H. Wildon Carr Explained

H. Wildon Carr
Birth Date:	16 January 1857
Death Date:	8 July 1931
Death Place:	Los Angeles
Occupation:	Philosopher

Herbert Wildon Carr (16 January 1857 – 8 July 1931) was a British philosopher. He was known for reconciling Leibnizian Monadology with Bergsonian vitalism.^[1]

Life

Carr was Professor of Philosophy, King's College London from 1918 to 1925, and visiting professor at the University of Southern California from 1925 until his death.^[1]

He was Honorary Secretary of the Aristotelian Society for many years and President during 1916-1918.^[1] He was the editor of Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society until 1929.^[1]

Carr translated Henri Bergson's book Mind Energy, published in 1920. He died on 8 July 1931 in Los Angeles, aged 74.^[2]

Philosophy

Carr was an advocate of Bergsonian vitalism which he combined with a monadistic idealism.^{[1] [3] [4]} In a symposium of the Aristotelian Society he authored The Idealistic Interpretation of Einstein's Theory (1921–1922) which declared that the theory of relativity was in "complete accord" with idealistic philosophy, not realism.^[1] Carr stated that "while my theory of knowledge is idealistic and even solipsistic, my theory of existence is vitalistic". He defined creative evolution as "an idealistic principle applied to positive science".^[1] He argued that materialistic and mechanistic principles fail to explain the intelligence of organisms. He has been described as a pantheist.^[1]

Selected publications

• Henri Bergson: The Philosophy of Change, London: Jack, 1911
• The Problem of Truth, New York: Dodge, 1913
• The Philosophy of Benedetto Croce, London: Macmillan, 1917
• The General Principle of Relativity in Its Philosophical and Historical Aspect, London: Macmillan, 1922
• L'Énergie spirituelle, Translated by H. Wildon Carr as Mind-Energy: Lectures and Essays, London: Macmillan, 1920
• A Theory of Monads: Outlines of the Philosophy of the Principle of Relativity, London: Macmillan, 1922
• Scientific Approach to Philosophy: Selected Essays and Reviews, London: Macmillan, 1924
• Changing Backgrounds in Religion and Ethics: A Metaphysical Meditation, New York: Macmillan, 1927
• The Unique Status of Man, in, American Journal of Sociology, 1928
• The Freewill Problem, London: Benn Ltd., 1928
• Leibniz, Boston: Little Brown, 1929

References

• ‘CARR, Herbert Wildon’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 15 Feb 2012
• Pierfrancesco Basile, "Herbert Wildon Carr" in Michel Weber, ed., Handbook of Whiteheadian Process Thought, Volume II (2008) pages 383-4
• "Carr, Herbert Wildon" in Brown, ed., Dictionary of Twentieth-Century British Philosophers
• Richard T. Hull, Presidential Addresses of The American Philosophical Association, 1921-1930, pages 439-440

Notes and References

1. Oakeley, Hilda D.. 1931. In Memoriam: Herbert Wildon Carr. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. 31. 285–298. 10.1093/aristotelian/31.1.285 . 4544192.
2. Nunn, T. Percy. 1931. Prof. H. Wildon Carr. Nature. 128. 3220. 98–99. 10.1038/128098b0 . 1931Natur.128...98N .
3. Burtt, E. A.. 1927. A Vitalistic Interpretation of Religion. The Journal of Religion. 7. 5. 646. 10.1086/480701.
4. Boodin, J. E.. 1931. Cogitans Cogitata by Herbert Wildon Carr. The Philosophical Review. 40. 6. 568–573. 10.2307/2180044 . 2180044 .