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Alfred Cyril Ewing ( ; 11 May 1899 – 14 May 1973) was an English
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
who spent most of his career at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
. He was a prolific writer who made contributions to
Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, et ...
scholarship, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and the philosophy of religion.


Biography

Alfred Ewing was born in Leicester, England, on 11 May 1899, the only child of Emma and H. F. Ewing. He was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School. From his entrance to
University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...
, Ewing's early academic career was, as Russell Grice remarks, one of "almost unparalleled brilliance." Firsts in Classical Moderations and, in 1920, ' Greats' were followed by a Bishop Fraser Scholarship at
Oriel College Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, ...
in 1920 and a Senior
Demyship A demyship (also "demy" for the recipient) is a form of scholarship or research affiliation at Magdalen College, Oxford. The title of "demy" is held by undergraduates who have been awarded a scholarship at Magdalen and are members of the college ...
at
Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...
in 1921 He was awarded the John Locke Scholarship in Mental Philosophy (now the John Locke Prize) the same year. In 1923, Ewing was amongst the first Oxford students to be awarded a
DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
, his (revised) thesis being published as ''Kant's Treatment of Causality'' (1924). He served as a lecturer at Oxford 1924 –1925, He was awarded the Green Prize in Moral Philosophy in 1926. An expanded version of the essay for which he won the same was published as ''The Morality of Punishment'' (1929), with a short introduction by
W. D. Ross Sir William David Ross (15 April 18775 May 1971), known as David Ross but usually cited as W. D. Ross, was a Scottish Aristotelian philosopher, translator, WWI veteran, civil servant, and university administrator. His best-known wor ...
. After holding temporary positions at Michigan University (in the summer session of 1926) and Armstrong College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (in 1927), he served as a lecturer in philosophy at
University College, Swansea Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...
from 1927 until 1931. In 1931 he was appointed University Lecturer in Moral Science at Cambridge. ( A. J. Ayer describes him being as being 'imported' to teach the history of philosophy.) Ewing would later recall his "shock" on arriving at Cambridge to find "dominant not the influence of
Moore Moore may refer to: Language * Mooré language, spoken in West Africa People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...
, Broad, or Russell, but the influence of
Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...
" reporting that "the reaction his philosophy provoked in me was one of sharp antagonism." He was awarded, the Cambridge D.Litt in 1933, at the remarkably early age of 34. The following year, Ewing published his extensive study ''Idealism: A Critical Survey,'' which was reviewed favourably by T. E. Jessop. And offers an early characterisation of a 'traditional account' of coherentist epistemic justification. The late 1930s saw the publication of "Meaninglessness" and 'The Linguistic Theory' two "powerfully argued" papers that,
Brand Blanshard Percy Brand Blanshard ( ; August 27, 1892 – November 19, 1987) was an American philosopher known primarily for his defense of rationalism and idealism. Biography Brand Blanshard was born August 27, 1892, in Fredericksburg, Ohio. His parent ...
contends, "must have contributed much to the disintegration of positivism." He served as president of the
Aristotelian Society The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London. History Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squar ...
from 1941 to 1942, and was elected a Fellow of the
British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...
in 1941. He delivered the latter's annual
Henriette Hertz Henriette Hertz (6 January 1846, Cologne – 9 April 1913, Rome) was a German-born philanthropist and art collector. She donated the Palazzo Zuccari to house the Bibliotheca Hertziana in 1912. Early life Hertz attended school in Cologne, where ...
philosophical lecture the same year. During the Second World War, Goebel records, Ewing turned his attention back to ethics with the publication of a series of articles that formed the basis of two works both published in 1947:''The Definition of Good (''an investigation primarily into problems of
metaethics In metaphilosophy and ethics, metaethics is the study of the nature, scope, ground, and meaning of moral judgment, ethical belief, or values. It is one of the three branches of ethics generally studied by philosophers, the others being normativ ...
