Ray Monk (born 15 February 1957) is a British biographer who is renowned for his biographies of

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. From 1929 to 1947, Witt ...

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

, and

J. Robert Oppenheimer J. Robert Oppenheimer (born Julius Robert Oppenheimer ; April 22, 1904 – February 18, 1967) was an American theoretical physics, theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World ...

. He is emeritus professor of philosophy at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, where he taught in various capacities from 1992 to 2018.

Biography

Monk graduated with an M.A. in Philosophy from the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

in 1979. Later he obtained an MLitt from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, 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 List of oldest un ...

. He won the 1990

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama) by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kin ...

and the 1991 Duff Cooper Prize for his acclaimed biography of

, ''Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius''. His two-volume biography of

appeared in 1996 and 2001. His biography of

was published in 2012. Since 2012 he has occasionally written for the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'', contributing articles on philosophers and on

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vega ...

. In 2015 he was elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

Works

* *''Bertrand Russell: The Spirit of Solitude 1872–1921''. London:

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was acquired by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...

, 1996. *''Russell''. London:

Weidenfeld & Nicolson Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd (established 1949), often shortened to W&N or Weidenfeld, is a British publisher of fiction and reference books. It has been a division of the French-owned Orion Publishing Group since 1991. History George Weidenfeld ...

, 1997. *'' Bertrand Russell: The Ghost of Madness 1921–1970''. London: Vintage Books, 2001. *''How to Read Wittgenstein''. London: Granta, 2005. *"Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Sketch of His Life" (chapter in ''A Companion to Wittgenstein'', edited by Hans-Johann Glock and John Hyman.

Wiley-Blackwell Wiley-Blackwell is an international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons. It was formed by the merger of John Wiley & Sons Global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business with Blackwell Publish ...

, 2017) * ** **'' Inside the Centre: The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer''. London: Jonathan Cape, 2012; ''Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center''. New York: Doubleday, 2013. **

References

External links

Home page

''Philosophy Bites'' podcast interview with Ray Monk on Philosophy and Biography

WGBY audio recording of lecture "Philosophy Circa 1905"
* Leading, contemporary biographers Hermione Lee & Ray Monk and director

Stephen Frears Sir Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is a British director and producer of film and television, often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply-drawn characters. He has received numerous a ...

debate whethe
all biographies are fiction
* 1957 births Living people Academics of the University of Southampton Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the University of York British biographers British philosophers British veganism activists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners 21st-century British writers 21st-century British educators 20th-century British writers 20th-century British educators 20th-century English historians 21st-century English historians 21st-century English biographers 20th-century English biographers 21st-century English philosophers 20th-century English philosophers {{UK-philosopher-stub