Edgar Frederick Carritt, FBA (27 February 1876 – 19 June 1964) was an English philosopher who wrote on aesthetics, moral philosophy and political philosophy. He was a fellow of

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 ...

, from 1898 to 1945. He was a member of the famous Oxfordshire based Carritt family, whose members included many Marxist academics and revolutionaries.

Life and career

Born in London, he was the son of Frederick Blasson Carritt, a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

, and Edith, ''née'' Price. He studied at

Bradfield College Bradfield College is a coeducational public school (independent boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18, in the village of Bradfield, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It is noted for its open-air Greek theatre and its trien ...

and at

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

, where he read

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. Graduating with a first in 1898, he was almost immediately elected to a classical

fellowship A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned or professional societies, the term refers ...

; within a few months, he was also appointed as the college's

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

in philosophy, succeeding

Vernon Storr Vernon Faithfull Storr (4 December 1869 – 25 October 1940) was an Anglican priest, most notably Archdeacon of Westminster from 1931 to 1936. Early life and education The son of Edward Storr (1840–1878), Indian Civil Service (a descendant of ...

,"Mr. E. F. Carritt", ''

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'' (London), 22 June 1964, p. 12. who left the fellowship in 1899. In 1901, Carritt won the Chancellor's Essay Prize and the following year started to lecture on

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

; his lectures are thought to have been among the first on that topic delivered at the university. Carritt held a university

lectureship Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. ...

in philosophy between 1938 and 1941. In 1937, Carritt also gave the Philosophical Lecture at 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 ...

; he was elected a fellow of the academy in 1945. Carritt remained at University College until he retired in 1945;Peter Lewis, "Carritt, Edgar Frederick", in Diane Collinson, Robert Wilkinson and

Stuart Brown Stuart Brown may refer to: * Stuart Brown (sidecarcross rider) Stuart Brown (born 29 June 1972)
accessed: 6 Nov ...

(eds), ''Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers'' (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 ...

, 2002), p. 131. He died on 19 June 1964 and was survived by his wife, Winifred, who died the next year.

Works

Characterised as an ethical intuitionist and an aesthetical expressionist, among his key publications were ''Theory of Beauty'' (1914; 2nd ed., 1923), ''The Theory of Morals'' (1928), ''Philosophies of Beauty from Socrates to Robert Bridges'' (1931), ''What is Beauty?'' (1932) and ''Morals and Politics'' (1935), ''Ethical and Political Thinking'' (1947), ''Introduction to Aesthetics'' (1949), ''My Philosophy: Selected Essays of B. Croce'' (1949) and ''A Calendar of British Taste, 1600–1800'' (1949).Raphael (1965), pp. 441–446.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carritt, Edgar Frederick 1876 births 1964 deaths British philosophers Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Fellows of University College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy People educated at Bradfield College