John Laird (17 May 1887 – 5 August 1946) was a philosopher, in the school of New British Realism, who later turned to

metaphysical idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...

Life

Laird was born at

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, Kincardineshire, a parish adjacent to the birthplace of Scottish philosopher

Thomas Reid Thomas Reid (; 7 May ( O.S. 26 April) 1710 – 7 October 1796) was a religiously trained Scottish philosopher. He was the founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense and played an integral role in the Scottish Enlightenment. In 1783 he w ...

. He was the son of Margaret Laird (née Steward) and D. M. W. Laird, a Church of Scotland minister, and the son of

John Laird John Laird may refer to: * John Laird (American politician) (born 1950), California State Senator * John Laird (footballer) (1935–2016) Australian rules footballer * John Laird (philosopher) (1887–1946), Scottish philosopher * John Laird (ship ...

, a minister and

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moderator. He attended Aberdeen Grammar School and the

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, where in 1908 he graduated with a first class MA in philosophy. He spent a brief time at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

before entering

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

as a Scholar. He graduated from Cambridge with a first class BA in both parts of the

Moral sciences tripos The University of Cambridge was the birthplace of the 'Analytical' School of Philosophy in the early 20th century. The department is located in the Raised Faculty Building on the Sidgwick Site and is part of the Cambridge School of Arts and Humanit ...

, and graduated with an MA in 1920. He was an Assistant Lecturer at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1911. In 1912, and took up a Professorship of Philosophy at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...

, Halifax, Nova Scotia. THE he following year he returned to the United Kingdom as Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

(1913–24). In 1924 he was appointed as Regius Professor of Moral Philosophy at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, a position which he held until his death. He was Mills Lecturer,

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...

from1923-4 and Gifford Lecturer, at the University of Glasgow from 1939-40. In 1913 he met Helen Ritchie. They married in 1919 and had one son, who died in childhood. After the move to Aberdeen the Lairds lived in Powis Lodge, Old Aberdeen. Laird was president of the Aristotelian Society from 1929 to 1930. He was a prolific writer and public speaker.Michael W. DeLashmutt (University of Glasgow), "Gifford Lecture Series Author Biography: John Laird," available at:

Works

His books included:
''Problems of the Self''
(1917)
''A Study in Realism''
(1920) * ''The Idea of the Soul'' (1924) * ''Our Minds and Their Bodies'' (1925) * ''A Study in Moral Theory'' (1926) * ''Modern Problems in Philosophy'' (1928) * ''The Idea of Value'' (1929) * ''Knowledge, Belief, and Opinion'' (1930) * ''Morals and Western Religion'' (1931) * ''Hume's Philosophy of Human Nature'' (1932) * ''Hobbes'' (1934) * ''An Enquiry into Moral Notions'' (1935) * ''Recent Philosophy'' (1936) * ''S. Alexander's Philosophical and Literary Pieces'' (1939)
''Theism and Cosmology'' (1940)
Gifford Lectures 1938-1939
''Mind and Deity''
(1941)Gifford Lectures 1939-1940 * ''The Device of Government'' (1944)
''On Human Freedom''
(1947)

References

External sources

*''Who Was Who, 1941–1950'', London : A. & C. Black, p. 653 *

Life

Works

References

External sources

See also