James Frederick Ferrier (June 16, 1808 – June 11, 1864), Scottish metaphysical writer, was born in Edinburgh, the son of John Ferrier, writer to the signet. Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. Year 1808 ( MDCCCVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 1864 ( MDCCCLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. His mother was a sister of John Wilson (Christopher North). John Wilson ( 18 May 1785 - 3 April 1854) was a Scottish writer the writer most frequently identified with the Pseudonym
Ferrier's works are remarkable for an unusual charm and simplicity of style. These qualities are especially noticeable in the Lectures on Greek Philosophy, one of the best introductions on the subject in the English language.
Education and Early Writings
He was educated at the Royal High School, the University of Edinburgh and Magdalen College, Oxford, and subsequently, his metaphysical tastes having been fostered by his intimate friend, Sir William Hamilton, spent some time at Heidelberg studying German philosophy. The Royal High School (RHS of Edinburgh can trace its roots back to 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. The University of Edinburgh (Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann founded in 1582 is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Magdalen College redirects here see also Magdalene College Cambridge Magdalen College (ˈmɔːdlɨn "maudlin" is one of the constituent Sir William Hamilton 9th Baronet ( 8 March 1788 &ndash 6 May 1856) was a Scottish metaphysician. The Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg ( University of Heidelberg, Ruperto Carola, Heidelberg University, or simply Heidelberg) is a In 1842 he was appointed professor of civil history in Edinburgh University, and in 1845 professor of moral philosophy and political economy at University of St Andrews. Year 1842 ( MDCCCXLII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life The University of St Andrews is the oldest University in Scotland and third oldest in the English-speaking world, having been founded between He was twice an unsuccessful candidate for chairs in Edinburgh, for that of moral philosophy on Wilson's resignation in 1852, and for that of logic and metaphysics in 1856, after Hamilton's death. Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. He remained at St Andrew's till his death. He married his cousin, Margaret Anne, daughter of John Wilson. He had five children, one of whom became the wife of Sir Alexander Grant. For the Principal of the University of Edinburgh see Alexander Grant (University Principal.
Ferrier's first contribution to metaphysics was a series of articles in Blackwood's Magazine (1838–1839), entitled An Introduction to the Philosophy of Consciousness. Blackwood's Magazine was a British Magazine and Miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980 Year 1838 ( MDCCCXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Year 1839 ( MDCCCXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common In these he condemns previous philosophers for ignoring in their psychological investigations the fact of consciousness, which is the distinctive feature of man, and confining their observation to the so-called states of the mind. Consciousness has been defined loosely as a constellation of attributes of Mind such as Subjectivity, Self-awareness, Sentience, and the Consciousness comes into manifestation only when the man has used the word with full knowledge of what it means. This notion he must originate within himself. Consciousness cannot spring from the states which are its object, for it is in antagonism to them. It originates in the will, which in the act of consciousness puts the "I" in the place of our sensations. Morality, conscience, and responsibility are necessary results of consciousness. Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings Conscience is a hypothesized Ability or faculty that distinguishes whether our actions are right or wrong
These articles were succeeded by a number of others, of which the most important were The Crisis of Modern Speculation (1841), Berkeley and Idealism (1842), and an important examination of Hamilton's edition of Reid (1847), which contains a vigorous attack on the philosophy of common sense. Thomas Reid ( April 26, 1710 – October 7, 1796) Scottish Philosopher, and a contemporary of David Hume, was Common sense (or when used attributively as an Adjective, commonsense, common-sense, or commonsensical) based on a strict construction The perception of matter is pronounced to be the ne plus ultra of thought, and Reid, for presuming to analyse it, is declared to be a representationist in fact, although he professed to be an intuitionist. M N O In the Philosophy of mathematics, intuitionism, or neointuitionism (opposed to Preintuitionism) is an approach to Mathematics as the constructive A distinction is made between the perception of matter and our apprehension of the perception of matter. Psychology vainly tries to analyse the former. Psychology (from Greek grc ψῡχή psȳkhē, "breath life soul" and grc -λογία -logia) is an Academic and Metaphysics shows the latter alone to be analysable, and separates the subjective element, our apprehension, from the objective element, the perception of matter; not matter per se, but the perception of matter is the existence independent of the individuals thought. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science It cannot, however, be independent of thought. It must belong to some mind, and is therefore the property of the Divine Mind. Nous (ˈnuːs Greek: or) is a philosophical term for Mind or Intellect. There, he thinks, is an indestructible foundation for the a priori argument for the existence of God. Arguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers theologians and others
Later Writings
Ferrier's matured philosophical doctrines find expression in the Institutes of Metaphysics (1854), in which he claims to have met the twofold obligation resting on every system of philosophy, that it should be reasoned and true. His method is that of Spinoza, strict demonstration, or at least an attempt at it. Baruch or Benedict de Spinoza (ברוך שפינוזה Bento de Espinosa Benedictus de Spinoza ( November 24, 1632 – February 21, All the errors of natural thinking and psychology must fall under one or other of three topics: Knowing and the Known, Ignorance, and Being. Knowledge is defined ( Oxford English Dictionary) variously as (i expertise and skills acquired by a person through experience or education the theoretical or practical understanding Disambiguation For the Wigwam album see Being (album, for spiritual or religious beingness, see Ego (spirituality These are all-comprehensive, and are therefore the departments into which philosophy is divided, for the sole end of philosophy is to correct the inadvertencies of ordinary thinking.
The problems of knowing and the known are treated in the Epistemology or Theory of Knowing. (Ferrier is thought to have coined the term epistemology. Epistemology (from Greek επιστήμη - episteme, "knowledge" + λόγος, " Logos " or theory of knowledge ) The truth that along with whatever any intelligence knows it must, as the ground or condition of its knowledge, have some cognizance of itself, is the basis of the whole philosophical system. Self-awareness is the concept that one exists as an individual separate from other people with private Thoughts. Object+subject, thing+me, is the only possible knowable. This leads to the conclusion that the only independent universe which any mind can think of is the universe in synthesis with some other mind or ego. The Universe is defined as everything that Physically Exists: the entirety of Space and Time, all forms of Matter, Energy
The leading contradiction which is corrected in the Agnoiology or Theory of Ignorance is this: that there can be an ignorance of that of which there can be no knowledge. Ignorance is a defect. But there is no defect in not knowing what cannot be known by any intelligence (for example, that two and two make five), and therefore there can be an ignorance only of that of which there can be a knowledge, that is, of some-object-plus-some-subject. The knowable alone is the ignorable. Ferrier lays special claim to originality for this division of the Institutes.
The Ontology or Theory of Being forms the third and final division. It contains a discussion of the origin of knowledge, in which Ferrier traces all the perplexities and errors of philosophers to the assumption of the absolute existence of matter. The conclusion arrived at is that the only true real and independent existences are minds-together-with-that-which-they-apprehend, and that the one strictly necessary absolute existence is a supreme and infinite and everlasting mind in synthesis with all things.
A complete edition of his philosophical writings was published in 1875, with a memoir by E. Year 1875 ( MDCCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common L. Lushington. See also the monograph by E. S. Haldane in the Famous Scots Series.
External links
James Frederick Ferrier (1899) [online book][1] Author: Haldane, Elizabeth Sanderson, 1862-1937
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
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