David Hugh Mellor (; 10 July 1938 – 21 June 2020) was a British

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 ...

. He was a Professor of Philosophy and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, later Professor Emeritus, of

Cambridge University 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 ...

Biography

Mellor was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 10 July 1938, and educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

. He studied

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

(BA 1960). His first formal study of philosophy was at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

where he took a minor in Philosophy of Science under

Herbert Feigl Herbert Feigl (; ; December 14, 1902 – June 1, 1988) was an Austrian- American philosopher and an early member of the Vienna Circle. He coined the term " nomological danglers". Biography The son of a trained weaver who became a textile designer ...

. From Minnesota he obtained an MSc in 1962. He obtained his PhD in philosophy, with a thesis written under the supervision of

Mary Hesse Mary Brenda Hesse FBA (15 October 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English philosopher of science and a professor at the University of Cambridge. Biography Mary Hesse was born in Reigate, Surrey, to Ethelbert (Bertie) Thomas Hesse and Brenda ...

, at Pembroke in 1968. He was awarded a

Sc.D. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

from Cambridge in 1990. His primary work was in

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

, although his philosophical interests included

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

philosophy of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of the mind and its relation to the Body (biology), body and the Reality, external world. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a ...

philosophy of time Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on ...

probability Probability is a branch of mathematics and statistics concerning events and numerical descriptions of how likely they are to occur. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1; the larger the probability, the more likely an e ...

and causation, laws of nature and

properties Property is the ownership of land, resources, improvements or other tangible objects, or intellectual property. Property may also refer to: Philosophy and science * Property (philosophy), in philosophy and logic, an abstraction characterizing an ...

, and

decision theory Decision theory or the theory of rational choice is a branch of probability theory, probability, economics, and analytic philosophy that uses expected utility and probabilities, probability to model how individuals would behave Rationality, ratio ...

. Mellor was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of

Darwin College Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a capital city in Australia, ...

from 1971 to 2005. Mellor was in the news in 1992, when he argued against Cambridge awarding an honorary degree to

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...

, a French philosopher known for his theory of "

deconstruction In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely-defined set of approaches to understand the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from ...

". A formal ballot decided to award the degree, but Mellor said it was undeserved, explaining: "He is a mediocre, unoriginal philosopher — he is not even interestingly bad." He also commented that it had been "a bad year for bullshit in Cambridge." Mellor was 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 1992 to 1993, a member of the Humanist Philosophers' Group of the

British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent non-religious people in the UK through a mixture of charitable servic ...

and Honorary Fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australi ...

. He was 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 ...

between 1983 and 2008. In retirement Mellor held the title of

emeritus professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

. A ''

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 ...

'', ''Real Metaphysics: Essays in Honour of D. H. Mellor,'' was published in 2003. Mellor was also an amateur theatre actor. He died on 21 June 2020.

Publications

Authored * '' The Matter of Chance'' (1971). Cambridge University Press. * '' Real Time'' (1981). Cambridge University Press. *
Matters of Metaphysics
' (1991). Cambridge University Press. * ''The Facts of Causation'' (1995). Routledge. * ''Real Time II'' (1998). Routledge. * ''Probability: A Philosophical Introduction'' (2005). Routledge. * ''Mind, Meaning, and Reality'' (2012). Oxford University Press Edited * ''Prospects for Pragmatism: Essays in Memory of F P Ramse''y (1980) * ''Science, Belief and Behaviour Essays in Honour of R B Braithwaite''.(1980) * ''F. P. Ramsey: Philosophical Papers''. Cambridge University Press. (1990) * (with

Hallvard Lillehammer Hallvard Lillehammer is a professor of philosophy at University of Sheffield. His research relates to the interpretation and criticism of basic ideas in moral and political thought, including reason, objectivity, impartiality, autonomy, responsibi ...

) ''Ramsey's Legacy'' (2005) *For more complete publication details see the tribute page by

Tim Crane Timothy Martin Crane (born 17 October 1962) is a British philosopher specialising in the philosophy of mind, philosophy of perception, philosophy of psychology and metaphysics. His contributions to philosophy include a defence of a non- physi ...

References

External links

Tribute page
by

, collecting philosophical work, downloadable papers, memoirs and obituaries, and photos. * Interviews with ''

Philosophy Bites ''Philosophy Bites'' is a podcast series featuring philosophers being interviewed for 15–20 minutes on a specific topic. The series, which has been running since 2007, is hosted by Nigel Warburton, freelance lecturer, and David Edmonds, and ha ...

'': *
Hugh Mellor on Time
(2008) *

(2011) *

(2014) *
Better Than The Stars
' 1978 BBC Radio programme made by Mellor about Frank Ramsey (featuring interviews with

A. J. Ayer Sir Alfred Jules "Freddie" Ayer ( ; 29 October 1910 – 27 June 1989) was an English philosopher known for his promotion of logical positivism, particularly in his books '' Language, Truth, and Logic'' (1936) and ''The Problem of Knowledge'' (1 ...

and

Richard Braithwaite Richard Bevan Braithwaite (15 January 1900 – 21 April 1990) was an English philosopher who specialized in the philosophy of science, ethics, and the philosophy of religion. Life Braithwaite was born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, son of the ...

). ** an
"Cambridge Philosophers I: F. P. Ramsey"
text of an article derived from the 1978 radio programme

Philosophy 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 ...

'' 70, 243-62 (1995)] * Archived versions of Mellor'
homepage
an

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellor, Hugh 20th-century British philosophers 2020 deaths 1938 births Fellows of Darwin College, Cambridge Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge British humanists Presidents of the Aristotelian Society Fellows of the British Academy Academics from London Bertrand Russell Professors of Philosophy Philosophers of probability

Biography

Publications

References

Further reading

External links