John Grote (5 May 1813,

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...

– 21 August 1866,

Trumpington, Cambridgeshire Trumpington is a village and parish to the south of Cambridge, England. The village is an electoral ward of the City of Cambridge and a ward of South Cambridgeshire District Council. The 2011 Census recorded the ward's population as 8,034. Th ...

) 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 ...

moral philosopher and

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

clergyman.

Life and career

The son of a banker, John Grote was younger brother to the historian, philosopher and reformer

George Grote George Grote (; 17 November 1794 – 18 June 1871) was an English political radical and classical historian. He is now best known for his major work, the voluminous ''History of Greece''. Early life George Grote was born at Clay Hill near Be ...

. He was educated at Beckenham School, Kent. He then went up to

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, in 1831, graduating with a first-class degree in the Classics Tripos in 1835, and became a fellow of Trinity in 1837. From 1847 until his death, he was vicar of

Trumpington Trumpington is a village and parish to the south of Cambridge, England. The village is an electoral ward of the City of Cambridge and a ward of South Cambridgeshire District Council. The 2011 Census recorded the ward's population as 8,034. Th ...

, where he was a neighbour of his close friend

Robert Leslie Ellis Robert Leslie Ellis (25 August 1817 – 12 May 1859) was an English polymath, remembered principally as a mathematician and editor of the works of Francis Bacon. Biography Ellis was the youngest of six children of Francis Ellis (1772–1842) of B ...

, the paralysed mathematician and Bacon scholar. In 1855, Grote succeeded

William Whewell William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved dist ...

as Knightbridge professor of moral philosophy at Cambridge University. Grote published relatively little during his life: volume I of ''Exploratio Philosophica: Rough Notes on Modern Intellectual Science'' appeared in 1865, but ''An Examination of the Utilitarian Philosophy'' was only published posthumously (1870). Grote's literary executor and editor,

Joseph Bickersteth Mayor Rev. Joseph Bickersteth Mayor (24 October 1828 – 29 November 1916) was an English professor, classical scholar, and Anglican clergyman. Early life and education Mayor was born in Cape Colony''1911 England Census'' while his parents returned ...

, also put together a ''Treatise on Moral Ideals'' (1876) and volume II of ''Exploratio Philosophica'' (1900), and married his niece, Alexandrina. A philosophical

idealist In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...

and opponent of

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...

(as befitted his Cambridge and Anglican clerical identity), Grote was nevertheless happy to admit the new experimental psychology of someone like

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 disciple Alexander Bain – as long as such 'phenomenal' and more properly 'philosophical' investigations were not conflated with each other. Grote had the (perhaps unenviable) distinction of coining the word '

relativism Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assessed. Ther ...

', though he did not use it in quite the same sense as it is used today. Grote was frequently acknowledged as a major influence by

Michael Oakeshott Michael Joseph Oakeshott FBA (; 11 December 1901 – 19 December 1990) was an English philosopher and political theorist who wrote about philosophy of history, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, philosophy of education, and philosophy of law.F ...

, and had an important influence on a diverse group of philosophers and scholarship emerging from Cambridge University.

Publications

Books

* (1865
''Exploratio Philosophica: Part I''
* (1870
''An Examination of the Utilitarian Philosophy''
* (1876
''A Treatise on the Moral Ideals''
* (1872
''Sermons''
* (1900
''Exploratio Philosophica: Part II''

Life and career

Publications

Books

References

Further reading