Edmund Duncan Montgomery (March 19, 1835 – April 17, 1911) was a Scottish-American

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 ...

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosop ...

and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. He was the husband of

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Elisabet Ney Franzisca Bernadina Wilhelmina Elisabeth Ney (26 January 1833 – 29 June 1907) was a German-American sculptor who spent the first half of her life and career in Europe, producing portraits of famous leaders such as Otto von Bismarck, Giuseppe Gar ...

Early life

Montgomery was born on the 19th of March, 1835, in

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. His parentage is unknown, but the

Elisabet Ney Museum The Elisabet Ney Museum is a museum located in Austin, Texas, United States. It is housed in the former studio of sculptor Elisabet Ney and is dedicated to showcasing her life and works. There is a permanent collection of her portrait busts a ...

relates the possibility that he was the son of Isabella Davidson (or Montgomery) and a prominent Scottish jurist,

Duncan McNeill, 1st Baron Colonsay Duncan McNeill, 1st Baron Colonsay FRSE (20 August 1793 – 31 January 1874) was a Scottish advocate, judge and Tory politician. He was Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session between 1852 and 1867. His younger brother w ...

. He and his mother lived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

and

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

, supplemented by a trust fund for him. By the time he entered his teens, he began to be interested in the

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

works of

Arthur Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( , ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is best known for his 1818 work ''The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the prod ...

. While still living in Frankfurt and only 13 years old, he participated in the

Revolutions of 1848 in the German states In political science, a revolution ( Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically d ...

Education

In 1852, Montgomery studied medicine at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, where he did lab work under

Robert Bunsen Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (; 30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The Bu ...

and came under the influence of Christian Kapp,

Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and c ...

and

Jacob Moleschott Jacob Moleschott (9 August 1822 – 20 May 1893) was a Dutch physiologist and writer on dietetics. He is known for his philosophical views in regard to scientific materialism. He was a member of German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (since 1884). ...

. He later attended lectures by

Johannes Peter Müller Johannes Peter Müller (14 July 1801 – 28 April 1858) was a German physiologist, comparative anatomist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist, known not only for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge. The paramesonephri ...

at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

during his 1855–1856 enrollment. While studying in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

1856–1857, he attended influential lectures of

Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The Helmholtz Associat ...

Medical practice

Montgomery received his MD degree from the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

on February 18, 1858. Montgomery interned at

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He served his residency at the German Hospital, Dalston (

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) and Bermondsay Dispensary. While doing biological research, he became

Curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS ...

and Demonstrator of Morbid Anatomy. He was elected to the

Royal College of Physicians of London The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

in 1862. After being diagnosed with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...

in 1863, Montgomery left the Royal College of Physicians of London and established medical practices on the resort island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

(1863–1865), in

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

(1866) on the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend from ...

, and also in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(1867) and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

(1868), while continuing to do his research. A

life annuity A life annuity is an annuity, or series of payments at fixed intervals, paid while the purchaser (or annuitant) is alive. The majority of life annuities are insurance products sold or issued by life insurance companies however substantial case ...

allowed him to retire from medical practice in 1869, and devote the rest of his life to philosophy, scientific research, and writing.

Medicine

Montgomery's work in medicine included the study of

cell theory In biology, cell theory is a scientific theory first formulated in the mid-nineteenth century, that living organisms are made up of cells, that they are the basic structural/organizational unit of all organisms, and that all cells come from pre ...

Philosophy

Montgomery's study of philosophy complemented his work as a physical scientist. He saw life as the ability of certain chemical compounds to resist damage. He commented on

conceptions of knowledge Definitions of knowledge try to determine the essential features of knowledge. Closely related terms are conception of knowledge, theory of knowledge, and analysis of knowledge. Some general features of knowledge are widely accepted among philoso ...

and

self The self is an individual as the object of that individual’s own reflective consciousness. Since the ''self'' is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective. The sense of having a self—or ''selfhoo ...

in over sixty journal articles and five books. He was an advocate of

humanitarianism Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotional ...

and a "religion of life," focusing on the idea that man must not ignore the potential of his own yet-to-be-completed evolutionary process. The two most significant papers written by Montgomery were his ''Refutation of Kant From the Standpoint of the Empirical'' (1870) and ''The Revelation of Present Experience ''(1910). In the former, Montgomery convincingly refutes Immanuel Kant's a priori, the lynchpin of Kant's system, and in the latter, he insists that all knowledge (no exceptions) is based on the evidence provided by the senses. Montgomery was an advocate of

non-Darwinian evolution Alternatives to Darwinian evolution have been proposed by scholars investigating biology to explain signs of evolution and the relatedness of different groups of living things. The alternatives in question do not deny that evolutionary changes ove ...

and

organicism Organicism is the philosophical position that states that the universe and its various parts (including human societies) ought to be considered alive and naturally ordered, much like a living organism.Gilbert, S. F., and S. Sarkar. 2000. "Embra ...

. He was also cited as a defender of

vitalism Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...

. He authored ''The Vitality and Organization of Protoplasm'' (1904) and ''Philosophical Problems in the Light of Vital Organization''. He has been described as a pioneer of organicism.

