Abraham Wolf (1876 19 May 1948) was a Russian-born English historian, philosopher, writer, and rabbi. Born to a shopkeeper and his wife, Wolf simultaneously studied

mental Mental may refer to: * of or relating to the mind Films * ''Mental'' (2012 film), an Australian comedy-drama * ''Mental'' (2016 film), a Bangladeshi romantic-action movie * ''Mental'', a 2008 documentary by Kazuhiro Soda * ''Mental'', a 2014 O ...

and

moral philosophy Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and

Semitic studies Semitic studies, or Semitology, is the academic field dedicated to the studies of Semitic languages and literatures and the history of the Semitic-speaking peoples. A person may be called a ''Semiticist'' or a ''Semitist'', both terms being equi ...

at the

Jews' College The London School of Jewish Studies (commonly known as LSJS, originally founded as Jews' College) is a London-based organisation providing adult educational courses and training to the wider Jewish community. Since 2012 LSJS also offers rabbinic ...

. He later attended St John's College on a Jews' College scholarship and his dissertation was published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

in 1905. Wolf is credited with introducing the

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal. Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, where he lectured as Professor of Logic and Scientific Method from 1920 to 1941. Wolf was a scientific rationalist who embraced ideas held by

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

—many of whose works Wolf translated into English—and

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

. Wolf's 1915 collection of lectures on

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

was "one of the earliest English discussions of the thinker". Wolf was the co-editor of the 14th edition of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

'', published in 1929. Two volumes of his '' A History of Science, Technology, and Philosophy in the 16th and 17th Centuries'', written with the assistance of University College astronomer Angus Armitage, were published in 1935; two further volumes, '' A History of Science, Technology, and Philosophy in the 18th Century'', were published two years later. He was also a rabbi at the Manchester Reform Synagogue and a frequent contributor to the '' Jewish Quarterly Review''. However, he would experience a tension between his beliefs in

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

and science, and he eventually resigned from the rabbinate in 1907. By 1933, Wolf had ceased to write anything noteworthy on Judaism, having devoted himself to philosophy and secular scholarship. From 1942 until his death in 1948, he was an honorary associate of the

Rationalist Press Association The Rationalist Association, originally the Rationalist Press Association, is an organization in the United Kingdom, founded in 1885 by a group of freethinkers who were unhappy with the increasingly political and decreasingly intellectual tenor ...

. In 1950, Wolf's private collection of books by and about Spinoza—which took forty-five years to amass and was then the largest collection of its kind in the world—was transferred to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, Abraham 1876 births 1948 deaths Historians of science Philosophers of science Jewish historians Jewish philosophers 20th-century British historians 20th-century English male writers Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Cambridge 20th-century British Jews British male non-fiction writers 20th-century English historians