John Henry Muirhead (28 April 1855 – 24 May 1940) was a British

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

best known for having initiated the

Muirhead Library of Philosophy The Muirhead Library of Philosophy was an influential series which published some of the best writings of twentieth century philosophy. The original programme was drawn up by John Muirhead and published in Erdmann's ''History of Philosophy'' in 189 ...

in 1890. He became the first person named to the Chair of Philosophy at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

in 1900.

Biography

Born in

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, Muirhead was educated at Gilbertfield House School, the

Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...

(1866–70), and proceeded to

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, where he was deeply influenced by the Hegelianism of Edward Caird, the Professor of Moral Philosophy. He graduated MA in 1875. The same year he won a Snell exhibition at

Balliol College 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 ...

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 ...

, to which he went up in Trinity Term 1875. His Library was originally published by

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

and continued through to the 1970s. His Library is seen as a crucial landmark in the history of modern philosophy, publishing a number of prominent 20th century philosophers including Ernest Albee,

Brand Blanshard Percy Brand Blanshard (; August 27, 1892 – November 19, 1987) was an American philosopher known primarily for his defense of reason and rationalism. A powerful polemicist, by all accounts he comported himself with courtesy and grace in philoso ...

Francis Herbert Bradley Francis Herbert Bradley (30 January 1846 – 18 September 1924) was a British idealist philosopher. His most important work was '' Appearance and Reality'' (1893). Life Bradley was born at Clapham, Surrey, England (now part of the Gr ...

Axel Hagerstrom Axel may refer to: People * Axel (name), all persons with the name Places * Axel, Netherlands, a town ** Capture of Axel, a battle at Axel in 1586 Arts, entertainment, media * ''Axel'', a 1988 short film by Nigel Wingrove * ''Axel'', a Cirque d ...

Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson Le Roy, ...

Edmund Husserl , thesis1_title = Beiträge zur Variationsrechnung (Contributions to the Calculus of Variations) , thesis1_url = https://fedora.phaidra.univie.ac.at/fedora/get/o:58535/bdef:Book/view , thesis1_year = 1883 , thesis2_title ...

, Bernard Bosanquet,

Irving Thalberg, Jr. Irving Grant Thalberg Jr. (August 25, 1930August 21, 1987) was an author and the son of 1930s Hollywood producer Irving Thalberg and Academy Award-winning actress Norma Shearer. Thalberg was six years old when his father died from pneumonia at t ...

Georg Wilhelm Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, a ...

and

George Edward Moore George Edward Moore (4 November 1873 – 24 October 1958) was an English philosopher, who with Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein and earlier Gottlob Frege was among the founders of analytic philosophy. He and Russell led the turn from ideal ...

. In 2002, the Library was made available in a 95 volume set (). Muirhead was 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 ...

and was involved in the British idealist movement.Mander, W. J. (2011). ''British Idealism: A History''. Oxford University Press. p. 222.

Selected bibliography

''The Inner Life in Relation to Morality: A Study in the Elements of Religion''
(an article in ''International Journal of Ethics'' January 1891, pages 169 to 186)
''The Elements of Ethics: an Introduction to Moral Philosophy''
(1892) - Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
''Abstract and Practical Ethics''
(an article in ''American Journal of Sociology'' November 1896, Volume II, pages 341 to 357).
''Chapters from Aristotle's Ethics''
(1900) - John Murray, London.
''Philosophy and Life; and other Essays''
(1902) - Swan Sonnenschein & Co. Ltd, London.
''Wordsworth's Ideal of Early Education''
(an article in ''International Journal of Ethics'' April 1904, pages 339 to 352).
''The Service of the State: four lectures on the Political Teaching of T. H. Green''
(1908) - John Murray, London.
''The Ethical Aspect of the New Theology''
(an article in ''International Journal of Ethics'' April 1904 January 1910, pages 129 to 140).
''German Philosophy in relation to the War''
(1915) - John Murray, London.
''Social Purpose: a contribution to a Philosophy of Civic Society''
with H. J. W. Hetherington (1918) - London: G. Allen & Unwin; New York: Macmillan.
''The Life and Philosophy of Edward Caird''
(written with Sir Henry Jones) (1921) – Maclehose, Jackson and Co., Glasgow.
''Coleridge as Philosopher''
(1930) - Macmillan, New York.
''The Platonic Tradition in Anglo-Saxon Philosophy: Studies in the History of Idealism in England and America''
(1931) - London: G. Allen & Unwin; New York: Macmillan. * ''The Use of Philosophy: Californian Addresses'' (1979) - Greenwood Press. * ''Rule and End in Morals'' (1969) - Books for Libraries Press

References

External links

*
Works by John Henry Muirhead
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muirhead, John Henry 1855 births 1940 deaths Academics of the University of Birmingham Idealists Scottish humanists Scottish philosophers Writers from Glasgow People from Rotherfield