Personal life

While a student at the University of Heidelberg in 1853, Montgomery began a courtship with sculptor

, who was visiting friends in the city. They were married at the

British consulate This is a list of diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, excluding honorary consulates. The UK has one of the largest global networks of diplomatic missions. UK diplomatic missions to capitals of other C ...

in Madeira on November 7, 1863. Montgomery was diagnosed with

in 1863. By 1870, the Franco-Prussian War had begun. In the autumn of that year, Ney became pregnant with their first child. Montgomery received a letter from his friend, Baron Carl Vicco Otto Friedrich Constantin von Stralendorff of

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II divided the Duchy of Mecklenburg between Schwerin and Strelitz. Ruled by the successors of the Nikloting Hou ...

, who had moved to Thomasville, Georgia with his new wife, Margaret Elizabeth Russell of Boston, Massachusetts, declaring the location "Earth's paradise." On January 14, 1871, Ney and Montgomery, accompanied by their housekeeper, Cenci, emigrated to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, to a colony promoted as a resort for consumptives. Their first son, Arthur (1871–1873) was born there, and second son, Lorne (1872–1913), was born in

Red Wing, Minnesota Red Wing is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, along the upper Mississippi River. The population was 16,547 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Goodhue County. This city is named for early 19th-century Dakota Sioux c ...

, during one of their travels. Baron and Baroness von Stralendorff returned to

Wismar, Germany Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...

, where he died on July 1, 1872. In 1873, Ney traveled alone to Texas. With the help of German Consul Julius Runge in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

, Ney was shown Liendo Plantation near Hempstead in Waller County. On March 4, 1873, Montgomery and the rest of the family arrived, and he purchased it. While he tended to his research, Ney ran it for the next twenty years. Their son, Arthur, died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

in 1873. Montgomery was involved in an advisory capacity in the founding of

Prairie View A&M Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a public historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two land-grant universities and the second oldest public institution of higher lear ...

, originally called Prairie View Normal School. Montgomery became a naturalized United States citizen, and thereafter became active in local politics and events. He served two terms as Waller County Road Commissioner and oversaw the building of an iron bridge across the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

. In 1903, he was elected president of the Texas Academy of Science.

Death

Montgomery died on April 17, 1911 after suffering a number of strokes and is buried next to Ney at Liendo.Elisabet Ney Museum
/ref>

Published works and/or papers housed at Southern Methodist University

*''An Address to the People…'' (date unknown) *''The Corngrowers of Tomorrow'' (date unknown) *''The Epistemological Task'' (date unknown) *''Fichte'' (date unknown) *''The Groundwork of Ethics'' (date unknown) *''Ethics'' (date unknown) *''Concerning Psycho-Parallelism'' (date unknown) *''Stereometrie'' (1851)
''On the Formation of the So-Called Cells in Animal Bodies''
(1867) *''Die Kant’sche Erkenntniss Lehre Widerlegt Vom Standpunkt Der Empirie'' (Munchen: Verlag con C. Ackermann) (1870) *''Die Kant’sche Erkenntnisslehre widerlegt vom Standpunkt der Empirie'' (1871) *''The Elementary Functions and the Primitive Organization of Protoplasm'' (St. Thomas’s Hospital Reports IX) (1879) *''The Dependence of Quality of Specific Energies'' (Mind, Vol. V) (1880) *''The Unity of Organic Individual'' (Mind) (1880) *''Zur Lehre von der Muskelcontraktion'' (Pfluger’s Archive fur Physiologie) (1881) *''The Substantiality of Life'' (Mind) (1881) *''Are We Cell Aggregates?'' (Mind') (1882) *''Causation and Its Organic Condition'' (Mind, Vol. VI ) (1882) *''Hunger'' (The Index) (December 25, 1884) *''The Object of Knowledge '' (Mind) (1885) *''Transcendentalism and Evolution'' (The Index) (March 26, 1885) *''Space and Touch'' (Mind) (1885) *''Our Personality'' (The Index) (April 2, 1885) *''Uber das Protoplasma Einiger Elemeentarorganismen'' (Jenaishe Zeitschrift fur Naturwissenschaft) (1885) *''Mental Activity'' (Mind) (1889) *''True Democracy'' (New Occasions) (June, 1893) *''The Psychological Significance of Dreams'' (Religio-Philosophical Journal) (September 30, 1893) *''To be Alive, What is it?'' (Monist) (1895) *''The Integration of Mind '' (Mind) (1895) *''Are We Conscious Automata?'' (Proceedings of the Texas Academy of Science) (1897) *''Molecular Theories of Organic Reproduction'' (Proceedings of the Texas Academy of Science) (1897)
''The Vitality and Organization of Protoplasm''
(Austin, Texas: Gammel-Statesman Publishing Company) (1904) *Neovitalism'' (Proceedings of the Texas Academy of Science) (1904) *''Anent Psychophysical Parallelism'', (American Journal of Psychology) (April, 1905)
Problems in the Light of Vital Organization''
(1907) *''The Revelation of Present Experience'' (1908) *''The Revolution of Present Experience'' (Boston: Sherman, French & Company) (1910) *Letters to ''Religio-Philosophical Journal'', ''The Open Court''; ''The New Ideal''; ''The Conservato''r; and the ''Hempstead News'', (1887–1911)

References

Additional sources

* * * * * *

External links

at the Elisabet Ney Museum site {{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Edmund 1835 births 1911 deaths 19th-century British philosophers 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Non-Darwinian evolution Philosophers from Edinburgh People from Waller County, Texas Physicians from Frankfurt Scottish emigrants to the United States People from Hempstead, Texas Vitalists Heidelberg University alumni