John Lloyd Ackrill, (30 December 1921 – 30 November 2007) was an English

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 ...

and

classicist 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. Cla ...

who specialized in

Ancient Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empire ...

, especially the

philosophy 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. ...

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

and

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

. Ackrill has been said to be, along with

Gregory Vlastos Gregory Vlastos (; el, Γρηγόριος Βλαστός; July 27, 1907 – October 12, 1991) was a preeminent scholar of ancient philosophy, and author of many works on Plato and Socrates. He transformed the analysis of classical philosophy ...

and G. E. L. Owen, "one of the most important figures responsible for the upsurge of interest in ancient Greek philosophy among Anglo-American philosophers of the second half of this century".

Biography

Ackrill was born, to Frederick William Ackrill and Jessie Anne Ackril, in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east ...

where he attended

Reading School Reading School is a grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England. There are no ...

. In 1940 he entered St. John's College, Oxford as a scholar in Classics where his philosophy tutors were

Paul Grice Herbert Paul Grice (13 March 1913 – 28 August 1988), usually publishing under the name H. P. Grice, H. Paul Grice, or Paul Grice, was a British philosopher of language. He is best known for his theory of implicature and the cooperative pri ...

and John Mabbott. The next year he left for war service in the

Royal Berkshire Regiment The Royal Berkshire Regiment (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was created in 1881, as the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), b ...

and General Staff, reaching the rank of captain. He returned to Oxford in 1945 to read Literae Humaniores (or 'Greats', a combination of philosophy and ancient history), graduating in 1948. He then accepted a teaching position as assistant lecturer in Logic at

Glasgow 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 ...

before being appointed university lecturer at Oxford in Ancient Philosophy in 1949. Granted two years of study-leave, Ackrill was a visiting scholar at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent schola ...

in 1950-51 (as he was again in 1961-62) before becoming, in 1953, a tutorial fellow at Brasenose College. In 1966, Oxford university created a statutory chair in the History of Philosophy, to which Ackrill was elected as the first holder. He retained that Chair, whilst remaining a fellow of Brasenose, until he retired in 1989 as an emeritus professor. In 1981 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy and, in 1996, an Honorary Fellow of St John's. In 1953 he married Margaret Kerr with whom he had four children. John Lloyd Ackrill died in Oxford on 30 November 2007. In 2009, Brasenose College inaugurated The John Ackrill Memorial Lecture which is held annually "in honour of the outstanding contribution he made to the study of ancient philosophy".

Major writings

Books

*''Aristotle's Ethics'' (1973) *''Aristotle on Eudaimonia'' (1975) *''Aristotle the Philosopher'' (1981) *''Essays on Plato and Aristotle'' (1997)

Translations and commentaries

*Aristotle, ''Categories and De Interpretatione'' (1963) *Aristotle, ''A New Aristotle Reader'' (1987)

References

External links

Obituary
in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' 1921 births 2007 deaths English classical scholars English philosophers 20th-century British philosophers Commentators on Aristotle Commentators on Plato Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars Fellows of the British Academy Alumni of St John's College, Oxford People educated at Reading School British scholars of ancient Greek philosophy Classical scholars of the University of Oxford Greek–English translators British Army personnel of World War II Royal Berkshire Regiment soldiers Royal Berkshire Regiment officers British Army General List officers Military personnel from Reading, Berkshire {{UK-philosopher-stub