Frederick James Eugene Woodbridge (March 26, 1867 – June 1, 1940) was a teacher at various American universities. Woodbridge considered himself a naïve realist, deeply impressed with Santayana. He spent much of his career as a dean (of the Faculties of Political Science, Philosophy, and Pure Science) at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where a residence hall and a professorship in philosophy are named in his honor. He was editor of th
Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods
David and Lillian Swenson, translators of some of the works of

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , ; ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danes, Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical tex ...

, dedicated '' Concluding Unscientific Postscript'', (1941) to Professor Woodbridge.

Biography

He was born on March 26, 1867, in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, to James Woodbridge and Melissa Ella Bingham. In 1869 his family moved to

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

. In 1885 he enrolled at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

where he studied philosophy and religion under Charles Edward Garman. He graduated from Amherst with an A.B. in 1889 and then he enrolled at the Union Theological Seminary. In 1892 he left Union on a fellowship and went to Germany to study philosophy at the

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

, where he received the Ph.D. He returned to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1894. He took a teaching position at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. He married Helena Belle Adams of

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, on June 25, 1895, in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. They had 4 children, Frederick James Woodbridge, John Woodbridge, Donald Woodbridge, and Helena Woodbridge. In 1902 Woodbridge left the

for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and a position at

. In 1904 he co-founded with

James McKeen Cattell James McKeen Cattell (May 25, 1860 – January 20, 1944) was the first professor of psychology in the United States, teaching at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He was a long-time editor and publisher of scientific journals and pub ...

, The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods. Woodbridge taught philosophy at Columbia from 1902 until 1912 when he became the university's Dean of the Faculties of Political Science, Philosophy, and Pure Science. In 1929 he retired as Dean but continued to teach. He retired from teaching in 1937, but he continued to edit The Journal of Philosophy until his death in 1940. He died on June 1, 1940, in

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

. His funeral was at St. Paul's Chapel.

Legacy

Woodbridge Hall, a Columbia University dormitory located at 431 Riverside Drive, is named in his honor.

Works

*''The Purpose of History'' (1916) *''The Realm of Mind'' (1926) *''The Son of Apollo: Themes of Plato'' (1929) *''Nature and Mind: Selected Essays'' (1937) *''An Essay on Nature'' (1940) *''Aristotle's Vision of Nature'' (ed. John H. Randall Jr., 1965)

References

External links

* *
''The Purpose of History''
Lectures delivered at University of North Carolina 1916
''Metaphysics''
Columbia University 1908

by J. A. Woodbridge {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodbridge, James Eugene 1867 births 1940 deaths Columbia University faculty 20th-century American philosophers People from Windsor, Ontario Educators from Manhattan Amherst College alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Union Theological Seminary alumni University of Minnesota faculty