Charlie Dunbar Broad (30 December 1887 – 11 March 1971), usually cited as C. D. Broad, was an English philosopher who worked on

epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...

history of philosophy The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational inquiry based on argumentation, but some theorists also include myth, religious traditions, and proverbial lor ...

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

, and

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

, as well as the

philosophical Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

aspects of psychical research. He was known for his thorough and dispassionate examinations of

argument An argument is a series of sentences, statements, or propositions some of which are called premises and one is the conclusion. The purpose of an argument is to give reasons for one's conclusion via justification, explanation, and/or persu ...

s in such works as ''Scientific Thought'' (1923), ''The Mind and Its Place in Nature'' (1925), and ''Examination of McTaggart's Philosophy'' (2 vols., 1933–1938). Broad's essay on "Determinism, Indeterminism, and Libertarianism" in ''Ethics and the History of Philosophy'' (1952) introduced the philosophical terms ''occurrent causation'' and ''non-occurrent causation'', which became the basis for the contemporary distinction between "agent-causal" and "event-causal" in debates on

libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

Biography

Broad was born in

Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, north-west London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west towar ...

, in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, England.Harlesden was part of Middlesex until 1965; today it is part of the

London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...

in Greater London. He was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

from 1900 until 1906. He gained a scholarship in 1906 to study at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, graduating in 1910 with

First-Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

, with distinction. He became a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of Trinity College the following year.

Career

As his fellowship at Trinity College was a non-residential position, he was also able to accept a position as an assistant lecturer that he had applied for at

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

, where he remained until 1920. That year, he was appointed professor at

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

, working there until 1923, when he returned to Trinity as a lecturer. From 1926 until 1931, he was a lecturer in ' moral science' at Cambridge University's Faculty of Philosophy. Later at Cambridge, he was appointed in 1931 as 'Sidgwick Lecturer', a role he would keep until 1933, when he was appointed Knightbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy at the university, a position he held for twenty years (until 1953). In 1927 he gave the British Academy's Master-Mind Lecture, entitled "Sir Isaac Newton." In addition, Broad was President of the

Aristotelian Society The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London. History Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squar ...

from 1927 to 1928, and again from 1954 to 1955. He was also President of the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...

in 1935 and 1958.

Personal life

Broad was openly homosexual at a time when homosexual acts were illegal. In March 1958, Broad along with fellow philosophers A. J. Ayer and

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

, writer J.B. Priestley and 27 others sent a letter to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' which urged the acceptance of the '' Wolfenden Report's'' recommendation that homosexual acts should "no longer be a criminal offence."

Theory

Psychical research

Broad argued that if research could demonstrate that psychic events occur, this would challenge philosophical theories of " basic limiting principles" in at least five ways: #

Backward causation Backward or Backwards is a relative direction In geometry, direction, also known as spatial direction or vector direction, is the common characteristic of all ray (geometry), rays which coincide when translation (geometry), translated to share ...

(i.e., the future affecting the past) is rejected by many philosophers, but would be shown to occur if, for example, people could predict the future. # One common argument against

dualism Dualism most commonly refers to: * Mind–body dualism, a philosophical view which holds that mental phenomena are, at least in certain respects, not physical phenomena, or that the mind and the body are distinct and separable from one another * P ...

(i.e., the belief that, while bodies are physical entities, minds are a different, non-physical sort of entity) is that physical and non-physical things cannot interact. However, this would be shown to be possible if people can move physical objects by thought (

telekinesis Telekinesis () (alternatively called psychokinesis) is a purported psychic ability allowing an individual to influence a physical system without physical interaction. Experiments to prove the existence of telekinesis have historically been cri ...

). # Similarly, philosophers tend to be skeptical about claims that non-physical 'stuff' could interact with anything. This would also be challenged if

mind The mind is that which thinks, feels, perceives, imagines, remembers, and wills. It covers the totality of mental phenomena, including both conscious processes, through which an individual is aware of external and internal circumstances ...

s are shown to be able to communicate with each other, as would be the case if mind-reading is possible. # Philosophers generally accept that we can only learn about the world through

reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...

and

perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous syste ...

. This belief would be challenged if people were able to psychically perceive events in other places. # Physicalist philosophers believe that there cannot be persons without bodies. If ghosts were shown to exist, this view would be challenged. In his 1949 paper, Broad examined the implications of research by British parapsychologist Samuel Soal, who claimed to have discovered a subject, Basil Shackleton, capable of guessing the identity of Zener cards with odds of 'billions to one'. However, the validity of these findings was later questioned by Betty Markwick, following testimony from a colleague suggesting that Soal had manipulated both data and experiment methods.

