John Fearn (1768 3 December 1837) was a British philosopher. ''Note'': ''He has frequently been confused with John Fearn, the English whaling captain who was the first European to discover

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

in 1798.'' Little is known about Fearn's early life. He was probably born in May 1768 (baptised 11 May) in

Chatham, Kent Chatham ( ) is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. The town developed around Chatham ...

Parish Register quoted in He spent some years as an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

,''Philosophical Works of Lady Mary Shepherd'', Volume 2
Retrieved 2 April 2015 and after retirement devoted himself to philosophical writings. He was particularly interested in ocular phenomena and visual perception. He was a friend of

Samuel Parr Samuel Parr (26 January 1747 – 6 March 1825), was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and (flatteringly) as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well ...

and

Basil Montagu Basil Montagu (24 April 1770 – 27 November 1851) was a British jurist, barrister, writer and philanthropist. He was educated at Charterhouse and studied law at Cambridge. He was significantly involved in reforms to bankruptcy laws of Britain. H ...

.Oxford Index
Retrieved 2 April 2015 Fearn died in Sloane St,

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, on 3 December 1837.

Works

* ''An Essay on Consciousness, or a Series of Evidences of a Distinct Mind'', London, 1810, 2nd edit. 1812, 4to * ''A Review of First Principles of Bishop Berkeley, Dr. Reid, and Professor Stewart, with an indication of other principles'', London, 1813, 4to (also printed in the ‘Pamphleteer,’ No. vi.) * ''An Essay on Immortality'', London, 1814, 8vo. * ''A Demonstration of the Principles of Primary Vision, with the consequent state of Philo- sophy in Great Britain'', London, 1815, 4to * ''A Demonstration of Necessary Connection'', London, 1815, 4to * ''A Letter to Professor Stewart on the Objects of General Terms, and on the Axiomatical Laws of Vision'', London, 1817, 4to * ''First Lines of the Human Mind'', London, 1820, 8vo * ''Anti-Tooke; or an Analysis of the Principles and Structure of Language exemplified in the English Tongue'', London, 1824, 8vo * ''A Manual of the Physiology of Mind, comprehending the First Principles of Physical Theology, with which are laid out the crucial objections to the Reideian Theory. To which is suffixed a paper on the Logic of Relation considered as a machine for Ratiocinative Science'', London, 1829, 8vo * ''A Rationale of the Laws of Cerebral Vision, comprising the Laws of Single and of Erect Vision, deduced upon the Principles of Dioptrics'', London, 1830, 8vo * ''The Human Sensorium investigated as to figure'', London, 1832, 8vo * ''An Appeal to Philosophers by name on the Demonstration of Vision on the Brain, and against the attack of Sir David Brewster on the Rationale of Cerebral Vision'', London, 1837, 8vo.

Sources

* James McMullen Rigg, Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 18: Fearn, John, in Wikiquote
Post-Reformation Digital Library: John Fearn

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fearn, John 1768 births 1837 deaths British philosophers British writers