HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ernest André Gellner (9 December 1925 – 5 November 1995) was a French-born British-Czech
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 ...
and
social anthropologist Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...
described by ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', when he died, as one of the world's most vigorous intellectuals, and by ''
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 publis ...
'' as a "one-man crusader for
critical rationalism Critical rationalism is an epistemological philosophy advanced by Karl Popper on the basis that, if a statement cannot be logically deduced (from what is known), it might nevertheless be possible to logically falsify it. Following Hume, Popper ...
". His first book, ''Words and Things'' (1959), prompted a
leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' and a month-long correspondence on its letters page over his attack on
linguistic philosophy __NOTOC__ Linguistic philosophy is the view that many or all philosophical problems can be solved (or dissolved) by paying closer attention to language, either by reforming language or by better understanding our everyday language. The former po ...
. As the Professor of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
for 22 years, the William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology 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 ...
for eight years, and head of the new Centre for the Study of Nationalism in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, Gellner fought all his life—in his writing, teaching and political activism—against what he saw as closed systems of thought. Among other issues in social thought,
modernisation theory Modernization theory or modernisation theory holds that as societies become more economically modernized, wealthier and more educated, their political institutions become increasingly liberal democratic and rationalist. The "classical" theories o ...
and
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
were two of his central themes, his
multicultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...
perspective allowing him to work within the subject-matter of three separate
civilisation A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of the state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond signed or spoken languag ...
s:
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
,
Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, and
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
. He is considered one of the leading theoreticians on the issue of nationalism.


