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ADAMSON, ROBERT (1852-1902)

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Originally appearing in Volume V01, Page 182 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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ADAMSON, See also:
ROBERT
ROBERT (1275—1343)
ROBERT, HUBERT (1753-1808)
ROBERT, LOUIS LEOPOLD (1794-1835)
ROBERT (1852-1902) , Scottish philosopher, was See also:

BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born in See also:

EDINBURGH

Edinburgh on the 19th of See also:

JANUARY

January 1852. His See also:

FATHER

father was a See also:

SOLICITOR

solicitor, and his See also:

MOTHER

mother was the daughter of See also:

Matthew Buist, See also:

FACTOR (from Lat. facere, to make or do)

factor to See also:

Lord See also:

Haddington. In 1855 Mrs Adamson was See also:

LEFT

left a widow with small means, and devoted herself entirely to the See also:

EDUCATION

education of her six See also:

CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children. Of these, Robert was successful from the first. At the end of his school career he entered the university of Edinburgh at the See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age of fourteen, and four years later graduated with first-class honours in See also:

MENTAL

mental See also:

PHILOSOPHY (Gr. gthos, fond of, and vo4 (a, wisdom)

philosophy, with prizes in every See also:

DEPARTMENT (Fr. departement, from departir, to separate into parts)

department of the See also:

FACULTY (through the French, from the Lat. facultas, ability to do anything, from facilis, easy, facere, to do; another form of the word in Lat. facilitas, facility, ease, keeps the original meaning)

faculty of Arts. He completed his university successes by winning the See also:

TYNDALL, JOHN (182o-1893)

Tyndall-See also:

Bruce scholarship, the See also:

Hamilton fellowship (1872), the See also:

Ferguson scholarship (1872) and the See also:

Shaw fellowship (1873). After a See also:

SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short See also:

RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence at See also:

HEIDELBERG

Heidelberg (1871), where he began his study of See also:

German philosophy, he returned to Edinburgh as assistant first to See also:

Henry See also:

Calderwood and later to A. See also:

Campbell See also:

Fraser; he joined the See also:

STAFF (O. Eng. staef, cf. Du. staf, Ger. Stab, &c.; Icel. stafr meant also a written letter, and O. Eng. stafas, the letters of the alphabet; " stave," one of the thin pieces of wood of which a cask is made, is a doublet)

staff of the See also:

ENCYCLOPAEDIA

Encyclopaedia Britannica (9th ed.) (1874) and studied widely in the See also:

ADVOCATES, FACULTY OF

Advocates' Library. In 1876 he came to See also:

England as successor to W. S. See also:

JEVONS, WILLIAM STANLEY (1835-1882)

Jevons in the See also:

CHAIR (in. Mid. Eng. chcere, through O. Fr. chaire or chaiere, from Lat. cathedra, later caledra, Gr. xaOi3pa, seat, cf. "cathedral"; the modern Fr. form chaise, a chair, has been adopted in English with a particular meaning as a form of carriage; chaire

chair of See also:

LOGIC (Xoy1K7, sc. rixvrt, the art of reasoning)

logic and philosophy, at See also:

OWENS, JOHN (1790-1846)

Owens See also:

COLLEGE (Collegium)

College, See also:

Manchester. In 1883 he received the honorary degree of LL.D.

In 1893 he went to See also:

Aberdeen, and finally in 1895 to the chair of logic at See also:

GLASGOW

Glasgow, which he held till his See also:

DEATH

death on the 5th of See also:

FEBRUARY

February 1902. His wife, See also:

Margaret See also:

Duncan, the daughter of a Manchester See also:

MERCHANT (O. Fr. marcheant, modern marchand; from Lat. mercari, to trade, merx, goods, merchandise)

merchant, was a woman of kindred tastes, and their See also:

union was entirely happy. It is See also:

MATTER

matter for regret to the student that Adamson's active labours in the lecture See also:

ROOM

room precluded him from systematic See also:

PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production. His writings consisted of short articles, of which many appeared in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (9th ed.) and in Mind, a See also:

VOLUME

volume on See also:

KANT, IMMANUEL (1724-1804)

Kant and another on See also:

Fichte. At the See also:

time of his death he was See also:

writing a See also:

HISTORY

History of See also:

Psychology, and had promised a See also:

WORK

work on Kant and the See also:

MODERN

Modern Naturalists. Both in his lifeand in his writings he was remarkable for impartiality. It was his See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar virtue that he could quote his opponents without warping their meaning. From this point of view he would have been perhaps the first historian of philosophy of his time, had his professional labours been less exacting. Except during the first few years at Manchester, he delivered his lectures without See also:

MANUSCRIPTS

manuscripts. In 1903, under the See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title The Development of Modern Philosophy and Other Essays, his more important lectures were published with a short See also:

BIOGRAPHICAL

biographical introduction by Prof. W. R.

