Henry Babcock Veatch
Encyclopedia
Henry Babcock Veatch, Jr. (September 26, 1911 – July 9, 1999) was a twentieth-century American philosopher.
, Indiana
. He obtained his Ph.D.
from Harvard University
in 1937 and spent his career at Indiana University
(1937–1965), Northwestern University
(1965–1973), and Georgetown University
(1973–1983) where he was Philosophy Department Chair from 1973 to 1976. He also had visiting professorships at Colby College
, Haverford College
and St. Thomas University
.
Veatch was active in the Episcopal Church
and served as president of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. He served as president of the Metaphysical Society of America
in 1961. In 1970–71 he served as president of the Western Division of the American Philosophical Association
. He was a member of the Guild of Scholars of The Episcopal Church
.
Henry Veatch died in Bloomington, Indiana
. Indiana University maintains the archive of his collected papers (1941–1997).
, an authority on Thomistic philosophy
, and one of the leading neo-Aristotelian
thinkers of his time. He opposed such modern and contemporary developments as the "transcendental turn
" and the "linguistic turn
." A staunch advocate of plain speaking and "Hoosier
" common sense, in philosophy and elsewhere, he argued on behalf of realist
metaphysics
and practical ethics
.
Veatch's most widely read book was Rational Man: A Modern Interpretation of Aristotelian Ethics (1962) which explicitly offered a rationalist counterpoint to William Barrett's
well-known study in existential philosophy
, Irrational Man (1958).
Life and career
Veatch was born in EvansvilleEvansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. He obtained his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1937 and spent his career at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
(1937–1965), Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
(1965–1973), and Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
(1973–1983) where he was Philosophy Department Chair from 1973 to 1976. He also had visiting professorships at Colby College
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college located on Mayflower Hill in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813, it is the 12th-oldest independent liberal arts college in the United States...
, Haverford College
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
and St. Thomas University
St. Thomas University
Schools with the name St. Thomas University:*St. Thomas University *St. Thomas University *St. Thomas University, Japan...
.
Veatch was active in the Episcopal Church
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
and served as president of the American Catholic Philosophical Association. He served as president of the Metaphysical Society of America
Metaphysical Society of America
The Metaphysical Society of America is a philosophical organization founded by Paul Weiss in 1950 for promoting the study of metaphysics. The society is a member of the American Council of Learned Societies...
in 1961. In 1970–71 he served as president of the Western Division of the American Philosophical Association
American Philosophical Association
The American Philosophical Association is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Founded in 1900, its mission is to promote the exchange of ideas among philosophers, to encourage creative and scholarly activity in philosophy, to facilitate the professional work...
. He was a member of the Guild of Scholars of The Episcopal Church
Guild of Scholars of The Episcopal Church
The Guild of Scholars of the Episcopal Church is a society of lay Episcopal academics which meets annually at General Theological Seminary in New York in November of each year.-History:...
.
Henry Veatch died in Bloomington, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
. Indiana University maintains the archive of his collected papers (1941–1997).
Philosophy
Veatch was a major proponent of rationalismRationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
, an authority on Thomistic philosophy
Thomism
Thomism is the philosophical school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, his commentaries on Aristotle are his most lasting contribution...
, and one of the leading neo-Aristotelian
Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism is a tradition of philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. The works of Aristotle were initially defended by the members of the Peripatetic school, and, later on, by the Neoplatonists, who produced many commentaries on Aristotle's writings...
thinkers of his time. He opposed such modern and contemporary developments as the "transcendental turn
Transcendental idealism
Transcendental idealism is a doctrine founded by German philosopher Immanuel Kant in the eighteenth century. Kant's doctrine maintains that human experience of things is similar to the way they appear to us — implying a fundamentally subject-based component, rather than being an activity that...
" and the "linguistic turn
Linguistic turn
The linguistic turn was a major development in Western philosophy during the 20th century, the most important characteristic of which is the focusing of philosophy and the other humanities primarily on the relationship between philosophy and language....
." A staunch advocate of plain speaking and "Hoosier
Hoosier
Hoosier is the official demonym for a resident of the U.S. state of Indiana. Although residents of most U.S. states typically adopt a derivative of the state name, e.g., "Indianan" or "Indianian", natives of Indiana rarely use these. Indiana adopted the nickname "Hoosier State" more than 150...
" common sense, in philosophy and elsewhere, he argued on behalf of realist
Philosophical realism
Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief that our reality, or some aspect of it, is ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc....
metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
and practical ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
.
Veatch's most widely read book was Rational Man: A Modern Interpretation of Aristotelian Ethics (1962) which explicitly offered a rationalist counterpoint to William Barrett's
William Barrett (philosopher)
William Christopher Barrett was a professor of philosophy at New York University from 1950 to 1979. Precociously, he began post-secondary studies at the City College of New York when 15 years old. He received his PhD at Columbia University. He was an editor of Partisan Review and later the...
well-known study in existential philosophy
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
, Irrational Man (1958).
Major works
- Concerning the Ontological Status of Logical Forms (1948)
- Aristotelian and Mathematical Logic (1950)
- In Defense of the Syllogism (1950)
- Metaphysics and the Paradoxes (1952)
- Intentional Logic: A Logic Based on Philosophical RealismIntentional LogicIntentional Logic: A Logic Based on Philosophical Realism is a book by Henry Babcock Veatch published in 1952....
(1952) - Realism and Nominalism Revisited (1954)
- Logic as a Human Instrument (1959, with Francis Parker)
- Rational Man: A Modern Interpretation of Aristotelian Ethics (1962)
- The Truths of Metaphysics (1964)
- Non-cognitivism in Ethics: A modest proposal for its diagnosis and cure (1966)
- Two Logics: the Conflict between Classical and Neo-Analytic Philosophy (1969)
- For an Ontology of Morals: A Critique of Contemporary Ethical Theory (1971)
- Aristotle: A Contemporary Appreciation (1974)
- Human Rights: Fact or Fancy (1985)
- Swimming Against the Current in Contemporary Philosophy (1990)