Background

Gellner was born in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
Chris Hann
Obituary
, ''The Independent'', 8 November 1995
to Anna, née Fantl, and Rudolf, a lawyer, an urban
intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...
German-speaking Austrian Jewish couple from
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
(which, since 1918, was part of the newly established
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
). Julius Gellner was his uncle. He was brought up in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, attending a
Czech language Czech ( ; ), historically known as Bohemian ( ; ), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 12 million people including second language speakers, it serves as the official language of the ...
primary school before entering the English-language grammar school. This was
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...
's tricultural Prague:
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
but "stunningly beautiful", a city he later spent years longing for. In 1939, when Gellner was 13, the rise of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
persuaded his family to leave Czechoslovakia and move to
St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
, just north of
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 ...
, where Gellner attended St Albans Boys Modern School, now
Verulam School Verulam School is an 11–18 boys state–funded secondary school with Academy (English school), academy status in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, founded in 1938 as St Albans Boys' Modern School. The name was changed in the 1940s to St Al ...
(Hertfordshire). At the age of 17, he won a scholarship to
Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...
, as a result of what he called "Portuguese colonial policy", which involved keeping "the natives peaceful by getting able ones from below into Balliol." At Balliol, he studied
Philosophy, Politics and Economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...
(PPE) and specialised in philosophy. He interrupted his studies after one year to serve with the
1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade The 1st Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade Group () was an armoured unit of expatriate Czechoslovaks organised and equipped by the United Kingdom during the Second World War in 1943. The brigade landed in Normandy in August 1944 and was gi ...
, which took part in the Siege of Dunkirk (1944–45), and then returned to Prague to attend university there for half a term. During this period, Prague lost its strong hold over him: foreseeing the communist takeover, he decided to return to England. One of his recollections of the city in 1945 was a communist poster saying: "Everyone with a clean shield into the
Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
", ostensibly meaning that those whose records were good during the occupation were welcome. In reality, Gellner said, it meant exactly the opposite: He returned to Balliol College in 1945 to finish his degree, winning the
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
prize and taking
first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...
in 1947. The same year, he began his academic career at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
as an assistant to Professor John Macmurray in the Department of Moral Philosophy. He moved to the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
in 1949, joining the sociology department under Morris Ginsberg. Ginsberg admired philosophy and believed that philosophy and sociology were very close to each other.
Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse, FBA (8 September 1864 – 21 June 1929) was an English liberal political theorist and sociologist, who has been considered one of the leading and earliest proponents of social liberalism. His works, culminating in ...
had preceded Ginsberg as Martin White Professor of Sociology at the LSE. Hobhouse's ''Mind in Evolution'' (1901) had proposed that society should be regarded as an organism, a product of evolution, with the individual as its basic unit, the subtext being that society would improve over time as it evolved, a
teleological Teleology (from , and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology. In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Applet ...
view that Gellner firmly opposed. Gellner's critique of
linguistic philosophy __NOTOC__ Linguistic philosophy is the view that many or all philosophical problems can be solved (or dissolved) by paying closer attention to language, either by reforming language or by better understanding our everyday language. The former po ...
in ''Words and Things'' (1959) focused on J. L. Austin and the later work of
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 ...
, criticising them for failing to question their own methods. The book brought Gellner critical acclaim. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1961 with a thesis on ''Organisation and the Role of a
Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
Zawiya'' and became Professor of
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 ...
,
Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...
and
Scientific Method The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and ...
just one year later. ''Thought and Change'' was published in 1965, and in ''State and Society in Soviet Thought'' (1988), he examined whether Marxist regimes could be liberalised. He was elected to 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 1974. He moved to Cambridge in 1984 to head the Department of
Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
, holding the William Wyse chair and becoming a fellow of
King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...
, which provided him with a relaxed atmosphere where he enjoyed drinking beer and playing
chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...
with the students. Described by the ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...
'' as "brilliant, forceful, irreverent, mischievous, sometimes perverse, with a biting wit and love of irony", he was famously popular with his students, was willing to spend many extra hours a day tutoring them, and was regarded as a superb public speaker and gifted teacher. His ''Plough, Sword and Book'' (1988) investigated the
philosophy of history Philosophy of history is the philosophy, philosophical study of history and its academic discipline, discipline. The term was coined by the French philosopher Voltaire. In contemporary philosophy a distinction has developed between the ''specul ...
, and ''Conditions of Liberty'' (1994) sought to explain the collapse of
socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
with an analogy he called "modular man". In 1993, he returned to Prague, now rid of communism, and to the new
Central European University Central European University (CEU; , ) is a private research university in Vienna. The university offers graduate and undergraduate programs in the social sciences and humanities, which are accredited in Austria and the United States. The univ ...
, where he became head of the Center for the Study of Nationalism, a program funded by
George Soros George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...
, the American billionaire
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, to study the rise of
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
in the post-communist countries of eastern and central
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. On 5 November 1995, after returning from a conference in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, he had a heart attack and died at his flat in Prague, one month short of his 70th birthday. Gellner was a member of both the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
and the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
.


''Words and Things''

With the publication in 1959 of ''Words and Things'', his first book, Gellner achieved fame and even notoriety among his fellow philosophers, as well as outside the discipline, for his fierce attack on "linguistic philosophy", as he preferred to call
ordinary language philosophy Ordinary language philosophy (OLP) is a philosophical methodology that sees traditional philosophical problems as rooted in misunderstandings philosophers develop by distorting or forgetting how words are ordinarily used to convey meaning in ...
, then the dominant approach at
Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...
(although the philosophers themselves denied that they were part of any unified school). He first encountered the strong
ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
hold of linguistic philosophy while at Balliol: ''Words and Things'' is fiercely critical of the work of
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 ...
, J. L. Austin,
Gilbert Ryle Gilbert Ryle (19 August 1900 – 6 October 1976) was a British philosopher, principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase " ghost in the machine". Some of Ryle's ideas in philosophy of mind have been ca ...
,
Antony Flew Antony Garrard Newton Flew (; 11 February 1923 – 8 April 2010) was an English philosopher. Belonging to the analytic and evidentialist schools of thought, Flew worked on the philosophy of religion. During the course of his career he taught ...
, P. F. Strawson and many others. Ryle refused to have the book reviewed in the philosophical journal ''
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 ...
'' (which he edited), and
Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...
(who had written an approving foreword) protested in a letter to ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
''. A response from Ryle and a lengthy correspondence ensued.


