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Articles

Restoring Our Humanity with John Macmurray

Colin Stott contemplates Macmurray’s reunifying thinking.

John Macmurray (1891-1976) was a widely respected Scottish philosopher who gained a certain notoriety for his attacks on the philosophical establishment and for single-mindedly promoting a new approach to the subject. He also commanded popular acclaim for his accessible, jargon-free writing, and for his pioneering, wide-ranging radio broadcasts. Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell managed between them to match Macmurray for the radicalism of their ideas, and they have secured permanent reputations as leading philosophers of the twentieth century. The same cannot be said of Macmurray, who is now a largely forgotten figure beyond a small devoted following. That is regrettable, because his relevance to major philosophical issues is undiminished, and his insights profound.

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