Casimir Lewy
Encyclopedia
Casimir Lewy was a Polish
-born British philosopher. He worked in philosophical logic
but published scantily. According to Ian Hacking
, He had early acquired the conviction that one should publish only when one got something absolutely right, so he left very little in print. He was an influential teacher; several of his students went on to be prominent philosophers, including Hacking, Simon Blackburn
and Crispin Wright
.
that year, and graduated in 1939 aged twenty. A doctoral pupil of G. E. Moore to 1943, he attended lectures by Ludwig Wittgenstein
from the late 1930s until 1945.
Remaining in the UK, he taught at the University of Liverpool
, and then from 1952 at Cambridge as a University Lecturer. He became Doctor of Philosophy in 1943, with an essay entitled Some Philosophical Considerations about the Survival of Death. He also helped Moore as an assistant editor of the journal Mind
while Moore was lecturing in the United States, and he participated in meetings of the Moral Science Club. He taught at the Faculty of Moral Science in Cambridge in the years 1943-45. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
from 1958. He became a Fellow of the British Academy in 1980.
The library of the Philosophy Faculty
at the University of Cambridge is named after him.
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
-born British philosopher. He worked in philosophical logic
Philosophical logic
Philosophical logic is a term introduced by Bertrand Russell to represent his idea that the workings of natural language and thought can only be adequately represented by an artificial language; essentially it was his formalization program for the natural language...
but published scantily. According to Ian Hacking
Ian Hacking
Ian Hacking, CC, FRSC, FBA is a Canadian philosopher, specializing in the philosophy of science.- Life and works :...
, He had early acquired the conviction that one should publish only when one got something absolutely right, so he left very little in print. He was an influential teacher; several of his students went on to be prominent philosophers, including Hacking, Simon Blackburn
Simon Blackburn
Simon Blackburn is a British academic philosopher known for his work in quasi-realism and his efforts to popularise philosophy. He recently retired as professor of philosophy at the University of Cambridge, but remains a distinguished research professor of philosophy at the University of North...
and Crispin Wright
Crispin Wright
Crispin Wright is a British philosopher, who has written on neo-Fregean philosophy of mathematics, Wittgenstein's later philosophy, and on issues related to truth, realism, cognitivism, skepticism, knowledge, and objectivity....
.
Life
His father, Ludwig Lewy, was a doctor and died when he was a boy, so he grew up with his mother's family. After nine years at the Mikolaj Rej school in Warsaw, he travelled to the UK in 1936. He was admitted to the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
that year, and graduated in 1939 aged twenty. A doctoral pupil of G. E. Moore to 1943, he attended lectures by Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
from the late 1930s until 1945.
Remaining in the UK, he taught at the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
, and then from 1952 at Cambridge as a University Lecturer. He became Doctor of Philosophy in 1943, with an essay entitled Some Philosophical Considerations about the Survival of Death. He also helped Moore as an assistant editor of the journal Mind
Mind (journal)
Mind is a British journal, currently published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Mind Association, which deals with philosophy in the analytic tradition...
while Moore was lecturing in the United States, and he participated in meetings of the Moral Science Club. He taught at the Faculty of Moral Science in Cambridge in the years 1943-45. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
from 1958. He became a Fellow of the British Academy in 1980.
The library of the Philosophy Faculty
Faculty of philosophy cambridge
The University of Cambridge was the birthplace of the 'analytical' school of philosophy in the early 20th century.Today it is still a centre for philosophy. The most recent Research Assessment Exercise gave Cambridge the highest possible score...
at the University of Cambridge is named after him.