John Watson (25 February 1847 – 27 January 1939) was a Canadian philosopher and academic.

Life

He was born in

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

parish,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland, on 25 February 1847, the son of John Watson, a printer from

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

, and his wife Elizabeth Robertson from

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. He attended the Free Church School in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

. He then worked as a clerk to 1866. Watson enrolled 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 ...

. Within a month, however, he was drawn to the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

by the reputations of the brothers John Caird, professor of divinity, and Edward Caird, professor of moral philosophy. On completion of his studies in 1872, he was appointed on the basis of the recommendation of his mentor Edward Caird to the Chair of Logic, Metaphysics, and Ethics at Queen's University in Kingston,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Caird had written that "Watson is perhaps a man of the 'driest light' that I know. I do not know anyone who sees his way more clearly through any philosophical entanglements." He spent the remainder of his career at Queen's and died in Kingston on 27 January 1939. Among his works are ''Kant and His English Critics'', ''Christianity and Idealism'', and ''The State in Peace and War''. He was the Gifford Lecturer for 1910–1912 at the University of Glasgow after which his lectures were published as ''The Interpretation of Religious Experience''. He was a charter member of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

. Watson Hall at Queen's University is named after him.

Philosophy

Watson's philosophy, which he called speculative or constructive idealism, continued the Hegelian critique of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...

as pursued by

Thomas Hill Green Thomas Hill Green (7 April 183626 March 1882), known as T. H. Green, was an English philosopher, political radical and temperance reformer, and a member of the British idealism movement. Like all the British idealists, Green was influe ...

, Francis Herbert Bradley, and especially by his teacher at the University of Glasgow, Edward Caird. The main distinction between his position and that of Kant's critical idealism is that while both maintain that the universe is rational and that reason is self-harmonious, critical idealism denies that either of these propositions can be established on the basis of knowledge, while speculative idealism contends that the opposition of the theoretical and practical reason is fatal to both positions. While critical idealism falls back upon certain "postulates" of the moral consciousness in support of "faith", speculative idealism refuses to accept the antithesis of faith and knowledge, theoretical and practical reason, maintaining that a faith which is not identical with reason, a theoretical reason which is not in harmony with practical reason, is beset by an inherent weakness, which is sure to betray itself under the most searching of all tests, the test of self-criticism.Watson, J.: ''Philosophical Basis of Religion''. Glasgow: Maclehose, 1907, p. 100. All that exists is rational and in principle knowable. The degree to which it is known reflects both evolution and history. The human being possesses – as a result of evolution – a principle of rationality that makes it possible to comprehend the rationality of the world and to master it. Watson argued that this capacity could not, however, have resulted from natural selection.Watson, J.: ''Outline of Philosophy.'' Glasgow: Maclehose, 1908, pp. 143-144. By contrast, human evolution, especially as continued in history, represents a transcendence of nature, "the gradual realisation of reason in the individual and in society, and the gradual comprehension of the meaning of both when viewed in their relation to the world and God".Watson, J.: ''Christianity and Idealism''(New Edition). Glasgow: Maclehose, 1897, p. 240.

Religion and moral philosophy

God is the absolute. The absolute is inadequately conceptualized as substance, power, person – although Watson found "personality" more fitting, though still inadequate – or super rational. The. absolute is the identity of subject and object, the repository of universal reason itself, the very rationality that is manifest in the world and increasingly revealed to conscious, reflective human beings. Morality is acting rationally; and as reason ultimately governs both, there is no real conflict between individual and societal interests. Evil, or immorality, is the failure to act rationally owing to ignorance or confusion. Watson's liberal theology had a significant influence on the

Social Gospel The Social Gospel is a social movement within Protestantism that aims to apply Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean en ...

movement and the formation of the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada. The United Chu ...

in 1925.

Political theory

Watson's social thought is pervaded with a

communitarianism Communitarianism is a philosophy that emphasizes the connection between the individual and the community. Its overriding philosophy is based on the belief that a person's social identity and personality are largely molded by community relation ...

deriving from his doctrine of the in-principle identity in reason of individual and common goods. Thus he summarizes his position on the State as existing "for the purpose of providing the external conditions under which all the citizens may have an opportunity of developing the best that is in them, and the success with which this aim is achieved is a test of the perfection of a community."Watson, J.: ''The State in Peace and War''. Glasgow: Maclehose, 1919, p. 285.

Works

''Kant and his English Critics:a comparison of critical and empirical philosophy''

: James MacLehose and Sons, 1881.
''Schelling's Trascendental Idealism. A critical exposition.''

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: S. C. Griggs and Company, 1882.
''Hedonistic Theories from Aristippus to Spencer''

: James MacLehose and Sons, 1895.
''Christianity and Idealism: the Christian ideal of life in its relations to the Greek and Jewish ideals and to modern philosophy''
New York: The Macmillan Co., 1897. (Reprinted with additions, August, 1897.)
''The Philosophical Basis of Religion''

: James MacLehose and Sons, 1907.
''The philosophy of Kant as contained in extracts from his own writings''

: James MacLehose and Sons, 1908.
''The philosophy of Kant explained''

: James MacLehose and Sons, 1908.
''An Outline of Philosophy''

: James MacLehose and Sons, 1908. * ''The Interpretation of Religious Experience'' (2 volumes) Gifford Lecture
''Volume 1''''Volume 2''

: James MacLehose and Sons, 1912.
''The State in Peace and War''

: James MacLehose and Sons, 1919. * ''Selections from Kant''

: Jackson Wylie & Co, 1927.