the English-speaking world.
But his scholarship was not confined to Greek philosophy. In 1938 Taylor published in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, 13, 406-24, a landmark article, 'The Ethical Doctrine of Hobbes'. This argues that 'Hobbes's ethical theory is logically independent of the egoistic psychology and is a strict deontology' (Stuart Brown, 'The Taylor Thesis', Hobbes Studies, ed. K. Thomas, Oxford : Blackwell, 1965 : 31). (The text of Taylor's article is reprinted in the same volume.) The deontological angle was developed, though with divergencies from Taylor's argument, by Howard Warrender in The Political Philosophy of Hobbes, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1957.
Major contributions
As a scholar of PlatoPlato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, he is perhaps most famous for presenting evidence in support of the position the vast majority of the statements of Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
in the Platonic dialogues accurately depict ideas of the historical man himself. His magnum opus, Plato: The Man and His Work (1926) and his commentary on the Timaeus
Timaeus (dialogue)
Timaeus is one of Plato's dialogues, mostly in the form of a long monologue given by the title character, written circa 360 BC. The work puts forward speculation on the nature of the physical world and human beings. It is followed by the dialogue Critias.Speakers of the dialogue are Socrates,...
(1927) are particularly important contributions to the higher learning of his time.
In moral philosophy he explored such issues as free will and the relationship between rightness and goodness. Taylor was greatly influenced by the thought of classical antiquity, by such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, as well as medieval scholasticism.
His contribution to the philosophy of religion is mainly his 1926-1928 Gifford Lectures
Gifford Lectures
The Gifford Lectures were established by the will of Adam Lord Gifford . They were established to "promote and diffuse the study of Natural Theology in the widest sense of the term — in other words, the knowledge of God." The term natural theology as used by Gifford means theology supported...
, The Faith of a Moralist (1930). Taylor made many contributions to the philosophical journal, Mind.
Other works
Other writings include:- The Problem of Conduct: A Study in the Phenomenology of Ethics, 1901;
- Thomas Hobbes, 1908;
- Plato, 1908;
- Elements of Metaphysics, 1909;
- Epicurus, 1911;
- Varia Socratica, first series, 1911;
- The Mind of Plato, 1922;
- Platonism and Its Influence, 1924;
- David Hume and the Miraculous, 1927;
- Plato and the Authorship of the Epinomis, 1929;
- Socrates: The Man and His Thought, 1932;
- Philosophical Studies, 1934;
- The Christian Hope of Immortality, 1938;
- Does God Exist?, 1945.