Alexander Bain (philosopher)
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Institutions |
Alexander Bain (11 June 1818 – 18 September 1903) was a
Early life and education
Alexander Bain was born in
In 1836 he entered
In 1841, Bain substituted for Dr. Glennie the Professor of
Academic career
In 1845 he was appointed Professor of Mathematics and
In 1860 he was appointed by the
Linguistics
Until 1858, neither logic nor English had received adequate attention in Aberdeen, and Bain devoted himself to supplying these deficiencies. He succeeded not only in raising the Standard of Education generally in the North of Scotland, but also in establishing a School of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, and in widely influencing the teaching of English grammar and composition in the United Kingdom. His efforts were first directed to the preparation of textbooks: Higher English Grammar[2] and An English Grammar[3] were both published in 1863, followed in 1866 by the Manual of Rhetoric, in 1872 by A First English Grammar, and in 1874 by the Companion to the Higher Grammar. These works were wide-ranging and their original views and methods met with wide acceptance.
Philosophy
Bain's philosophical writings already published, especially The Senses and the Intellect to which was added in 1861 The On the Study of Character including an Estimate of Phrenology, were too large for effective use in the classroom. Accordingly, in 1868, he published his Manual of Mental and Moral Science, mainly a condensed form of his treatises, with the doctrines re-stated, and in many instances freshly illustrated, and with many important additions. The year 1870 saw the publication of the Logic.
Psychology
Although his influence as a
William James calls his work the "last word" of the earlier stage of psychology, but he was in reality the pioneer of the new. Subsequent psycho-physical investigations "have all been in" the spirit of his work; and although he consistently advocated the introspective method in psychological investigation, he was among the first to appreciate the help that may be given to it by social psychology, comparative psychology and developmental psychology. He may justly claim the merit of having guided the awakened psychological interest of British thinkers of the second half of the 19th century into fruitful channels. Bain emphasised the importance of our active experiences of movement and effort, and though his theory of a central innervation sense is no longer held as he propounded it, its value as a suggestion to later psychologists is great. His thought that a belief is but a preparation for action is respected by both pragmatism and functionalism.[9]
Other works
Bain's autobiography, published in 1904, contains a full list of his works, and also the history of the last thirteen years of his life by Professor W. L. Davidson of the University of Aberdeen, who further contributed to Mind (April 1904) a review of Bain's services to philosophy.[10] Further works include editions with notes of Paley's Moral Philosophy (1852); Education as a Science (1879); Dissertations on leading philosophical topics (1903, mainly reprints of papers in Mind); he collaborated with JS Mill and Grote in editing James Mill's Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind (1869), and assisted in editing Grote's Aristotle and Minor Works; he also wrote a memoir prefixed to G Croom Robertson's Philosophical Remains (1894).
Social reform
Bain took a keen interest in
Bain was a member of the Committee of the
His services to education and social reform in
Later life and death
Bain retired from his chair and Professorship from the University of Aberdeen and was succeeded by William Minto, one of his most brilliant pupils. Nevertheless, his interest in thought, and his desire to complete the scheme of work mapped out in earlier years, remained as keen as ever. Accordingly, in 1882 appeared the Biography of James Mill, and accompanying it John Stuart Mill: a Criticism, with Personal Recollections.[11] Next came (1884) a collection of articles and papers, most of which had appeared in magazines, under the title of Practical Essays. This was succeeded (1887, 1888) by a new edition of the Rhetoric, and along with it, a book On Teaching English, being an exhaustive application of the principles of rhetoric to the criticism of style, for the use of teachers; and in 1894 he published a revised edition of The Senses and the Intellect, which contain his last word on psychology. In 1894 also appeared his last contribution to Mind. His last years were spent in privacy at Aberdeen, where he died on 18 September 1903. He married twice but left no children. His last request was that "no stone should be placed upon his grave: his books, he said, would be his monument."[12]
The University of Aberdeen Philosophy Department established the Bain Medal in 1883. It is awarded annually to the best candidate who gains First Class Honours in
As Professor William L. Davidson wrote in Bain's obituary in Mind "In Dr. Bain's death, psychology has sustained a great loss; but so too has education and practical reform. It is rare to find a philosopher who combines philosophical with educational and practical interests, and who is also an active force in the community in which he dwells. Such a combination was here. Let us not fail to appreciate it."