Social anthropology

In the 1950s, Gellner discovered his great love of
social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...
. Chris Hann, director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, writes that following the hard-nosed empiricism of
Bronisław Malinowski Bronisław Kasper Malinowski (; 7 April 1884 – 16 May 1942) was a Polish anthropologist and ethnologist whose writings on ethnography, social theory, and field research have exerted a lasting influence on the discipline of anthropology. ...
, Gellner made major contributions to the subject over the next 40 years, ranging from "conceptual critiques in the analysis of kinship to frameworks for understanding political order outside the state in tribal
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
(''Saints of the Atlas'', 1969); from sympathetic exposition of the works of Soviet Marxist anthropologists to elegant syntheses of the Durkheimian and Weberian traditions in western social theory; and from grand elaboration of 'the structure of human history' to path-breaking analyses of ethnicity and nationalism ('' Thought and Change'', 1964; '' Nations and Nationalism'', 1983)". He also developed a friendship with the Moroccan-French sociologist Paul Pascon, whose work he admired.


Nationalism

In 1983, Gellner published '' Nations and Nationalism''. For Gellner, "
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
is primarily a political principle that holds that the political and the national unit should be congruent".Gellner, ''Nationalism'', 1983, p. 1 Gellner argues that nationalism appeared and became a sociological necessity only in the modern world. In previous times ("the agro-literate" stage of history), rulers had little incentive to impose cultural
homogeneity Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts relating to the Uniformity (chemistry), uniformity of a Chemical substance, substance, process or image. A homogeneous feature is uniform in composition or character (i.e., color, shape, size, weight, ...
on the ruled. But in modern society, work becomes technical; one must operate a machine, and to do so, one must learn. There is a need for impersonal, context-free communication and a high degree of cultural standardisation. Furthermore,
industrial society In sociology, an industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the Western world ...
is underlined by the fact that there is perpetual growth: employment types vary and new skills must be learned. Thus, generic employment training precedes specialised job training. On a territorial level, there is competition for the overlapping
catchment area A catchment area in human geography, is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
s (such as Alsace-Lorraine). To maintain its grip on resources and its survival and progress, the state and culture must for these reasons be congruent. Nationalism, therefore, is a necessity.


Selected works

* ''Words and Things: A Critical Account of Linguistic Philosophy and a Study in Ideology'', London: Gollancz; Boston: Beacon (1959). Also see correspondence in ''The Times'', 10 November to 23 November 1959. * '' Thought and Change'' (1964) * ''Populism: Its Meaning and Characteristics'' (1969). With . New York: Macmillan. * ''Saints of the Atlas'' (1969) * ''Contemporary Thought and Politics'' (1974) * ''The Devil in Modern Philosophy'' (1974) * ''Legitimation of Belief'' (1974) * ''Spectacles and Predicaments'' (1979) * ''Soviet and Western Anthropology'' (1980) (editor) * ''Muslim Society'' (1981) * '' Nations and Nationalism'' (1983) * ''Relativism and the Social Sciences'' (1985) * ''The Psychoanalytic Movement'' (1985) * ''The Concept of Kinship and Other Essays'' (1986) * ''Culture, Identity, and Politics'' (1987) * ''State and Society in Soviet Thought'' (1988) * ''Plough, Sword and Book'' (1988) * ''Postmodernism, Reason and Religion'' (1992) * ''Reason and Culture'' (1992) * ''Conditions of Liberty'' (1994) * ''Anthropology and Politics: Revolutions in the Sacred Grove'' (1995) * ''Liberalism in Modern Times: Essays in Honour of José G. Merquior'' (1996) * ''Nationalism'' (1997) * ''Language and Solitude: Wittgenstein, Malinowski, and the Habsburg Dilemma'' (1998)


