Philosopher A Kind Of Life

Front Cover
Routledge, Oct 14, 2008 - Biography & Autobiography - 472 pages

The story of Ted Honderich, philosopher, a story of a perilous philosophical life, marked by critical examination, and a compelling personal life full of human drama. This is the story of Ted Honderich's perilous progress from boyhood in Canada to the Grote Professorship of Mind and Logic at University College London, A. J. Ayer's chair. It is compelling, candid and revealing about the beginning and the goal, and everything in between: early work as a journalist on The Toronto Star, travels with Elvis Presley, arrival in Britain, loves and friendships, academic rivalries and battles, marriages and affairs, self-interest and empathy. It sets out resolutely to explain how and why it all happened.

It is as much a narrative of Ted Honderich's philosophy. He makes hard problems real. Philosophy from consciousness and determinism to political violence and democracy comes into sharp focus.

Along the way, questions keep coming up. Does the free marriage owe anything to the analytic philosophy? What are the costs of truth? Are the politics of England slowly making it an ever-better place? Is an action's rightness independent of the mixture of motives out of which it came?

 

Contents

1 This green summer
1
2 Village
33
3 City school Saturdays girls
49
4 From university distracted First Love
62
5 Awake in England
90
6 Bracing life assigned to punishment married again
112
7 A department joined moral and political utterances
131
8 Nadir determinism again America
150
12 Mind and brain etc anathema
244
13 Professor psychoneural intimacy disarrays
261
14 Mental and other events Johnny determinism done
277
15 Lifehopes the Grote an idead girl
301
16 Harmless drudge functionalism socialist landlord
327
17 Ingrid court again
353
18 Consciousness as existence farewells
368
19 Coda
386

9 Academic battles political violence an ending
176
10 Effects a proud Scot justice 4 Keats Grove
199
11 The higher social life Chancery Court much else
221

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About the author (2008)

Prof Ted Honderich, Ted Honderich

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