Margaret MacDonald (9 April 1903 – 7 January 1956) was a British analytic

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. She worked in the areas of

philosophy of language In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, ...

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

and

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed thr ...

Life and education

Margaret MacDonald was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and abandoned as a child. She was educated at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and was awarded a first class degree in philosophy in 1932, followed by a PhD in 1934. Her PhD supervisor was

Susan Stebbing Lizzie Susan Stebbing (2 December 1885 – 11 September 1943) was a British philosopher. She belonged to the 1930s generation of analytic philosophy, and was a founder in 1933 of the journal ''Analysis.'' Stebbing was the first woman to hold a p ...

Addis, Mark (2005)
"MacDonald, Margaret (1907-56)"
In Brown, Stuart (ed.). '
he Dictionary of Twentieth-century British Philosophers
'. Bristol: Thoemmes. pp.601–605. . Reprinted in ''The Continuum Encyclopedia of British Philosophy'' (2006) who provided MacDonald with financial assistance during her research. MacDonald joined

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status ...

, as a Pfeiffer Research Fellow in Moral Sciences between 1934–37. While at Cambridge, she studied under

G.E. Moore George Edward Moore (4 November 1873 – 24 October 1958) was an English philosopher, who with Bertrand Russell, Ludwig Wittgenstein and earlier Gottlob Frege was among the founders of analytic philosophy. He and Russell led the turn from ideal ...

and was part of the inner circle of students that

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...

taught. Along with fellow student

Alice Ambrose Alice Ambrose Lazerowitz (November 25, 1906 – January 25, 2001) was an American philosopher, logician, and author. Early life and education Alice Loman Ambrose was born in Lexington, Illinois and orphaned when she was 13 years old. She ...

she secretly (since he did not allow this) made notes during Wittgenstein's lectures, which were later published. They later convinced Wittgenstein to allow them continue to write his lectures down.

Career

From 1937–41 MacDonald taught philosophy at

St Hilda's College, Oxford St Hilda's College is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college is named after the Anglo-Saxon Saint, Hilda of Whitby and was founded in 1893 as a hall for women; it ...

, where she was also librarian. During the war she was temporary principal in the Board of Trade. This was followed by a lectureship at

Bedford College, London file:Bedford College in York place - photographer is unknown but guess 1908.png, Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in th ...

. At this time, she was one of a very small number of women teaching philosophy outside of Oxford University. From 1947 she was also a lecturer on Ethics to staff at the Home Office. She became reader in philosophy at Bedford College in 1955. MacDonald's early articles were criticisms of the work of contemporary philosophers, however she later concentrated on aesthetics, particularly how language relates to art. She was also interested in political philosophy and published a significant article 'Natural Rights'. In this paper she argues against the idea that natural rights are founded on the natural law. Her view is summarised by Jonathan Wolff as: "...statements of natural rights are akin to decisions, declaring 'here I stand', and...uses an analogy with another area of critical judgement—in her case literary appreciation—to point out the possibility of rational argument through the presentation of reasons". Her work attracted substantial attention at the time. Two of her articles were reprinted in the ''Logic and Language'' (1951) series which included articles that were representative of current philosophical trends. Having studied with Wittgenstein before coming to Oxford in 1937, she deployed and developed Wittgensteinian themes in her own subsequent work, and it has been argued that this work was an important source of ideas in her close friend Gilbert Ryle’s philosophy. MacDonald helped to found the philosophy journal ''

Analysis Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

'' together with

C.A. Mace Cecil Alec Mace (22 July 1894 – 7 June 1971) usually cited as C.A. Mace, was a British philosopher and industrial psychologist. He is best known for his work on monetary incentives and goal setting theory. Life Mace was born on 22 July 1894 ...

and

Gilbert Ryle Gilbert Ryle (19 August 1900 – 6 October 1976) was a British philosopher, principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase "ghost in the machine." He was a representative of the generation of British ord ...

in 1933. She was also the journal's editor from 1948 until 1956. She died in London in 1956, following heart surgery.

