Kenneth Macfarlane Walker (6 June 1882 – 22 January 1966) was a British author,

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

urological Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''-logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary system and the reproductive organs. Orga ...

surgeon.

Biography

Walker was born in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London. He was educated at

The Leys School The Leys School is a co-educational private school in Cambridge, England. It is a boarding and day school for about 565 pupils between the ages of eleven and eighteen. The head is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. ...

and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

. He studied at Cambridge University and the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

. He served as captain in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

(1915–1919). He took the

F.R.C.S. Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Roy ...

in 1908 and was awarded the Jacksonian Prize in 1910 for his essay on

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

of the

bladder The bladder () is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys. In placental mammals, urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra during urination. In humans, the bladder is a distens ...

. He worked as a surgeon at

St. Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Ra ...

and was emeritus surgeon at

Royal Northern Hospital The Royal Northern Hospital was a general hospital on Holloway Road, London N7, near Tollington Way. It had inpatient, outpatient, accident and emergency facilities and was also a centre for postgraduate medical education and nurse education. His ...

. Walker authored many books. He wrote '' The Log of the Ark'' with Geoffrey Boumphrey in 1923. He was the author of '' Meaning and Purpose'' (1944), an analysis of the main scientific theories of the last hundred years and their impact upon religious thought and belief. It aimed at questioning the completeness of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

's theory of

natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the Heredity, heritable traits characteristic of a population over generation ...

and evolution, as well as evaluating the most relevant scientific discoveries at the time of publication and their effect on the general population. He also attacked mechanistic accounts of the universe and natural selection in his book ''Life's Long Journey'' (1961). He studied the ideas and methods of

George Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff ( – 29 October 1949) was a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, composer, and movements teacher. Born in the Russian Empire, he briefly became a citizen of the First Republic of Armenia after its formation in 1 ...

with P. D. Ouspensky, and when the latter died in 1947 he visited Gurdjieff himself 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 ...

. He contributed thoughtful pieces to the ''

Picture Post ''Picture Post'' was a photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,000,000 copies a week after only two months. ...

'', a highly popular publication, and was referred to by a friend as 'The Sage of Picture Post.' He conducted study groups in the Gurdjieff Society London. Among his books are ''A Study of Gurdjieff's Teaching'', and ''Venture with Ideas''. His writing style was simple and direct. Walker was also interested in

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, teleportation, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry (paranormal), psychometry) and other paranormal cla ...

. In his book ''The Extra-Sensory Mind'' he supported the controversial claims of

radionics Radionics—also called electromagnetic therapy (EMT) and the Abrams method—is a form of alternative medicine that claims that disease can be diagnosed and treated by applying electromagnetic radiation (EMR), such as radio waves, to the bod ...

Publications

*'' The Log of the Ark'' (1923) ith Geoffrey Boumphrey*''Sex and a changing civilisation'' (1935) *''Diagnosis of Man'' (1942) *''The Circle of Life: A Search for an Attitude to Pain, Disease, Old Age and Death'' (1942) *''I Talk of Dreams: An Experiment in Autobiography'' (1946) *'' Meaning and Purpose'' (1944, 1950) *''Commentary on Age'' (1952)
''Ventures with Ideas: Meetings with Gurdjieff and Ouspensky''
(1952) *''Living Your Later Years'' (1954) *''Sexual Disorders in the Male'' (1954) ith Eric Benjamin Strauss*''The Physiology of Sex and Its Social Implications'' (1954) *''The Physiology of Sex'' (1954) *''Sex and Society: A Psychological Study of Sexual Behaviour in a Competitive Culture'' (1955) ith Peter Fletcher*''The Story of Medicine'' (1955) "Joseph Lister" (1956) *''The Story of Blood'' (1958)
''The Extra-Sensory Mind''
(1961) *''Life's Long Journey'' (1961) *''The Conscious Mind: A Commentary on the Mystics'' (1962) *''Human Physiology'' (1963) *''The Making of Man'' (1963) *''Sex and Society'' (1964) *''A Study of Gurdjieff's Teaching'' (1965) *''The Mystic Mind'' (1965)

References

External links

Kenneth Walker Bibliography from Open Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Kenneth 1882 births 1966 deaths British urologists English children's writers English humorists People from Hampstead Writers from the London Borough of Camden English writers on paranormal topics British parapsychologists 20th-century English philosophers