Allen Phillips Griffiths (11 June 1927 - 1 December 2014) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

philosopher and snuff enthusiast.

Life

A. Phillips Griffiths (as he was published) or "Griff" (as he was known to colleagues) was born in

Llandaff Llandaff (; ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bisho ...

, in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

on 11 June 1927. He was the son of John Phillips Griffiths (d. 1941) and Elsie Maud ''née'' Jones (d. 1975). After schooling at Whitchurch Cardiff Grammar, in 1943 he began undergraduate studies of History at (the then) University College, Cardiff. His studies were interrupted by

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

begun at the end of the war for which he served in the Intelligence Corps and was deployed to the Middle East. After his military service, he returned to study at Cardiff, graduating with first class honours in 1951. In 1953, under the supervision of Professor H.H. Price, he received a B.Phil. at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He first taught at

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

(1955–7), before moving to

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public research university located in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. Established in 1823 as the London Mechanics' ...

(1957–64). In 1964, Griffiths became founding Professor of Philosophy of the new

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

. At the time, he was the youngest professor of philosophy in the UK. He served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor there from 1970 to 1977, retiring in 1992 as professor emeritus. He served as the Director of the ''

Royal Institute of Philosophy The Royal Institute of Philosophy, founded in 1925, is a charitable organisation that holds and funds lectures and events on philosophical topics. It publishes two journals and offers grant programmes as part of its mission to share philosophica ...

'' from 1979 to 1994. He died on 1 December 2014. He had been a noted enthusiast of snuff.

Select works

Authored papers/chapters * (1956
"Formulating Moral Principles"
''Mind''. 65 (1): 38–48. * (1957) �
"Justifying Moral Principles"
''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society''. 58: 103–124 * (1963) "On Belief’"br>''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society'', vol. 63 (1962–3
Reprinted in '' Knowledge and Belief'' (1967) * (1967) "Ultimate Moral Principles: Their Justification" in: (ed.) Edwards, Paul ( ''

Encyclopedia of Philosophy An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

'' vol. 8, pp. 177–82 * (1972) "A Deduction of Universities" in: (ed.) Archambault, Reginald D '' Philosophical Analysis and Education'' Edited books * (ed.) '' Knowledge and Belief'' (Oxford, 1967). * (ed.) '' Of Liberty,(Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements,15)'' Cambridge University Press, (1983) * (ed.) ''

Philosophy and literature ''Philosophy and Literature'' is an American academic journal founded in 1977 by Denis Dutton. It explores the connections between literary and philosophical studies by presenting ideas on the aesthetics of literature, critical theory, and the ...

'' ''(Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements,16)'' (1984) * (ed.) ''Philosophy and practice'' (''Royal Institute of Philosophy lecture series: 18)'' (1985) * (ed.) '' Contemporary French philosophy (Royal Institute of Philosophy lecture series: 21)'' (1987) * (ed.) ''Key themes in philosoph''y (''Royal Institute of Philosophy lecture series: 24)'' (1989) * (ed.) '' Wittgenstein centenary essays (Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 28)'' (1991) * (ed.) '' A.J. Ayer: Memorial Essays (Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 30)'' (1992) * (ed.) '' The Impulse to Philosophise (Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 33)'' (1993) * (ed.) ''

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 ...

'' ''(Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 35)'' (1993) * (ed.) ''Philosophy, psychology and psychiatry'' (''Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 37'') (1994)

References

External links

"Do we know what knowing is?"
(video) Godfrey Vesey introduces a discussion between Martha Kneale and Griffiths as to whether knowledge can be satisfactorily defined as justified true belief (

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

, 1972).
"Kant 2 : moral conflict"
(video) Oswald Hanfling introduces a discussion between Griffiths and

Bernard WIlliams Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English Ethics, moral philosopher. His publications include ''Problems of the Self'' (1973), ''Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'' (1985), ''Shame and Necessit ...

( OU, 1972). {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Allen Phillips 20th-century Welsh educators Welsh philosophers Academics of Aberystwyth University 1927 births 2014 deaths