John MacMurray (16 February 1891 – 21 June 1976) was a Scottish philosopher. His thought both moved beyond and was critical of the modern tradition, whether
rationalist or
empiricist
In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological theory that holds that knowledge or justification comes only or primarily from sensory experience. It is one of several views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism. Empir ...
. His thought may be classified as
personalist
Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleierm ...
, as his writings focused primarily on the nature of human beings. He viewed persons in terms of their relationality and agency, rather than the modern tendency to characterize them in terms of individualism and cognition.
He made contributions in the fields of political science, religion, education, and philosophy in a long career of writing, teaching, and public speaking. After retirement he became a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
.
Life
MacMurray was born on 16 February 1891 in
Maxwelltown
Maxwelltown ( gd, Ceann Drochaid, IPA: ˆkʰʲaun̴̪ˈt̪ɾɔxÉ™tʲ was formerly a burgh of barony and police burgh and by the time of the burgh's abolition in 1929 it was the most populous burgh in the county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. I ...
in
Kirkcudbrightshire
Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...
, Scotland, into a strict
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
family.
His father was employed by the
Inland Revenue Department as an
excise officer. In 1899 the family moved to
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, where the young MacMurray attended
Aberdeen Grammar School
Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department.
It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...
(1903 to 1905) and
Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational Independent school (UK) for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6.
History
Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th century ...
(1905 to 1909). He was educated at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
, earning
First-class honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
in
Classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
and was awarded a
Snell Exhibition
The Snell Exhibition is an annual scholarship awarded to students of the University of Glasgow to allow them to undertake postgraduate study at Balliol College, Oxford. The award was founded by the bequest of Sir John Snell in a will made in 1677 ...
to attend
Balliol College, Oxford
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 f ...
in 1913. His tutor at Balliol was
A. D. Lindsay.
When war with Germany was declared in 1914, MacMurray enlisted in the
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
. In August 1915 he was sent to France with the 58th
Field Ambulance as part of the
19th (Western) Division
The 19th (Western) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Kitchener's Army, formed in the Great War.
Formation history
The 19th (Western) Division was created under Western Command in September 1914, shortly after the ...
of the
British Expeditionary Force. In June 1916 he was awarded a commission as
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders or 79th (The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. It amalgamated with the Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Al ...
and was sent to the
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
. MacMurray married Elizabeth Hyde Campbell in London during a three-day leave in October 1916. He was seriously wounded in battle near
Arras
Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
on 28 March 1918 and was awarded the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The MC i ...
for gallantry.
[
While on leave recovering from a broken ankle in 1917, MacMurray was invited to give a sermon in an unidentified ]North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nort ...
church. He preached on the importance of preparing for post-war reconciliation with the enemy rather than exacting vengeance. The sermon was coldly received by the congregation and MacMurray saw their reaction as indicating a lack of true Christianity in the institutional churches. Because of this experience, MacMurray determined not to be a member of any church, while continuing to maintain his strong Christian convictions.
After the war, MacMurray completed his studies at Balliol, obtaining a distinction in the Shortened Honours Course of Literae Humaniores in 1919, as well as winning in the John Locke Scholarship in Mental Philosophy in the same year. He worked as a Lecturer
Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...
in Philosophy at the University of Manchester
, mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity
, established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
from 1919 to 1920, followed by two years as Chair of Philosophy at the University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...
in South Africa. In 1922 he returned to Balliol as a Fellow and Tutor, succeeding his former tutor A.D. Lindsay as Jowett Lecturer in Philosophy. He left Oxford to become Grote Professor of Mind and Logic at University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
, the position he held from 1928 to 1944. He then moved to the University of Edinburgh, where he held the Chair of Moral Philosophy
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
until his retirement in 1958.
MacMurray and his wife had no children. After his retirement, they moved to the village of Jordans, Buckinghamshire
Jordans is a village in Chalfont St Giles parish, Buckinghamshire, England, and the civil parish of Hedgerley. It is a centre for Quakerism, holds the burial place of William Penn, founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, and so is a popular ...
, where they both joined the Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
. In 1970 they returned to Edinburgh, where MacMurray died on 21 June 1976.
Philosophy
The main themes in MacMurray's philosophy are the primacy in human life of action over theory, and the essentially relational nature of human beings. These themes are the basis for his 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 o ...
delivered in 1953 and 1954 at the University of Glasgow, and entitled ''The Self as Agent'' and ''Persons in Relation'' respectively. The overall title given to the two lecture series was ''The Form of the Personal''. MacMurray summed up his philosophy in the introduction to ''The Self as Agent'': "The simplest expression that I can find for the thesis I have tried to maintain is this: All meaningful knowledge is for the sake of action, and all meaningful action for the sake of friendship".
MacMurray rejected mind–body dualism
In the philosophy of mind, mind–body dualism denotes either the view that mental phenomena are non-physical, Hart, W. D. 1996. "Dualism." pp. 265–267 in ''A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind'', edited by S. Guttenplan. Oxford: Blackwell. ...
and argued that the nature of human beings is personal, rather than mechanical or organic. He argued for the importance of emotion as motivating action, and looked to infancy and early childhood for evidence of the universal desire for relationship. He distinguished between society and community, with society being for organizations to achieve particular purposes, while community is an end in itself.[
In dismissing the Cogito and its legacy of the primacy of thought over action, MacMurray saw himself as breaking with the western philosophical tradition. However, he acknowledged the influence of ]Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemolo ...
and Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 p ...
on his thinking, along with Christianity.[ On the other hand, he had no sympathy for, and did not engage with, the type of academic philosophy that was dominant during the latter part of his career.
]
Broadcasting and other work
His friendship with the educator Kenneth C. Barnes resulted in his becoming a governor of Wennington School.
He was well known in Britain before World War II for his BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
radio broadcasts on philosophy, some of which were published in his first book, ''Freedom in the Modern World'' (1932).
Influence
MacMurray's work has been largely neglected in academic philosophy. However, he has been influential in other fields, including theology and psychology. The twenty first century has seen the publication of the first full-length biography[ and a book-length critical study of his religious philosophy,] as well as volumes of selections from his works and books and articles about his work. Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
contributed the foreword to one of the anthologies, in which he described MacMurray's philosophy as "immensely modern... in the sense that he confronted what will be the critical political question of the twenty-first century: the relationship between individual and society".[
]
Books
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* Fulltext a
The Internet Archive
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* Fulltext at The Gifford Lectures Onlin
* Fulltext at The Gifford Lectures Onlin
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See also
*Ian Dishart Suttie Ian Dishart Suttie (1889-1935) was a Scottish psychiatrist perhaps best known for his writings on the taboo in families on expressing tenderness.
His influential book ''The Origins of Love and Hate'' was posthumously published in 1935.
Life and c ...
References
Further reading
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External links
The John MacMurray Fellowship
Biography and Summary of Gifford Lectures
by Dr Brannon Hancock
{{DEFAULTSORT:MacMurray, John
1891 births
1976 deaths
20th-century British philosophers
Scottish philosophers
Moral philosophers
Scottish Quakers
Converts to Quakerism
People from Dumfries and Galloway
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
British Army personnel of World War I
Academics of University College London
Academics of the University of Edinburgh
Scottish radio presenters
BBC radio presenters
People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School
People educated at Robert Gordon's College
Scottish Presbyterians
Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers
Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders officers
Recipients of the Military Cross
Academics of the University of Manchester
University of the Witwatersrand academics
Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford