Edward Caird (; 23 March 1835 – 1 November 1908) was a Scottish

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. He was a holder of

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

DCL DCL or may refer to: * 650 in Roman numerals, see 650 (disambiguation) Computers * Data Center Linux, see Open Source Development Labs * Data Control Language, a subset of SQL * Dialog Control Language, a language and interpreter within Aut ...

, and

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doct ...

Life

The younger brother of the theologian John Caird, he was the son of engineer John Caird, the proprietor of

Caird & Company Caird is a surname and may refer to: * Edward Caird Edward Caird (; 23 March 1835 – 1 November 1908) was a Scottish philosopher. He was a holder of LLD, DCL, and DLitt. Life The younger brother of the theologian John Caird, he was t ...

, born at

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands o ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renf ...

, and educated at

Greenock Academy The Greenock Academy was a mixed non-denominational school in the west end of Greenock, Scotland, founded in 1855, originally independent, later a grammar school with a primary department, and finally a Comprehensive school only for ages eleven t ...

and the Universities of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(B.A. 1863). He was a Fellow and Tutor of

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, c ...

from 1864 to 1866. In 1866, he was appointed to the Chair of Moral Philosophy at

, which he held until 1893. In that year he became

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles *Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master, ...

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the ...

, from which he retired in 1907. In 1894 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Merton College. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1900. In May 1902 he was at Carnavon to receive the honorary degree D.Litt. (Doctor of Letters) from the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

during the ceremony to install the Prince of Wales (later King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Quee ...

) as Chancellor of that university. He was a founder member of the

Glasgow and West of Scotland Association for Women's Suffrage The Glasgow and West of Scotland Association for Women’s Suffrage was an organisation involved in campaigning for women’s suffrage, based in Glasgow, with members from all over the west of Scotland. Formation The association met for th ...

, alongside his wife, Caroline. The philosopher John Watson was among his pupils at the University of Glasgow. He died in

on 1 November 1908 and was buried there in St Sepulchres Cemetery. Caird was a

Hegelian Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...

idealist and was an important contributor to the British idealist movement.

Family

He married Caroline Frances Wylie in 1867. They had no children.Anon., ''Who was Who: A Companion to "Who's Who"'' (London: A & C Black, 1967), p. 111.

Works

Books

* ''The Collected Works of Edward Caird'', 12 volumes, ed. Colin Tyler, Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 1999 * ''A Critical Account of the Philosophy of Kant, with an Historical Introduction'', Glasgow: J. Maclehose, 1877
''Hegel''
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott and Co.; Edinburgh: W. Blackwood and Sons, 1883
''The Social Philosophy and Religion of Comte''
Glasgow: J. Maclehose and Sons, 1885; New York: Macmillan, 1885 * ''The Critical Philosophy of Immanuel Kant'', Glasgow: J. Maclehose and Sons, 1889; New York: Macmillan, 1889 (2 volumes
''Volume 1''''Volume 2''
second edition 1909 * ''Essays on Literature and Philosophy'', Glasgow: J. Maclehose and Sons, 1892 (2 volumes
''Volume 1''''Volume 2''
* ''The Evolution of Religion'', Glasgow: James Maclehose and Sons, 1893; New York: Macmillan, 1893 (

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in ...

1890–92
III
* ''The Evolution of Theology in the Greek Philosophers'', Glasgow: J. Maclehose and Sons, 1904 (

, 1900–02
III

''Lay sermons and addresses, delivered in the Hall of Balliol College, Oxford''
(1907)

Pamphlets

''The Problem of Philosophy at the Present Time: an Introductory Address Delivered to the Philosophical Society of the University of Edinburgh''
Glasgow, James Maclehose & Sons, 1881 * ''The Moral Aspect of the Economical Problem: Presidential Address to the Ethical Society'', London, Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co., 1888 * ''Address on Plato's Republic as the Earliest Educational Treatise'', Bangor: Jarvis & Foster, 1894
''Individualism and Socialism, Being the Inaugural Address to the Civic Society of Glasgow''
(1897)
''Idealism and the Theory of Knowledge''
London: Henry Frowde, 1903

References

Citations

Sources

* Jones, H., & Muirhead, J. H., ''The Life and Philosophy of Edward Caird'', Glasgow: MacLehose, Jackson & Co., 1921. * Tyler, C., ''Edward Caird'', in ''Dictionary of Liberal Thought''; Brack & Randall (eds.), Politico's 2007, pp. 54–56.

External links

*
The life and philosophy of Edward Caird
by Sir Henry Jones and John Henry Muirhead (1921), on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

''Edward Caird''
biographical notes and Lectures online at the

website
Edward Caird's grave in St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford, with biography
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caird, Edward 1835 births 1908 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Academics of the University of Glasgow Idealists Masters of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the British Academy People from Greenock People educated at Greenock Academy Scottish philosophers Scottish suffragists Presidents of Co-operative Congress Burials at St Sepulchre's Cemetery