Herbert Wildon Carr (16 January 1857 – 8 July 1931) was a
British philosopher. He was known for reconciling Leibnizian
Monadology with Bergsonian
vitalism.[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
^
abcdefghOakeley, Hilda D. (1931). "In Memoriam: Herbert Wildon Carr". Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. 31: 285–298.
JSTOR4544192.
‘CARR, Herbert Wildon’,
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 15 Feb 2012 (subscription required)