William Archer Butler (c. 18145 July 1848) was an Irish historian of philosophy.

Life

He was born at Annerville, near

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Drogheda and Wexford. With the exception of the townland ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. His father was a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

, his mother a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, and he was brought up as a Catholic. As a boy he was imaginative and poetical, and some of his early verses were remarkable. While yet at Clonmel school he became a Protestant. Later he entered and was educated at

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

.''Alumni Dublinenses : a register of the students, graduates, professors and provosts of Trinity College in the University of Dublin (1593–1860)'',

George Dames Burtchaell George Dames Burtchaell, KC, MA, LLB, MRIA, JP (12 June 1853 – 18 August 1921) was an Irish genealogist. Education Burtchaell was educated at Kilkenny College and Trinity College, Dublin. Career *Barrister King's Inns, 1879 * KC 1918 ...

Thomas Ulick Sadleir Thomas Ulick Sadleir (1882–1957) was an Irish genealogist and heraldic expert. He was successively registrar of the Order of St Patrick, Deputy Ulster King of Arms and Acting Ulster King of Arms. Career Sadleir's first involvement with the ...

p. 124: Dublin, Alex Thom and Co, 1935 where he had a brilliant career. He specially devoted himself to literature and

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

, and was noted for the beauty of his style. In 1834 he gained the ethical moderatorship, newly instituted by Provost Lloyd, and continued in residence at college. In 1837 he decided to enter the Church, and in the same year he was elected to the professorship of moral philosophy, specially founded for him through Lloyd's exertions. About the same time he was presented to the prebend of Clondahorky, Donegal, and resided there when not called by his professorial duties to Dublin. In 1842 he was promoted to the rectory of Raymochy. He died on 5 July 1848.

Works

His ''Sermons'' (2 vols., 1849) were brilliant and forceful. The Lectures on the ''History of Ancient Philosophy'', edited by W. Hepworth Thompson (2 vols., 5856; 2nd ed., 1 vol. 1875) were among the few British works on the history of philosophy. These works include introductory lectures, the early Greek thinkers, and lectures on Plato. Among his other writings were papers in the '' Dublin University Magazine'' (1834–1837); and "Letters on Development" (in the ''Irish Ecclesiastical Journal'', 1845), a reply to

Newman Newman is a surname of English origin and may refer to many people: The surname Newman is widespread in the core Anglosphere. A *Abram Newman (1736–1799), British grocer *Adrian Newman (disambiguation), multiple people *Al Newman (born 1960) ...

's famous ''Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine''.

References

*''Memoir of W. A. Butler'', prefixed by Rev. J Woodward to the first series of ''Sermons''.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, William Archer 1814 births 1848 deaths People from Clonmel 19th-century Irish historians Irish philosophers Irish historians of philosophy People educated at Clonmel Endowed School Alumni of Trinity College Dublin 19th-century Irish philosophers 19th-century Irish writers Christian clergy from County Tipperary