Lawrence Pearsall Jacks (9 October 1860 – 17 February 1955), abbreviated L. P. Jacks, was an English educator, philosopher, and Unitarian minister who rose to prominence in the period from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Early life

Jacks was born on 9 October 1860 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

. In 1882, he enrolled in Manchester New College (which then was in London). After graduating with a M.A. in 1886, he spent a year at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where he studied with the philosopher

Josiah Royce Josiah Royce (; November 20, 1855 – September 14, 1916) was an American objective idealist philosopher and the founder of American idealism. His philosophical ideas included his version of personalism, defense of absolutism, idealism and his ...

. In 1887, he became assistant minister to Stopford Brooke in his chapel in Bloomsbury, London. He served as assistant minister for a year, and then accepted a position as Unitarian minister for Renshaw Street Unitarian Chapel in Liverpool. In 1889 Jacks married Olive Brooke, the daughter of Stopford Brooke. They had six children together. During this time, Jacks' circle of associates included

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, and Oscar Wilde.Richard Aldrich and Peter Gordon, ''Dictionary of British Educationists''. London: Woburn, 1989. (p. 129) Jacks was appointed minister for the

Church of the Messiah, Birmingham The Church of the Messiah, Birmingham was a General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, Unitarian place of worship on Broad Street, Birmingham, Broad Street. The impressive Gothic Revival architecture, Victorian Gothic church was ...

in 1894.

Oxford

Jacks served as Principal of Manchester College, which was by then based in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, from 1915 until his retirement in 1931. Jacks served as the editor of the '' Hibbert Journal'' from its founding in 1902 until 1948. Under his editorship the ''Journal'' became one of the leading forums in England for work in philosophy and religion, and introduced the work of

Alfred Loisy Alfred Firmin Loisy (; 28 February 18571 June 1940) was a French Roman Catholic priest, professor and theologian generally credited as a founder of modernism in the Roman Catholic Church. He was a critic of traditional views of the interpretation ...

to British readers. In September 1915, he wrote in support of the war effort, citing the need to defeat German militarism and defend "the liberties of our race." His article, title
"The Peacefulness of Being at War"
in ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

'', argued that the war had "brought to England a peace of mind such as she had not possessed for decades," claiming that the sense of common purpose brought on by the war had overcome social fragmentation and improved English life. Jacks was interested in

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...

and was President for the

Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to co ...

(1917-1918). After the war, Jacks wrote prolifically and gained popularity as a lecturer in Britain and America. He frequently returned to the theme of militarism and the "mechanical" mindset, which he regarded as one of the greatest threats in modern life. In his ''Revolt Against Mechanism'' (1933), he wrote that "The mechanical mind has a passion for control—of everything except itself. Beyond the control it has won over the forces of nature it would now win control over the forces of society of stating the problem and producing the solution, with social machinery to correspond." He proposed liberal education and world vision as a hope for salvation from the mechanistic world, in books such as his ''Education for the Whole Man'' (1931) and his 1938 BBC Radio Lectures. In 1922 Jacks hosted Austrian philosopher, Dr

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

, to present a conference at Manchester College on values in

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

and to share the experiences of the model

Waldorf school Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic, and practical ...

at Stuttgart. In his article "A Demilitarized League of Nations", ("Hibbert Journal", August 1936) Jacks argued the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

should completely eschew military force.Robert Seeley, ''The Handbook Of Non-Violence; including Aldous Huxley's An Encyclopedia Of Pacifism''. Westport, Conn.: L. Hill; Great Neck, N.Y.: Lakeville Press, 1986. (p. 52). Although he continued to preach Unitarianism, he became increasingly critical of all forms of institutional religion and denominationalism, and refused to let his name be added to a list of Unitarian ministers published by the

General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GAUFCC or colloquially British Unitarians) is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christians, and other liberal religious congregations in the United Kingdom and Irelan ...

in 1928. He accepted an invitation to preach in

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in th ...

in 1933; a Convocation of the Church of England rebuked the cathedral for allowing a Unitarian to preach, igniting a controversy in the press. Jacks published prolifically over a period of fifty years, including philosophical and visionary treatises, biographies, articles, and moral parables. He died in Oxford on 17 February 1955, at the age of 94.

Works

*''The Alchemy of Thought'' (1910) *''Mad Shepherds and Other Human Studies'' (1910) *''Among the Idolmakers'' (1911) *''All Men Are Ghosts'' (1913) *''From the Human End'' (1916) *''Life and Letters of Stopford Brooke'' (1917) *''The Legends of Smokeover'' (1921) *''Realities and Shams'' (1924) *''The Faith of a Worker'' (1925) *''The Magic Formula and Other Stories'' (1927) *''Constructive Citizenship'' (1927) *''My Neighbour the Universe: A Study of Human Labour'' (1929) *''The Inner Sentinel: A Study of Ourselves'' (1930) *''Education for the Whole Man'' (1931) *''Revolt Against Mechanism'' (1933) *''Co-operation or Coercion?'' (1938) *''The Last Legend of Smokeover'' (1939) *''Near the Brink: Observations of a Nonagenarian'' (1952)

Articles

"The Universe as Philosopher,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. VI, October 1907/July 1908.
"The Alchemy of Thought,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. VI, October 1907/July 1908.
"A Psychologist Among the Saints,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. X, October 1911/July 1912.
"Democracy and Discipline,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XI, October 1912/ July 1913.
"Does Consciousness 'Evolve'?,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XI, October 1912/ July 1913.
"Mechanism, Diabolism and the War,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XIII, October 1914/July 1915.
"The Tyranny of Mere Things,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XIII, October 1914/July 1915.
"A Theological Holiday — and After,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XIV, October 1915/July 1916.
"An Interim Religion,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XIV, October 1915/July 1916.
"The Insane Root,"
''The Atlantic Monthly'', Vol. CXIX, 1917.
"Punishment and Reconstruction,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XV, October 1916/July 1917.
"The Theory of Survival in the Light of its Context,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XV, October 1916/July 1917.
"The War-Made Empires and the Martial Races of the Western World,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XVI, 1917/1918.
"Loyalty Once More,"
''The Atlantic Monthly'', Vol. CXXI, 1918.
"Arms and Men: A Study in Habit,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XVI, October 1918/July 1919.
"International Control of War Finance,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XVI, October 1918/July 1919.
"Why We Are Disappointed,"
''The Hibbert Journal,'' Vol. XVIII, October 1919/July 1920.
"The International Mind,"
''The Atlantic Monthly,'' Vol. 125, 1920.

''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', Vol. 131, No. 2, February 1923.

References

Unitarian Universalist Biographical Dictionary: Lawrence Pearsall Jacks
* * L. P. Jacks
"The Peacefulness of Being at War."
''The New Republic'' (11 September 1915), pp. 152–154.

External links

* * *
Essays by L. P. Jacks at Quotidiana.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacks, L. P. 1860 births 1955 deaths 20th-century Unitarian clergy Alumni of University of London Worldwide English philosophers English Unitarians Parapsychologists People from Nottingham Principals of Harris Manchester College, Oxford