) and ''The Individual, the State, and World Government'' (a work on political ethics against the background of the European catastrophe and the danger of nuclear war). In a 1945 article for ''
The Hibbert Journal ''The Hibbert Journal'' was a large, quarterly magazine in softback book format, issued since 1902 by the Hibbert Trust, best described by its subtitle: ''A Quarterly Review of Religion, Theology and Philosophy''. In the early years it was publis ...
'' he argued there were, as Brian McGuinness puts it, "no retributive, reformatory, or deterrent grounds, for making the terms of peace for Germany as a whole more severe than they would otherwise need to be". Wittgenstein wrote to
Rush Rhees Rush Rhees (; 19 March 1905 – 22 May 1989) was an American philosopher. He is principally known as a student, friend, and literary executor of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. With G. E. M. Anscombe he was co-editor of Wittgenstein's posth ...
that Ewing’s article was "stupidish and academical but ''not'' unkind. It treated the Germans as prospective inmates of a reformatory school, managed on modern, humane principles. ... the Journal surprised me as being rather human." Two visiting professorships took him to
Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...
and
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
in 1949. In the winter of 1950 Ewing attended the
silver jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...
Indian Philosophical Congress in Calcutta and lectured at a number of Indian universities. He returned to India in 1959, to
Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...
, to attend the joint symposium between the Indian Philosophical Congress and the
International Institute of Philosophy The International Institute of Philosophy (''French: ''Institut International de Philosophie'', ''IIP) is an international body of leading philosophers, named by election only, and limited by statute to 115 members. It has counted among its member ...
, of which he was an active member. At Cambridge where, as Ayer contends, Ewing was "not well treated," he was "eventually" made a reader in 1954. And, after many years of lecturing for the university, he was finally elected a fellow of Jesus College in 1962, As Ayer, notes. Ewing "was an able philosopher, a good scholar and a prolific writer" but one that "never caught the idiom … largely foisted on Cambridge in the 1930s by
Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...
." After holding a visiting position in
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
in 1963, he retired from Cambridge in 1966 with an Honorary Fellowship from Jesus College. and moved to Manchester. But in 1967 he took a visiting position at
San Francisco State College San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is part of the Califor ...
and in 1971 such a post at
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
. He continued to write, working to complete ''Value and Reality: the Philosophical Case for Theism'' (1973) which was published posthumously. This was a work, Grice records, Ewing "had started writing for twenty-five years before its publication," and one "that had been his central concern for the last five years of his life." Ewing died of a stroke in Manchester, England, on 14 May 1973. He left his papers, and Goebel reports, his body, to the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
. His eyes went to Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and the rest to Manchester anatomy department. To "the Moral Science Library in
SIdgwick Avenue Sidgwick Avenue is a road located in western Cambridge, England.Sidgwick Avenuesynthetic ''a priori'' propositions." Blanshard paid tribute to Ewing in both a journal obituary'','' and within his own
Library of Living Philosophers The ''Library of Living Philosophers'' is a series of books conceived of and started by Paul Arthur Schilpp in 1939; Schilpp remained editor until 1981. The series has since been edited by Lewis Edwin Hahn (1981–2001), Randall Auxier (2001–20 ...
''
Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...
''.
Thomas Hurka Thomas Hurka (born 1952) is a Canadian philosopher who holds the Jackman Distinguished Chair in Philosophical Studies at the University of Toronto and who taught previously, from 1978 to 2002, at the University of Calgary. Education and career ...
notes that "Grice's fine obituary of him is poignant, describing a man whose work was not appreciated at its true worth because of a change in philosophical fashion—and the arrogance of those who made the change—and irrelevant facts about his personality" but "that as parts of moral philosophy return to views like Ewing's his contributions are becoming better known."


