Hamilton, Sir William, 9th Baronet

Hamilton, Sir William, 9th Baronet

▪ Scottish philosopher and educator

born March 8, 1788, Glasgow, Scot.
died May 6, 1856, Edinburgh
 Scottish metaphysical philosopher and influential educator, also remembered for his contributions in the field of logic (logic, history of).

      Hamilton took his B.A. from Balliol College, Oxford, in 1811 and became a member of the Scottish bar in 1813. He inherited a baronetcy in 1816 (after a court suit), and in 1821 he was appointed professor of civil history at the University of Edinburgh. A versatile teacher, he was also knowledgeable in anatomy, physiology, literature, and theology and was a frequent contributor to journals. His long friendship with the French philosopher Victor Cousin originated with his essay in the Edinburgh Review on “The Philosophy of the Unconditioned” (1829), a critique of Cousin's Cours de philosophie. Hamilton's subsequent articles on German philosophy in the Edinburgh Review established his reputation as a philosopher, and he was elected to the chair of logic and metaphysics at Edinburgh in 1836.

      Critics dismissed Hamilton's effort to combine the Scottish “philosophy of common sense” with views held by Immanuel Kant, but he successfully stimulated an interest in metaphysics and introduced Kant to the British public. His place in the history of logic rests on his doctrine of the “quantification of the predicate,” which refers to the traditional proposition of logic “All A is B.” By modifying quantitatively the predicate to produce two forms, “All A is all B” and “All A is some B,” he extended the range of classification of propositions.

      Hamilton's articles in the Edinburgh Review were collected in Discussions on Philosophy, Literature and Education (1852). In the field of education, his articles calling for changes in English universities helped bring about the royal commission of 1850 and its subsequent reforms.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet — (8 March 1788 ndash; 6 May 1856) was a Scottish metaphysician.Early lifeHe was born in Glasgow. He was from an academic family, including Robert Hamilton, the economist. His father, Dr William Hamilton, had in 1781, on the strong recommendation… …   Wikipedia

  • Sir James Cockburn, 9th Baronet — (21 March 1771 26 February 1852) was British Governor of Bermuda from 1811 1819.He was the eldest son of Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet (1729 1804) and his second wife Augusta Anne Ayscough. His maternal grandfather was Francis Ayscough, Dean of …   Wikipedia

  • Sir Hamilton — can refer to: *Bill Hamilton (engineer), New Zealander who developed the modern jetboat. *Sir Charles Hamilton, 3rd Baronet, British army officer. *Edward Walter Hamilton, political diarist. *Frederick Hamilton, 17th century soldier and planter.… …   Wikipedia

  • William Hamilton — (and shortened forms) may refer to:Europeans*William Hamilton (Lord Chancellor), (d. 1307) Lord Chancellor of England *William Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Hamilton (1616–1651), Scottish nobleman *Sir William Hamilton, 1st Baronet (1627 – c. 1680)… …   Wikipedia

  • William Hamilton (educator) — William Hamilton (1669 1732) was a Scottish Presbyterian theologian and minister of the Church of Scotland. He was Professor of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh from 1709 to 1732 and also Principal of the University from 1730 to 1732. He… …   Wikipedia

  • William Douglas — may refer to:Earlsof Douglas*William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas (c.1327 1384) *William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas (1425 1440) *William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas (1425 1452)of Angus*William Douglas, 2nd Earl of Angus (c. 1398 1437) *William …   Wikipedia

  • Hamilton Baronets — There have been eighteen Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Hamilton, seven in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia, one in the Baronetage of England, five in the Baronetage of Ireland, one in the Baronetage of Great Britain and four in… …   Wikipedia

  • Sir Charles Fergusson, 7th Baronet — General Sir Charles Fergusson, Bt GCB, GCMG, DSO, MVO …   Wikipedia

  • William IV of the United Kingdom — William IV William IV, painted by Sir Martin A …   Wikipedia

  • Stirling-Hamilton Baronets — Stirling Hamilton Baronets, of Preston, Haddington (5 November 1673) NS= *Sir William Hamilton, 1st Baronet c 1645 c 1690 *Sir Robert Hamilton, 2nd Baronet 1650 1701 *Sir Robert Hamilton, 3rd Baronet c 1720 *Sir William Hamilton, 4th Baronet 6… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”