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Henry Longueville Mansel (6 October 1820 – 30 July 1871)
was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
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 ...
and ecclesiastic.
Life
He was born at
Cosgrove,
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
(where his father, also Henry Longueville Mansel, fourth son of General
John Mansel
John Mansel (1729–1794) was a British Army cavalry general killed at the Battle of Beaumont (1794), Battle of Beaumont.
John Mansel was born in Cosgrove, Northamptonshire in 1729, son of the Reverend Christopher Mansel, and Sarah Hoare. He ma ...
, was rector). He was educated at
Merchant Taylors' School, London and
St John's College, Oxford
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...
. He took a double first in 1843, and became tutor of his college. He was appointed reader in moral and metaphysical philosophy at
Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
in 1855, and
Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy
The Waynflete Professorships are four professorial fellowships at the University of Oxford endowed by Magdalen College and named in honour of the college founder William of Waynflete, who had a great interest in science. These professorships are s ...
in 1859. He was a great opponent of university reform and of the
Hegelianism
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 a ...
which was then beginning to take root in Oxford. In 1867 he succeeded
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley
Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, (13 December 1815 – 18 July 1881), known as Dean Stanley, was an English Anglican priest and ecclesiastical historian. He was Dean of Westminster from 1864 to 1881. His position was that of a Broad Churchman and he wa ...
as
regius professor of ecclesiastical history
The Regius Chair of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford was founded by Queen Victoria in 1842. Previous Holders of the chair include John McManners, Peter Hinchliff and Henry Mayr-Harting.
The current Regius Professor of Ecclesias ...
, and in 1868 he was appointed
dean of St Paul's
The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also ''ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire.
The current dean is Andrew Tremlett, ...
. He died in
Cosgrove on the first of July 1871.
The philosophy of Mansel, like that of Sir
William Hamilton, was mainly due to
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
,
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
and
Thomas Reid
Thomas Reid (; 7 May ( O.S. 26 April) 1710 – 7 October 1796) was a religiously trained Scottish philosopher. He was the founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense and played an integral role in the Scottish Enlightenment. In 1783 he wa ...
. Like Hamilton, Mansel maintained the purely formal character of logic, the duality of consciousness as testifying to both self and the external world, and the limitation of knowledge to the finite and "conditioned." His doctrines were developed in his edition of Aldrich's ''Artis logicae rudimenta'' (1849) – his chief contribution to the reviving study of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
– and in his ''Prolegomena logica: an Inquiry into the Psychological Character of Logical Processes'' (1851, 2nd ed. enlarged 1860), in which the limits of logic as the "science of formal thinking" are rigorously determined.
In his
Bampton lectures
The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780.
They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial ...
on ''The Limits of Religious Thought'' (1858, 5th ed. 1867; Danish trans. 1888) he applied to
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
the metaphysical agnosticism which seemed to result from Kant's criticism, and which had been developed in Hamilton's ''Philosophy of the Unconditioned''. While denying all knowledge of the supersensuous, Mansel deviated from Kant in contending that cognition of the ego as it really belongs among the facts of experience. Consciousness, he held – agreeing thus with the doctrine of "natural realism" which Hamilton developed from Reid – implies knowledge both of self and of the external world. The latter Mansel's psychology reduces to consciousness of our organism as extended; with the former is given consciousness of free will and moral obligation.
These lectures led Mansel to a bitter controversy with the Christian socialist theologian
Frederick Maurice.
A summary of Mansel's philosophy is contained in his article "Metaphysics" in the 5th 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 ...
'' (1860). He also wrote
*"Metaphysics or the Philosophy of Consciousness Phenomenal and Real" (4th ed., 1883), 408pps, Edinburgh, Adam and Charles Black
*''The Philosophy of the Conditioned'' (1866) in reply to
John Stuart Mill
John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...
's criticism of Hamilton;
* ''Letters, Lectures, and Reviews'' (ed. Chandler, 1873),
*''The Gnostic Heresies of the First and Second Centuries'' (ed.
Joseph Barber Lightfoot
Joseph Barber Lightfoot (13 April 1828 – 21 December 1889), known as J. B. Lightfoot, was an English theologian and Bishop of Durham.
Life
Lightfoot was born in Liverpool, where his father John Jackson Lightfoot was an accountant. His mo ...
, 1875, with a biographical sketch by
Lord Carnarvon
Earl of Carnarvon is a title that has been created three times in British history. The current holder is George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon. The town and county in Wales to which the title refers are historically spelled ''Caernarfon,'' havi ...
).
He contributed a commentary on the first two gospels to the ''
Speaker's Commentary
Frederic Charles Cook (1 December 1804– 22 June 1889) was an English churchman, known as a linguist and the editor of the ''Speaker's Commentary'' on the Bible.
Life
Born at Millbrook, Hampshire, and later moved to Berkshire, he was admitted a ...
'' (1881).
Mansel's mother, Maria, was the daughter of Admiral Sir
Robert Moorsom
Admiral Sir Robert Moorsom KCB (8 June 1760 – 14 April 1835) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. His very active service career was especial ...
.
Notes
References
*Cited in Chisholm (1911):
**
John William Burgon
John William Burgon (21 August 18134 August 1888) was an English Anglican divine who became the Dean of Chichester Cathedral in 1876. He was known during his lifetime for his poetry and his defence of the historicity and Mosaic authorship of Gen ...
, ''Lives of Twelve Good Men'' (1888–1889)
**
James Martineau
James Martineau (; 21 April 1805 – 11 January 1900) was a British religious philosopher influential in the history of Unitarianism.
For 45 years he was Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Political Economy in Manchester New College ( ...
, ''Essays, Reviews and Addresses'' (London, 1891), iii. 117 seq.
**
A. W. Benn, ''The History of English Rationalism in the Nineteenth Century'' (1906), ii. 100–112
**
David Masson
David Mather Masson LLD DLitt (2 December 18226 October 1907), was a Scottish academic, supporter of women's suffrage, literary critic and historian.
Biography
He was born in Aberdeen, the son of William Masson, a stone-cutter, and his wi ...
, ''Recent British Philosophy'' (3rd ed., London, 1877), pp. 252 seq.
**
* Kenneth D. Freeman, "The Role of Reason in Religion: A Study of Henry Mansel" (The Hague, 1969)
External links
*
*
*
Internet Archive book by Henry Longueville Mansel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansel, Henry Longueville
1820 births
1871 deaths
English philosophers
People from West Northamptonshire District
Deans of St Paul's
People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
Waynflete Professors of Metaphysical Philosophy
Regius Professors of Ecclesiastical History
English male non-fiction writers