Philosophical work

Ewing was a defender of traditional metaphysics (as opposed to post-modern ethics) and developed what has been termed an "analytic idealism". He was one of the foremost analysts of the concept "good", and a distinguished contributor to justificatory theorizing about
punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon an individual or group, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a deterrent to a particular action or beh ...
. Ewing was critical of the verification theory of meaning. He held the view that probability was not a quality of a thing, preferring to understand it in relative terms. Any probability statement without implicit or explicit reference to the relevant data upon which probability is based was considered meaningless. Additionally he viewed self-contradictions to be meaningful. He said that although there is "a sense in which it seems reasonable to say that all self-contradictory sentences are meaningless" in that we cannot "combine" the meaningful constituents of self-contradictions in thought, there is also a sense in which they are meaningful. He therefore took issue with the thesis that "we cannot think the meaning of a self-contradictory statement as a whole, though we know the meaning of the separate words". A self-contradiction, according to Ewing, proposes that two ideas can be combined into one, which is a proposition. If self-contradictions were meaningless and a "mere set of words" then we would not be able to investigate or say if they were wrong, and it is this proposition that they can be combined which makes a self-contradictory utterance meaningful. Ewing distinguished between two forms of
philosophical analysis Philosophical analysis is any of various techniques, typically used by philosophers in the analytic tradition, in order to "break down" (i.e. analyze) philosophical issues. Arguably the most prominent of these techniques is the analysis of conce ...
. The first is "what the persons who make a certain statement usually intend to assert" and the second "the qualities, relations and species of continuants mentioned in the statement". As an illustration he takes the statement "I see a tree", this statement could be analysed in terms what the everyday person intends when they say this or it could be analysed metaphysically by asserting
representationalism In the philosophy of perception and philosophy of mind, direct or naïve realism, as opposed to indirect or representational realism, are differing models that describe the nature of conscious experiences.Lehar, Steve. (2000)The Function of Con ...
.


Works


Books

* '' Kant's Treatment of Causality''. London: Kegan Paul, 1924.
''The Morality of Punishment''. ''with Suggestions for a General Theory of Ethics''
','' London: Kegan Paul, 1929. reprinted with a new preface, Montclair, N.J.: Patterson Smith, 1970 * '' Idealism: A Critical Survey''. London: Methuen, 1934. (New edition, 1961.) * '' A Short Commentary on Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason"''. London: Methuen, 1938. (New edition, 1950.) * ''Reason and Intuition''. London: Humphrey Milford, 1941. * '' The Individual, the State, and World Government''. New YorK: Macmillan, 1947. * '' The Definition of Good''. New York: Macmillan, 1947; London: Routledge, Kegan Paul, 1948. * '' The Fundamental Questions of Philosophy''. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1951. (New edition, London:
Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
, 1980.) * ''
Ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
''. London: English Universities Press, 1953. (New editions, New York: Free Press, 1965; London: Teach Yourself Books, 1975.) * (ed.) '' The Idealist Tradition: from Berkeley to Blanshard''; edited, with an introduction and commentary. Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press, 1957. * ''Second Thoughts in Moral Philosophy''. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1959. (New edition, 2012.) * ''Non-linguistic Philosophy''. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1968. * '' Value and Reality: the Philosophical Case for Theism''. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1973


