Jonathan Barnes, FBA (born 26 December 1942 in

Wenlock, Shropshire Much Wenlock is a market town and parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish includes the villages of Homer ...

) is an English scholar of Aristotelian and

ancient philosophy This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history (). Overview Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many cultures ro ...

Education and career

Barnes, born on December 26, 1942, he was educated at the

City of London School The City of London School, also known as CLS and City, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for Single-sex education, boys in the City of London, England, on the banks of the River Thames next to the Millennium Bridge, ...

and

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 ...

. He taught at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...

for 25 years before moving to the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

, where he served as Professor of

Ancient Philosophy This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history (). Overview Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many cultures ro ...

from 1994 to 2002. A Fellow of 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 ...

since 1987, Barnes is recognized for his expertise in

ancient Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, epistemology, mathematics, political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics ...

and has edited significant works on

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

and

pre-Socratic Pre-Socratic philosophy, also known as early Greek philosophy, is ancient Greek philosophy before Socrates. Pre-Socratic philosophers were mostly interested in cosmology, the beginning and the substance of the universe, but the inquiries of the ...

thinkers. He received an honorary doctorate from

Humboldt University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III of Prussia, Frederick W ...

in 2012 and took his éméritat in 2006 after teaching at the

University of Paris-Sorbonne Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; ) was a public university, public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Paris. In 2018, it m ...

Philosophical views

Barnes holds that our modern notion of the

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 ...

is "thoroughly Aristotelian." He emphasizes the point in order to refute empiricists

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

and

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 ...

, who thought they were breaking with the Aristotelian tradition. He claims that the "outrageous" charges against Aristotle were brought by men who did not read Aristotle's own works with sufficient attention and who criticized him for the faults of his successors.

Personal life

He married in 1965 and has two daughters. He is the brother of the novelist

Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with ''The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with ''Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and ''Arthu ...

, and he and his family feature in the latter's memoir ''Nothing to be Frightened Of'' (2008).

Writings

* ''The Complete Works of Aristotle'', 2 vols, 1984; reprinted with corrections, 1995 (General Editor) * ''

Posterior Analytics The ''Posterior Analytics'' (; ) is a text from Aristotle's '' Organon'' that deals with demonstration, definition, and scientific knowledge. The demonstration is distinguished as ''a syllogism productive of scientific knowledge'', while the de ...

'' (translation and commentary on Aristotle), (1975) (revised edition, 1994) * ''The Ontological Argument'' (1972) * ''Presocratic Philosophers'' 2 Vols., 1979; 1 vol. revised edition, 1982 * ''Aristotle'' (1982) * ''The Modes of Scepticism'' (1985), with Julia Annas * ''Early Greek Philosophy'' (1987) * ''The Toils of Scepticism'' (1990) * ''The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle'' (1995) * ''Logic and the Imperial Stoa'' (1997) * * * ''Truth, etc.'' (2007) * ''Coffee with Aristotle'' (2008) * ''Methods and Metaphysics: Essays in Ancient Philosophy I'' (2011) * ''Logical Matters: Essays in Ancient Philosophy II'' (2012) * ''Proof, Knowledge, and Scepticism: Essays in Ancient Philosophy III'' (2014) * ''Mantissa: Essays in Ancient Philosophy IV'' (2015)

References

Sources

* Merritt Moseley, ''Understanding Julian Barnes'', University of South Carolina Press (1997) his book provides family info on the Barnes family.

External links

Bibliography

Photo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Jonathan 1942 births English historians of philosophy English classical scholars 20th-century English philosophers 21st-century English philosophers British scholars of ancient Greek philosophy Aristotle scholars English expatriates in Switzerland English expatriates in France Academic staff of the University of Paris Academic staff of the University of Geneva Living people Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy People educated at the City of London School Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford Classical scholars of the University of Oxford English male non-fiction writers Greek–English translators