Sorley of See also:

Cambridge University (see Mind, xiii. 1904, p. 73 See also:

FOIL

foil.). Most of the matter is taken verbatim from the See also:

note-See also:

BOOK

book of one of his students. Under the same editorship there appeared, three years later, his Development of See also:

Greek Philosophy. In addition to his professional work, he did much administrative work for See also:

Victoria University and the university of Glasgow. In the organization of Victoria University he took a foremost See also:

PART

part, and, as chairman of the See also:

BOARD (O. Eng. bord)

Board of Studies at Owens College, he presided over the See also:

general academical board of the Victoria University. At Glasgow he was soon elected one of the representatives on the See also:

court, and to him were due in large measure the See also:

EXTENSION (Lat. ex, out ; tendere, to stretch)

extension of the academical session and the improved equipment of the university. Throughout his lectures, Adamson pursued the See also:

CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

critical and See also:

HISTORICAL

historical method without formulating a constructive theory of his own. He See also:

FELT (cognate with Ger. Filz, Du. vilt, Swed. and Dan. fill; the root is unknown; the word has given Med. Lat. filtrum, " filter ")

felt that any philosophical advance must be based on the Kantian methods. It was his See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit to make straight for the ultimate issue, disregarding See also:

HALF

half-truths and declining See also:

COMPROMISE (pronounced compromize; through Fr. from Lat. compromittere)

compromise. He left a hypo-thesis to be worked out by others; this done, he would criticize with all the rigour of logic, and with a profound distrust of See also:

IMAGINATION

imagination, See also:

METAPHOR

metaphor and the attitude known as the will-to-believe.

As he See also:

GREW, NEHEMIAH (1641-1712)

grew older his metaphysical optimism waned. He felt that the increase of knowledge must come in the domains of See also:

PHYSICAL

physical See also:

SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

science. But this empirical tendency as regards science never modified his metaphysical outlook. He has been called Kantian and Neo-Kantian, Realist and Idealist (by himself, for he held that See also:

APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance and reality are co-extensive and coincident). At the same time, in his See also:

criticism of other views he was almost typical of Hegelian See also:

IDEALISM (from Gr. i5Ea, archetype or model, through been urged of the truth of its point of view is the persistency Fr. idealisme)

idealism. All processes of reasoning or See also:

JUDGMENT

judgment (i.e. all See also:

units of thought) are (1) analysable only by See also:

ABSTRACTION (Lat. abs and trahere)

abstraction, and (2) are See also:

compound of See also:

DEDUCTION (from Lat. deducere, to take or lead from or out of, derive)

deduction and See also:

INDUCTION (from Lat. inducere, to lead into; cf. Gr. ilrayu yli)

induction, i.e. rational and empirical. An See also:

ILLUSTRATION

illustration of his empirical tendency is found in his attitude to the See also:

ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

Absolute and the Self. The " Absolute " doctrines he regarded as a See also:

mere disguise of failure, a dishonest See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to clothe See also:

IGNORANCE (Lat. ignorantia, from ignorare, not to know); want of knowledge, a state of mind which in law has important consequences. A well-known legal maxim runs: ignorantia juris non excusat ("ignorance of the law does not excuse")

ignorance in the pretentious garb of See also:

MYSTERY (Gr. µw(Trilpcov, from tcuvrm, an initiate, µfew, to shut the mouth)

mystery. The Self as a See also:

PRIMARY

primary, determining entity, he would not therefore admit. He represented an See also:

EMPIRICISM (from Gr. Eµrretpor, skilled in, from sreipa, experiment)

empiricism which, so far from refuting, was actually based on, idealism, and yet was alert to expose the fallacies of a particular idealist construction (see his See also:

ESSAY, ESSAYIST (Fr. essai, Late Lat. exagium, a weighing or balance; exigere, to examine; the term in general meaning any trial or effort)

essay in Ethical See also:

DEMOCRACY (Gr. 3np.oKparia, from S)µos, the people, i.e. the commons, and Kparos, rule)

Democracy, edited by Dr See also:

Stanton Coit). See also:

ADAM'S See also:

PEAK, THE

PEAK, a See also:

mountain in See also:

CEYLON

Ceylon, about 45 See also:

MILES, NELSON APPLETON (1839— )

miles E. from See also:

COLOMBO

Colombo, in N. See also:

lat. 6° 55', E. See also:

long.

8o° 3o'. It rises steeply to a height of 7352 feet, and commands a magnificent prospect. Its conical See also:

SUMMIT

summit terminates in an oblong See also:

PLATFORM (Fr. plateforme, i.e. ground plan)

platform, 74 ft. by 24, on which there is a hollow, resembling the See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of a human See also:

FOOT

foot, 5 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft. 6 in.; and this has been consecrated as the footprint of See also:

BUDDHA

Buddha. The margin of this supposed footprint is ornamented with gems, and a wooden See also:

CANOPY (through Fr. canape, from Med. Lat. canapeum, classical conopeum, a mosquito curtain, Gr. K6v(.4, a gnat)

canopy protects it from the See also:

WEATHER (O. Eng. weder; the word is common to Teutonic languages; cf. Du. weder, Dan. veir, Icel. ve8r, and Ger. Wetter and Gewitter, storm; the root is wa- to blow, from which is derived " wind ")

weather. It is held in high veneration by the Sinhalese, and numerous pilgrims ascend to the sacred spot, where a See also:

PRIEST (Ger. Priester, Fr. pretre)

priest resides to receive their offerings and bless them on their departure. By the Mahommedans the impression is regarded as that of the foot of Adam, who here, according to their tradition, fulfilled a See also:

PENANCE (Old Fr. penance, fr. Lat. poenitentia, penitence)

penance of one thousand years; while the See also:

HINDUS

Hindus claim it as that of their See also:

god See also:

SIVA

Siva.

End of Article: ADAMSON, ROBERT (1852-1902)

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