Bibliography
- "Early Life of James Mill", from Mind, Vol. 1, No. 1 (January 1876).
- Review of Herbert Spencer's Principles of Sociology, from Mind, Vol. 1, No. 1 (January 1876).
- "Mr. G. H. Lewes and the Postulates of Experience", from Mind, Vol. 1, No. 1 (January 1876).
- Education as a Science, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1884
- Practical Essays
- Dissertations on Leading Philosophical Topics
- Autobiography by Alexander Bain LL.D. London: Longmans, Green & Co. 1904.
- Elements of chemistry and electricity: in two parts
- Astronomy
- James Mill, A Biography (1 ed.), London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1882, retrieved 11 December 2012
- John Stuart Mill: A Criticism: With Personal Recollections, London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1882
- The Art of Study
- Is There Such a Thing As Pure Malevolence?
- The Classical Controversy
- The University Ideal: Past and Present
- On Teaching English: With Detailed Examples and an Enquiry Into the Definition of Poetry
- English Composition and Rhetoric: Emotional qualities of style
- English Composition and Rhetoric: Intellectual elements of style
- English grammar as bearing upon composition
- First English Grammar
- A Higher English Grammar
- An English grammar
- English composition and rhetoric: A manual
- Logic: Induction
- Logic: Volume 1
- Deduction
- Some Points in Ethics
- Fragments on ethical subjects
- The Moral Philosophy of Paley
- The emotions and the will 1859
- The Senses and the Intellect
- Mind And Body: The Theories Of Their Relation
- Physiological Expression in Psychology
- Analysis of the phenomena of the human mind: Volume 1
- How to study character; or, The true basis for the science of mind
- The emergence of neuroscience in the nineteenth century: Mind and body : the theories of their relation
- Pleasure and Pain
- On the study of character: including an estimate of phrenology
- Mental science: a compendium of psychology, and the history of philosophy, designed as a text-book for high-schools and colleges
- Moral science: a compendium of ethics
- Mental and moral science: A compendium of psychology and ethics, London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1868
- Mental and Moral Science: Psychology and history of philosophy
- Mental and Moral Science: Theory of ethics and ethical systems
See also
- Association of ideas
- Grupo Alexander Bain
- Psychophysical parallelism
- Mind
- Stream of consciousness (narrative mode)
References
- ^ Kunitz, p. 30
- ^ Higher English Grammar at Google Books
- ^ An English Grammar at Google Books
- ^ Bain, Alexander (1870). Logic, Part First, Deduction. Vol. I (1 ed.). London: Longmans, Green, Reader & Dyer. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- ^ Bain, Alexander (1870). Logic, Part Second, Induction. Vol. II (1 ed.). London: Longmans, Green, Reader & Dyer. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- ^ Bain, Alexander (1873). Mind & Body. New York: D. Aplleton & Company. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- ^ Bain, Alexander (1879). Education as a Science. New York: D. Aplleton & Company. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- ^ Columbia Encyclopedia
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
- ^ Bain, Alexander (1870). Autobiography (1 ed.). London: Logmnans, Green & Co. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- ^ Bain, Alexander (1882). John Stuart Mill: a Criticism, with Personal Recollections. London: Longmans, Green & Co. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- ^ Alexander Bain: The Story of the Life of the Famous Aberdeen Professor. New York Times (1857–1922); 30 July 1904, pg. BR514
Further reading
- Bain, Alexander, English Composition and Rhetoric, 1871 (facsimile ed., 1996, Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, ISBN 978-0-8201-1497-2).
- Hattiangadi, Jagdish N. (1970). "Bain, Alexander". ISBN 0-684-10114-9.
- B. R. Hergenhahn, An Introduction to the History of Psychology, Sixth Edition
- Kunitz, Stanley, and Howard Haycraft. "Bain, Alexander." British Authors of the Nineteenth Century. H. W. Wilson Company, New York, 1936.
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. .
- William L. Davidson, Professor Bain, an obituary from Mind (Jan. 1904)
- Moral Science: A Compendium of Ethics by Alexander Bain
- Works by Alexander Bain at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Alexander Bain at Internet Archive
- Works by Alexander Bain at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- "Bain, Alexander", A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, 1910 – via Wikisource
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Alexander Bain