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Fergus Gordon Thomson Kerr (born 16 July 1931) is a Scottish
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
of the English Dominican province. He has published significantly on a wide range of subjects, but is famous particularly for his work on
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 ...
and
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
.


Biography

Following his education at Banff Academy and his service in the RAF (1953–1955), Kerr entered the
Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilian priest named Dominic de Guzmán. It was approved by Pope Honorius ...
in 1956. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1962. Kerr studied in
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
,
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 ...
,
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, and
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 was a student of Donald M. MacKinnon, John Holloway, and Cornelius Ernst. From 1966 to 1986 he taught
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 ...
and
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
. In service to the English Dominican province, Kerr was
Prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...
at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford from 1969 to 1978. From 1992 to 1998 he served as Prior at Blackfriars, Edinburgh. In 1998, he returned to
Blackfriars, Oxford Blackfriars Priory (formally the Priory of the Holy Spirit) is a Dominican religious community in Oxford, England. Its primary work is the administration of two educational institutions: Blackfriars Studium, a centre of theological studies in th ...
, where he served as Regent until 2004. Kerr served as the Director of the Aquinas Institute,
Blackfriars, Oxford Blackfriars Priory (formally the Priory of the Holy Spirit) is a Dominican religious community in Oxford, England. Its primary work is the administration of two educational institutions: Blackfriars Studium, a centre of theological studies in th ...
and is the editor of '' New Blackfriars'', the bimonthly journal of the English Dominicans (1995–present). Currently, Kerr is affiliated with Blackfriars, Edinburgh, where he lives and works. He holds an honorary fellowship in the School of Divinity,
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 ...
and has a role in the university's Catholic chaplaincy team. He is also an Honorary Professor of St. Andrews University, a distinction he has held since 2005. Kerr belongs to the Catholic Theological Society of Great Britain, of which he was president from 1992 to 1994. 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 ...
was prepared in Kerr's honor entitled ''Faithful Reading''. Kerr was awarded an
Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
of
Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...
by the University of Edinburgh in December 2019.


See also

* Cornelius Ernst


Bibliography


Books

* * * * * * * *


Book reviews


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Fergus Gordon 1931 births Living people 20th-century British Roman Catholic theologians 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel 20th-century Scottish Roman Catholic priests Academics of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of St Andrews Catholic philosophers New Blackfriars people People educated at Banff Academy People from Banff, Aberdeenshire Regents of Blackfriars, Oxford Scottish Dominicans Analytical Thomists Royal Air Force airmen Fellows_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Edinburgh