Free will

In his essay "Determinism, Indeterminism, and Libertarianism", Broad argued for ''non-occurrent causation'' as "literally determined by the agent or self." The agent could be considered as a substance or continuant, and not by a total cause which contains as factors events in and dispositions of the agent. Thus, our efforts would be completely determined, but their causes would not be prior events. New series of events would then originate, which he called "continuants", which are essentially '' causa sui''. Peter van Inwagen says that Broad formulated an excellent version of what van Inwagen has called the "Consequence Argument" in defence of

incompatibilism Incompatibilism is the view that the thesis of determinism is logically incompatible with the classical thesis of free will. The term was coined in the 1960s, most likely by philosopher Keith Lehrer. The term ''compatibilism'' was coined (also by ...

Metaphilosophy and science

Broad distinguished between critical philosophy and speculative philosophy. He described critical philosophy as analysing "unanalysed concepts in daily life and in science" and then "expos ngthem to every objection that we can think of". While speculative philosophy's role is to "take over all aspects of human experience, to reflect upon them, and to try to think out a view of Reality as a whole which shall do justice to all of them". One aspect of critical philosophy was the Principle of Exceptional Cases, whereby everyday concepts are considered in highly abnormal cases, so as to "clear up the meaning" of a concept. Broad saw philosophy and science as supplemental to one another. Scientists who ignore philosophy expose themselves to a "danger to which the natural scientist is peculiarly liable. The extraordinary success of physics and chemistry within their own sphere tempts men to think that the world is simply a physico-chemical system". Whereas philosophers who ignore science are ignoring properties which are "very pervasive" and can shed light on things. In terms of empirical propositions Broad distinguished between inspective empirical propositions which he defined "one which asserts of some particular existent with which the mind is acquainted at the time some property which the mind can notice by inspection to belong to it" and inferred empirical propositions which are "derived from a number of perceptual propositions either directly by pure inductive generalization, or indirectly by deduction from one or more inductive generalizations".

Works

* 1914. '' Perception, Physics and Reality. An Enquiry into the Information that Physical Science can Supply about the Real''. London: Cambridge University Press. * 1923. '' Scientific Thought''. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co. * 1925
''The Mind and Its Place in Nature''
London: Kegan. * 1926

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * 1930

. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co. * 1931

London: Humphrey Milford. * 1933

Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. * 1934

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * 1938

Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. * 1943. '' Berkeley's Argument about Material Substance. Annual Philosophical Lecture, Henriette Hertz Trust, British Academy'' * 1952/2000. ''Ethics and the History of Philosophy''. Routledge. . * 1953/2000. ''Religion, Philosophy and Psychic Research''. Routledge. . * 1955.
Human Personality and the Possibility of Its Survival
'. University of California Press. * 1958.
Personal Identity and Survival
'. London:

. * 1962. '' Lectures on Psychical Research. Incorporating the Perrott Lectures given in Cambridge University in 1959 and 1960.'' New York: Humanities Press. ** contain
Saltmarsh's Investigation of Mrs Warren Elliott's Mediumship
. ''Lectures on Psychical Research. Incorporating the Perrott Lectures given in Cambridge University in 1959 and 1960''. New York: Humanities Press. * 1968. '' Induction, Probability, and Causation. Selected Papers of C. D. Broad''. Dordrecht: Reidel. * 1971. '' Broad's Critical Essays in Moral Philosophy'', New York: Humanities Press. * 1975. ''Leibniz: An Introduction''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * 1976.
Berkeley's Argument
'.. Haskell House Pub Ltd. * 1978. ''Kant: An Introduction''. (ed.) C. Lewy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * 1985. ''Ethics''. (ed.) C. Lewy, Dordrecht: Nijhoff. * 2023. ''C. D. Broad: Key Unpublished Writings'', (ed.) Joel Walmsley

Notes

References

Sources

* Brown, Robert (1967): " Broad, Charlie Dunbar" in: Borchert, Donald M., ed. 2006. ''

Encyclopedia of Philosophy An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

'', Volume 1 (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference. pp.695–700

External links

Charlie Dunbar Broad
entry at

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') is a freely available online philosophy resource published and maintained by Stanford University, encompassing both an online encyclopedia of philosophy and peer-reviewed original publication ...

C. D. Broad: a bibliography
Provides full pdf's of most of Broad's writings.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broad, C. D. 1887 births 1971 deaths 20th-century British philosophers Analytic philosophers Epistemologists Metaphysicians Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Dulwich College Parapsychologists People from Harlesden Philosophers of mind Philosophers of science Philosophers of time English historians of philosophy English writers on paranormal topics Libertarian theory Presidents of the Aristotelian Society Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the University of St Andrews