John Cook Wilson
Encyclopedia
John Cook Wilson was an English
philosopher. The only son of a Methodist minister, after Derby School
he went up to Balliol College, Oxford
in 1868, where he read both Classics and Mathematics, gaining a double First in both. Wilson became a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford in 1873. He was Wykeham Professor of Logic and a Fellow of New College, Oxford
, from 1889 until his death. H. A. Prichard and W.D. Ross were among his students. Belonging to a generation brought up in the atmosphere of British idealism
, he espoused the cause of direct realism. His posthumous collected papers, Statement and Inference, were influential on a generation of Oxford
philosophers, including H. H. Price
and Gilbert Ryle
. He also features prominently in the work of J.L. Austin, John McDowell
, and Timothy Williamson
. P.F. Strawson's expression, 'the attributive tie', in Individuals, 1959, 168, is named 'in memory of Cook Wilson'.
Cook Wilson often argued the existence of God as an experiential reality, quoted saying "We don't want merely inferred friends, could we be satisfied with an inferred God?" He also had a long running dispute with Lewis Carroll
over the Barber Shop Paradox
. He was, along with H. A. Prichard, one of Oxford's few early twentieth-century philosophers, to have a mathematical bacground. He obtained 1sts in mathematics, classics and philosophy (1st Mathematical Moderations, 1869; 1st Classical Moderations, 1870; 1st Math. Finals, 1871; and 1st Literae Humaniores, 1872). Mathematics, he said, is the best preparation for logic Statement and Inference, I : xxxviii). There is an amusing story of how he introduced calculus in a lecture to classically trained undergraduates. At the end of the lecture 'he walked smartly to the door, locked, or pretended to lock, it, and then standing there with his back to it said with decision : 'No one shall leave this room until you all grasp the essentials of this simple matter': Statement and Inference, I : xv. He had, however, little sympathy with the mathematical logic developed by Bertrand Russell
.
Cook Wilson's classical contributions should not be overlooked : 'On rearrangements of the Fifth Books of the Ethics' (1879), 'On the Structure of the Seventh Book of the Nicomachean Ethics, ch. i - x (1879); 'On the Interpretation of Plato's Timaeus' (1889); 'On the Geometrical Problem in Plato's Meno' (1903) and others listed at lxvi-lxxii of Statement and Inference, I. The latest discussion of Cook Wilson's classical work - on the Meno - is to be found in David Wolfsdorf, Trials of Reason, Oxford : 2008, 164-9, 172.
Wilson married a German
wife, Charlotte Schneider, in 1876. They had no children.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
philosopher. The only son of a Methodist minister, after Derby School
Derby School
Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational and comprehensive in 1974 and was closed in 1989...
he went up to Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
in 1868, where he read both Classics and Mathematics, gaining a double First in both. Wilson became a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford in 1873. He was Wykeham Professor of Logic and a Fellow of New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, from 1889 until his death. H. A. Prichard and W.D. Ross were among his students. Belonging to a generation brought up in the atmosphere 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...
, he espoused the cause of direct realism. His posthumous collected papers, Statement and Inference, were influential on a generation of 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...
philosophers, including H. H. Price
H. H. Price
Henry Habberley Price was a Welsh philosopher, known for his work on perception. He also wrote on parapsychology....
and Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle , was a British philosopher, a representative of the generation of British ordinary language philosophers that shared Wittgenstein's approach to philosophical problems, and is principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase "the ghost in the...
. He also features prominently in the work of J.L. Austin, John McDowell
John McDowell
John Henry McDowell is a South African philosopher, formerly a fellow of University College, Oxford and now University Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Although he has written extensively on metaphysics, epistemology, ancient philosophy, and meta-ethics, McDowell's most influential work...
, and Timothy Williamson
Timothy Williamson
Timothy Williamson is a British philosopher whose main research interests are in philosophical logic, philosophy of language, epistemology and metaphysics....
. P.F. Strawson's expression, 'the attributive tie', in Individuals, 1959, 168, is named 'in memory of Cook Wilson'.
Cook Wilson often argued the existence of God as an experiential reality, quoted saying "We don't want merely inferred friends, could we be satisfied with an inferred God?" He also had a long running dispute with Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
over the Barber Shop Paradox
Barbershop paradox
The Barbershop Paradox was proposed by Lewis Carroll in a three-page essay entitled "A Logical Paradox" which appeared in the July 1894 issue of Mind. The name comes from the "ornamental" short story that Carroll uses to illustrate the paradox...
. He was, along with H. A. Prichard, one of Oxford's few early twentieth-century philosophers, to have a mathematical bacground. He obtained 1sts in mathematics, classics and philosophy (1st Mathematical Moderations, 1869; 1st Classical Moderations, 1870; 1st Math. Finals, 1871; and 1st Literae Humaniores, 1872). Mathematics, he said, is the best preparation for logic Statement and Inference, I : xxxviii). There is an amusing story of how he introduced calculus in a lecture to classically trained undergraduates. At the end of the lecture 'he walked smartly to the door, locked, or pretended to lock, it, and then standing there with his back to it said with decision : 'No one shall leave this room until you all grasp the essentials of this simple matter': Statement and Inference, I : xv. He had, however, little sympathy with the mathematical logic developed by 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...
.
Cook Wilson's classical contributions should not be overlooked : 'On rearrangements of the Fifth Books of the Ethics' (1879), 'On the Structure of the Seventh Book of the Nicomachean Ethics, ch. i - x (1879); 'On the Interpretation of Plato's Timaeus' (1889); 'On the Geometrical Problem in Plato's Meno' (1903) and others listed at lxvi-lxxii of Statement and Inference, I. The latest discussion of Cook Wilson's classical work - on the Meno - is to be found in David Wolfsdorf, Trials of Reason, Oxford : 2008, 164-9, 172.
Wilson married a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
wife, Charlotte Schneider, in 1876. They had no children.
Writings
- Statement and Inference by John Cook Wilson, edited from the manuscripts by A.S.L. Farquharson (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1926)
- Statement and Inference (new edition, Thoemmes Continuum, 2007, 1091 pages) ISBN 185506958X
- On Military Cycling or Amenities of Controversy (1889)
- On the Interpretation of Plato's Timaeus (1886, new edition 1980) ISBN 0824095715
- Aristotelian Studies I (1879)
- On the Platonist Doctrine of the Asymbletoi Arithmoi (new edition, 1980) ISBN 0824095715
External links
- John Cook Wilson at the Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyStanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyThe Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a freely-accessible online encyclopedia of philosophy maintained by Stanford University. Each entry is written and maintained by an expert in the field, including professors from over 65 academic institutions worldwide...
- John Cook Wilson at amazon.co.uk
- John Cook Wilson at philosophypages.com
- JSTOR