Notes


References


Obituary A Philosopher on Nationalism Ernest Gellner Died at 69
written by Eric Pace ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' 10 November 1995 *Davies, John. Obituary in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 7 November 1995 *Dimonye, Simeon. ''A Comparative Study of Historicism in Karl Marx and Ernest Gellner'' (Saarbrücken: Lambert Academic Publishing, 2012) *Hall, John A. ''Ernest Gellner: An Intellectual Biography'' (London: Verso, 2010) *Hall, John A. and Ian Jarvie (eds). ''The Social Philosophy of Ernest Gellner'' (Amsterdam: Rodopi B.V., 1996) *Hall, John A. (ed.) ''The State of the Nation: Ernest Gellner and the Theory of Nationalism'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998) *Lessnoff, Michael. ''Ernest Gellner and Modernity'' (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2002) *Lukes, Steven
"Gellner, Ernest André (1925–1995)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, retrieved 23 September 2005 (requires subscription) *Malesevic, Sinisa and Mark Haugaard (eds). ''Ernest Gellner and Contemporary Social Thought'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007) *O'Leary, Brendan. 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 publis ...
'', 8 November 1995 *Stirling, Paul. Obituary in ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', 9 November 1995
"The Social and Political Relevance of Gellner's Thought Today"
papers and webcast of conference organised by the Department of Political Science and Sociology in the
National University of Ireland, Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...
, held on 21–22 May 2005 (10th anniversary of Gellner's death). * Kyrchanoff, Maksym. ''Natsionalizm: politika, mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia, regionalizatsiia'' (Voronezh, 2007

Detailed review of Gellner's works for students. In Russian language.


Further reading

* Hall, John A. ''Ernest Gellner: An Intellectual Biography''. Verso, (2010). * Hall, John A. (ed.) ''The State of the Nation: Ernest Gellner and the Theory of Nationalism''. Cambridge University Press, 1998. * Malešević, Siniša, and Mark Haugaard (eds.), ''Ernest Gellner and Contemporary Social Thought.'' New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. * Ruini, Andrea Ernest ''Gellner: un profilo intellettuale'', Carocci, Roma 2011 (http://www.carocci.it/index.php?option=com_carocci&task=schedalibro&Itemid=72&isbn=9788843061969


External links


Gellner resource page
(at the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
)
Ethics and Logic
Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society LV (1954–1955), 157–178.
Catalogue of the Gellner papers
at th

of the
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
.
Gellner video materials
at Dspace at Cambridge repository ( MP4 files). * Special Issue of the journal '' Social Evolution & History''
"The Intellectual Legacy of Ernest Gellner"
(guest editor Peter Skalnik). * Special Issue of the journal '' Thesis Eleven

Ernest Gellner and Historical Sociology (guest editor Sinisa Malesevic).
''The Words and Things of Ernest Gellner'' by Czeglédy, André P.
*
Linguistic Philosophy
' 1959 review of ''Words and Things'' by A. J. Ayer, A.J. Ayer for ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
'' ia Wayback Machine">Wayback_Machine.html" ;"title="ia Wayback Machine">ia Wayback Machine*
Words and Ideas
' review of ''Words and Things'' by Iris Murdoch for ''The Partisan Review'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gellner, Ernest British sociologists 20th-century British philosophers Social anthropologists Anthropologists of religion Jewish scientists Jewish philosophers Czech academics Czech philosophers Theories of history Scholars of nationalism Populism scholars Fellows of the British Academy Academics of the London School of Economics Czechoslovak refugees Jews who immigrated to the United Kingdom to escape Nazism Czech Jews Writers from Prague 1925 births 1995 deaths Academic staff of Central European University People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Academics of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of King's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Presidents of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Members of the American Philosophical Society William Wyse Professors of Social Anthropology