James M. Edie (November 3, 1927 – February 21, 1998) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

philosopher.

Life and career

Edie was born in

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. He studied at Saint John’s University in

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and at the Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselmbr>
in Rome, Italy, Rome before obtaining his doctorate in philosophy from the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...

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. Over his career, Edie became an important figure in the publicizing and development of

phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subjective experiences and a ...

in North America. He first taught philosophy for two years at

Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hobart and William Smith Colleges are Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from 45 maj ...

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. In 1961 Edie relocated to

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in Evanston,

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, where he remained until his retirement, serving as Chair of the Philosophy Department from 1970 to 1977. In 1962, along with John Daniel Wild, William A. Earle, and others, he founded the

Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy The Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP) is a philosophical society whose initial purpose was to promote the study of phenomenology and existentialism but has since expanded to a wide array of contemporary philosophical pursui ...

SPEP
. and was a member of the Executive Committee o
The International Association for Philosophy and Literature
for five years. Edie was fluent in at least six languages. He authored, co-authored, and edited a large corpus of academic papers and books during his career and, through his translations, introduced English readers to important works of contemporary continental philosophy. James Edie died of cancer at his home in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

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.Kenneth Seeskin, "James M. Edie 1927-1998," ''Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association'', vol. 72, no. 2 (Nov/1998), pp. 119-20.

Quotations from Edie's works

On his philosophical interests

:"I studied, under my professors, a good deal of Husserl and his contemporaries but especially the ''Logical Investigations''. It became clear to me, then, that the principal foci of my philosophical interests were in questions of epistemology and the philosophy of logic, broadly conceived. I had no more interest in the mathematization of formal logic, the creation of an "artificial language," than Husserl himself, but the study of the necessary formal constraints on thinking (and all the usages of language) together with the questions these imply whether in synchronic fact or diachronic history has monopolized my attention, almost to the exclusion of other questions. :"It is said that one's self-presentation is rendered more palatable if one mentions some weaknesses. Well, though I am not as apolitical as Husserl, nor, I hope, as lacking in common sense, questions of social and political philosophy, of value theory in general, and principally theoretical ethics leave me cold. I once told a colleague, who was pressing me: if I ever write on ethical theory, it will be posthumously." ::— "Self-presentation: James M. Edie", ''Analecta Husserliana: Vol. XXVI'', pp. 208-9.

Major works

Books (authored and edited)

* 186 pages. * :* . * 286 pages. * 309 pages. * 383 pages. * 414 pages. * 271 pages. . * 150 pages. (cloth), (paper). * 104 pages. (trade paper), (paper). * 111 pages. (cloth), (paper).

Translations

* 191 pages. * 67 pages. * 228 pages.

Notes

References

* 445 pages. . * 261 pages. (cloth), (paper). {{DEFAULTSORT:Edie James M. 1927 births 1998 deaths Philosophers from North Dakota 20th-century American philosophers American philosophy academics Northwestern University faculty People from Grand Forks, North Dakota Phenomenologists