Select papers/book chapters

* (1923) "Kant's Transcendental Deduction of the Categories" ''
Mind The mind is that which thinks, feels, perceives, imagines, remembers, and wills. It covers the totality of mental phenomena, including both conscious processes, through which an individual is aware of external and internal circumstances ...
'', 32, (125): 50–66 * (1925)." The Relation Between Knowing and its Object (I.)"''Mind''. 34 (134): 137–153 * (1925) "The Relation Between Knowing and Its Object (II.)" ''Mind'', 34 (135): 300–310. * (1927) "Punishment as a Moral Agency: An Attempt to Reconcile the Retributive and the Utilitarian View" ''Mind'' 36 (143): 292–305; * (1929
"The Idea of Cause"
'' Journal of Philosophical Studies''. 4 (16): 453–466 * (1930) "Direct Knowledge and Perception". ''Mind''. 39 (154): 137–153. * (1931
"The Message of Kant"
''Journal of Philosophical Studies''. 6 (21): 43–55 * (1932
"A Defence of Causality"
'' Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society''. 33: 95–128, reprinted in Kennick, W. E. (ed.) '' Metaphysics: Readings and Reappraisals'' (1966) pp. 258–275 * (1933) "The Paradoxes of Kant's Ethics", ''Philosophy'' 21 (1933), 40-56 * (1935) "Mechanical and Teleological Causation", ''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volume 14'' , 67-82 * (1935) "Two Kinds of Analysis", ''Analysis'' 22(4): 60–64. * (1937) excerpted in Edwards, Paul & Arthur Pap (eds.) '' A Modern Introduction to Philosophy (''1965) 957 a very much abbreviated form of this article contributed by Ewing, along with a brief 1961 addendum, can e found in MacGregor, Geddes & Robb, J. Wesley (eds) '' Readings in religious philosophy'' (1962)''.'' * (1937) "Some Points in the Philosophy of Locke" ''Philosophy'', ''12''(45), 33–46. * (1938) "What is action?" ''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volume'' 17 * (1939) "A Suggested Non-Naturalistic Analysis of Good" ''Mind'' 48 (1939), 1-22, reprinted in
Readings in Ethical Theory
', ed.
Wilfrid Sellars Wilfrid Stalker Sellars (; May 20, 1912 – July 2, 1989) was an American philosopher and prominent developer of critical realism who "revolutionized both the content and the method of philosophy in the United States". His work has had a profou ...
and
John Hospers John Hospers (June 9, 1918 – June 12, 2011) was an American philosopher and political activist. Hospers was interested in Objectivism, and was once a friend of the philosopher Ayn Rand, though she later broke with him. In 1972, Hospers becam ...
(1952). * (1939) "Intuitionism and Utilitarianism", ''Revue Internationale de Philosophie''. 1 (4): 649–665 * (1939)
"The Linguistic Theory of "A Priori" Propositions"
''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society''. 40: 207–244. reprinted in: H.D. Lewis (ed.), ''Clarity is not enough. Essays in Criticism of Linguistic Philosophy'', London 2/1969, 147-169 (abridged version); * (1943
"Punishment as Viewed by the Philosopher"
'' The Canadian Bar Review'', 21 * (1944)
Subjectivism and Naturalism in Ethics
''
Mind The mind is that which thinks, feels, perceives, imagines, remembers, and wills. It covers the totality of mental phenomena, including both conscious processes, through which an individual is aware of external and internal circumstances ...
'', Vol. 53, No. 210, pp. 120–141, reprinted in: Sellars and Hospers (eds.), '' Readings in Ethical Theory'', pp. 118–133 (1957) * (1945) “The Ethics of Punishing Germany”, '' Hibbert Journal'' 43: 2, 99-106 * (1947) "Kantianism" in
Dagobert D. Runes Dagobert David Runes (January 6, 1902 – September 24, 1982) was an immigrant publisher in the US, a philosopher and author. Biography Runes was born in Zastavna, Bukovina, Austro-Hungary (now in Ukraine). He received a doctorate in phil ...
(ed.) '' Twentieth Century Philosophy: Living Schools of Thought'' pp. 251–264 * (1949) "Philosophical Ethics and the Ethics of Practical Life" in '' Proceedings of the Tenth International Congress of Philosophy'' 1:470–472 * (1953)."Empiricism in Ethics". '' Proceedings of the XIth International Congress of Philosophy 10'' pp. 78–82. * (1953) "The Necessity Of Metaphysics," in H. D. Lewis (ed.) '' Contemporary British Philosophy''. Personal Statements. Third series * (1954
"Kant's Attack on Metaphysics"
''Revue Internationale de Philosophie''. 8 (30 (4)): 371–391 * (1955
"Recent Tendencies in Moral Philosophy in Great Britain"
''Zeitschrift Für Philosophische Forschung'', vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 337–347. * (1957) "Recent Developments in British Ethical Thought," in C. A. Mace (ed.), '' British Moral Philosophy in the Mid-Century'', London: George Allen & Unwin, pp. 63–95. * (1961) "The Autonomy of Ethics" in: Ian Ramsey (ed.), ''Prospect for Metaphysics. Essays of Metaphysical Exploration'', pp. 33–49 * (1967) "Conflicts of Duty", "Kant and Kantian Ethics", "Naturalistic Ethics" and other entries in: J. Macquarrie (ed.), ''The'' ''Dictionary of Christian Ethics'' * (1968) "The Concept of Democracy" in: ''World Perspectives in Philosophy, Religion, and Culture'' * (1968) "C.I. Lewis on the Relation Between the Good and the Right" in Schilpp, P. A. (ed.) '' The Philosophy of C. I. Lewis'' (The
Library of Living Philosophers The ''Library of Living Philosophers'' is a series of books conceived of and started by Paul Arthur Schilpp in 1939; Schilpp remained editor until 1981. The series has since been edited by Lewis Edwin Hahn (1981–2001), Randall Auxier (2001–20 ...
, vol. 13). Open Court. * (1970) "Christian Ethics and Utilitarianism" in R. L. Cunningham (ed.), '' Situationism and The New Morality'', New York, 152–167 * (1970) "Are all a priori propositions and inferences analytic?" ''International Logic Review'' 1, 77–87 * (1971
"The problem of universals"
''Philosophical Quarterly'' 21 , 207–216 * (1971) "The Significance of Idealism for the Present Day" '' Idealistic Studie''s 1 (1971), 1–12 * (1973
"Common Sense Propositions"
''Philosophy'' 48 , 363–379 * (1975) "My Philosophical Attitude" in '' Philosophers on Their Own Work,'' vol. 1 (in a series published under the auspices of the ''
International Federation of Philosophical Societies The International Federation of Philosophical Societies (French: ''Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie'', FISP) is a world organization for learned societies in philosophy. Its member-societies arguably include every country ...
.'' * (1980) "Blanshard's View of Good" in Schilpp, P. A. (ed.) '' The Philosophy of Brand Blanshard'' (The Library of Living Philosophers, vol. 15). *More complete publication details can be found online in Bernd Goebel's entry on Ewing for the '' BBKL.''