Publications

* Margaret MacDonald (1933)
Verification and Understanding
''

Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London. History Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squar ...

'' 34:143 - 156. * Margaret Macdonald (1936)
Russell and McTaggart
''

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

'' 11 (43):322 - 335. * Margaret Macdonald (1936)
Language and Reference.
''Analysis'', 4 (2/3), 33–41 * Margaret MacDonald, G. Ryle & I. Berlin (1937)
Symposium: Induction and Hypothesis
''

Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London. History Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squar ...

'' 16:20 - 102. * Margaret MacDonald (1937)
Reply to Mr. MacIver
''

'' 4 (5):77 - 80. * Margaret MacDonald (1937)
Further Reply to Mr. MacIver
''Analysis'' 5 (1):12 - 16. * Margaret MacDonald (1937)
The Philosopher's Use of Analogy
''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society'', 38 (1937-1938): 291-312., reprinted in Gilbert Ryle &

Antony Flew Antony Garrard Newton Flew (; 11 February 1923 – 8 April 2010) was a British philosopher. Belonging to the analytic and evidentialist schools of thought, Flew worked on the philosophy of religion. During the course of his career he taught at ...

(eds.), '' Logic and Language'' (First Series): Essays. Blackwell. (1951) * Margaret MacDonald (1938)
Things and Processes.
''Analysis'' 6 (1):1 - 10. Reprinted in '' Philosophy and Analysis'' (1954) * Margaret MacDonald (1940)
Necessary Propositions
''Analysis'' 7 (2):45 - 51. * Margaret MacDonald (1940)
The Language of Political Theory
''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society'', (41): 91–112. reprinted in
''Methods in Ethics'': ''Virtual Issue No. 3,''
''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society'' (2015) and; Gilbert Ryle & Antony Flew (eds.), '' Logic and Language'' (First Series): Essays. Blackwell. (1951) * Margaret MacDonald (1946)
Natural Rights.
''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society'' 47:225 - 250. * A. H. Hannay, John Holloway & Margaret MacDonald (1949)
Symposium: What Are the Distinctive Features of Arguments Used in Criticism of the Arts
''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volume'' (23): 165–94. MacDonald's contribution being reprinted in: William Elton (ed.) '' Aesthetics and Language''. (1954) * Margaret MacDonald (1950). Ethics and the Ceremonial Use of Language, in

Max Black Max Black (24 February 1909 – 27 August 1988) was an Azerbaijani-born British-American philosopher who was a leading figure in analytic philosophy in the years after World War II. He made contributions to the philosophy of language, the philo ...

(ed.), '' Philosophical Analysis: A Collection of Essays'' (1950), pp.211–29. * Margaret MacDonald (1951)
Professor Ryle on the Concept of Mind
''

Philosophical Review ''The Philosophical Review'' is a quarterly journal of philosophy edited by the faculty of the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University and published by Duke University Press (since September 2006). Overview The journal publishes original ...

'' 60 (January):80-90. * Margaret MacDonald (1952)
Art and Imagination
''Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society'' 53:205 - 226. * Margaret MacDonald (1953)
Sleeping and Waking
''

Mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

'' 62 (April):202-215. * Margaret MacDonal
(1953). Linguistic Philosophy and Perception.
''Philosophy'' 28 (October):311-324. * Margaret MacDonald & M. Scriven (1954)
Symposium: The Language of Fiction
''Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume'' 28:165 - 196. MacDonald's contribution being reprinted in Margolis, Joseph (ed.). '' Philosophy looks at the arts: contemporary readings in aesthetics'' (1962) * Margaret MacDonald (ed.) (1954/1966). ''Philosophy and Analysis''. Oxford, B. Blackwell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacDonald, Margaret 1956 deaths 20th-century English philosophers 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English historians Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Analytic philosophers British ethicists English librarians British women librarians English logicians English women philosophers Metaphilosophers Philosophers of art Philosophers of culture Philosophers of history Philosophers of language Philosophers of logic Political philosophers Scholars of contemporary philosophy Wittgensteinian philosophers 1903 births People associated with St Hilda's College, Oxford