Notes


References


Sources

* * (Introductory essay to a translation of Ewing's ''Ethics.'')


Further reading

* Binkley, Luther J., "III. A. C. Ewing: "Ought" as the Basic Ethical Term," (1961) * R.D. Geivett, "Ewing, Alfred Cyril" in: T.A. Hart (ed.), '' The Dictionary of Historical Theology'' (2000) pp. 200–201 *
Thomas Hurka Thomas Hurka (born 1952) is a Canadian philosopher who holds the Jackman Distinguished Chair in Philosophical Studies at the University of Toronto and who taught previously, from 1978 to 2002, at the University of Calgary. Education and career ...
(ed.), ''Underivative Duty: British Moral Philosophers from Sidgwick to Ewing'' (Oxford, 2011) ** Hurka, Thomas
"Common Themes from Sidgwick to Ewing"
author pre-print, published version: ** Olson, Jonas, and Mark Timmons
'A. C. Ewing's First and Second Thoughts in Metaethics'
author pre-print, published version: * Olson, J. & Timmons, M. (2019). Ewing, A. C.. In ''International Encyclopedia of Ethics.'' * * Quinton, Anthony (1996) "Ewing, Alfred Cecil" icin: Brown, Stuart C.; Collinson, Diané; Wilkinson, Robert, eds. ''Biographical dictionary of twentieth-century philosophers'' pp. 220–221


External links

* Brand Blanshar
"Alfred Cyril Ewing, 1899–1973"
(Archived), {{DEFAULTSORT:Ewing, Alfred Cyril Ewing, A. C. Ewing, A. C. 20th-century English philosophers People educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys Philosophical theists Presidents of the Aristotelian Society Alumni of the University of Oxford