David George Ritchie
Encyclopedia
David George Ritchie was a Scottish
philosopher who had a distinguished university career at Edinburgh
, and Balliol College, Oxford
, and after being fellow of Jesus
and tutor of Balliol
was elected professor of logic and metaphysics at St Andrews
. He was also the third president of the Aristotelian Society
in 1898.
on 26 October 1853. He was the only son of the three children of George Ritchie, D.D., minister of the parish and a man of scholarship and culture, who was elected to the office of moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland
in 1870. His mother was Elizabeth Bradfute Dudgeon. The family was connected with the Carlyles
, and early in 1889 Ritchie edited a volume of Early Letters of Jane Welsh Carlyle
.
Ritchie received his early schooling at Jedburgh Academy. Not allowed to make friends with other boys of his own age, he never learned to play games, and lived a solitary life, concentrating his mind rather too early on purely intellectual subjects. He marticulated in 1869 at Edinburgh University, where he made a special study of classics under Professors William Young Sellar
and J. S. Blackie
, while he began to study philosophy under Professor Campbell Fraser, in whose class and in that of Professor Henry Calderwood
(on moral philosophy) he gained the highest prizes. After graduating M.A. at Edinburgh in 1875 with first-class honors in classics, Ritchie gained a classical exhibition at Balliol College, Oxford
, and won a first-class both in classical moderations (Michaelmas 1875) and in the final classical school (Trinity term, 1878). In 1878 he became a fellow of Jesus College, Oxford
and in 1881 a tutor. From 1882 to 1186 he was also a tutor at Balliol College. At Oxford Ritchie came under the influence of Thomas Hill Green
and Arnold Toynbee
, and it was there that the foundations were laid both for his interest in idealistic
philosophy associated with the name of Hegel, and also of his strong bent toward practical politics; his political philosophy was dominated by the belief that practical action must be derived from principles.
Ritchie married twice. His first marriage was in 1881 to Flora Lindsay, daughter of Col. A. A. Macdonell of Lochgarry, and sister of Professor A. A. Macdonell of Oxford. Flora died in 1888. He was married a second time in 1889 to Ellen Haycraft, sister of Professor John Berry Haycraft. He had a daughter by the first marriage and a son by the second.
In 1894 Ritchie left Oxford on being appointed professor of logic and metaphysics at the University of St. Andrews. At this time the university was in the midst of a turmoil of conflicting interests which involved litigation and much party feeling. In this conflict Ritchie supported the side of progress, which ultimately prevailed. He remained at St. Andrews until his death on 3 February 1903.
D. G. Ritchie was a founding member, and the third President (1898–1899), of the Aristotelian Society
, an influential academic organization that is still very much in active existence.
Of an absolutely simple and unaffected nature, Ritchie pursued the truth he set himself to seek with an entire devotion. Despite his retirng manner, he had many friends. He held strongly that questiions of ethics and politics must be regarded from a metaphysical point of view. For him the foundation of ethics necessarily rested on the ideal end of social well-being, and keeping this end in view, he proceeded to trace its history at different times, the manner in which it shapes itself in the mind of each individual, and the way in which it can be developed and realized. Ritchie was an advanced liberal
with socialist leanings. He considered that the ultimate value of religion depended on the ideal it set before mankind when it represented its highest form.
His Philosophical Studies was edited with a memoir by Robert Latta (1905).
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
philosopher who had a distinguished university career at Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, and after being fellow of Jesus
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
and tutor of Balliol
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
was elected professor of logic and metaphysics at St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
. He was also the third president of the Aristotelian Society
Aristotelian Society
The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Square which resolved "to constitute a society of about twenty and to include ladies; the society to meet fortnightly, on Mondays at 8 o'clock, at the rooms of the Spelling...
in 1898.
Life
Ritchie was born at JedburghJedburgh
Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire.-Location:Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot, it is only ten miles from the border with England and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey...
on 26 October 1853. He was the only son of the three children of George Ritchie, D.D., minister of the parish and a man of scholarship and culture, who was elected to the office of moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
in 1870. His mother was Elizabeth Bradfute Dudgeon. The family was connected with the Carlyles
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
, and early in 1889 Ritchie edited a volume of Early Letters of Jane Welsh Carlyle
Jane Welsh Carlyle
Jane Welsh Carlyle was the wife of essayist Thomas Carlyle and has been cited as the reason for his fame and fortune. She was most notable as a letter-writer. In 1973, G.B...
.
Ritchie received his early schooling at Jedburgh Academy. Not allowed to make friends with other boys of his own age, he never learned to play games, and lived a solitary life, concentrating his mind rather too early on purely intellectual subjects. He marticulated in 1869 at Edinburgh University, where he made a special study of classics under Professors William Young Sellar
William Young Sellar
William Young Sellar was a Scottish classical scholar.Sellar was born at Morvich, Sutherland, the son of Patrick Sellar of Westfield, Morayshire and his wife Ann Craig of Barmakelty, Moray. He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and afterwards at the University of Glasgow. He entered Balliol...
and J. S. Blackie
John Stuart Blackie
John Stuart Blackie was a Scottish scholar and man of letters. He was born in Glasgow, and educated at the New Academy and afterwards at the Marischal College, in Aberdeen, where his father was manager of the Commercial Bank.After attending classes at Edinburgh University , Blackie spent three...
, while he began to study philosophy under Professor Campbell Fraser, in whose class and in that of Professor Henry Calderwood
Henry Calderwood
Henry Calderwood , Scottish philosopher and divine, was born at Peebles.He was educated at the Royal High School, and later at the University of Edinburgh. He studied for the ministry of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and in 1856 was ordained pastor of the Greyfriars church, Glasgow...
(on moral philosophy) he gained the highest prizes. After graduating M.A. at Edinburgh in 1875 with first-class honors in classics, Ritchie gained a classical exhibition at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, and won a first-class both in classical moderations (Michaelmas 1875) and in the final classical school (Trinity term, 1878). In 1878 he became a fellow of Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
and in 1881 a tutor. From 1882 to 1186 he was also a tutor at Balliol College. At Oxford Ritchie came under the influence of Thomas Hill Green
Thomas Hill Green
Thomas Hill Green was an English philosopher, political radical and temperance reformer, and a member of the British idealism movement. Like all the British idealists, Green was influenced by the metaphysical historicism of G.W.F. Hegel...
and Arnold Toynbee
Arnold Toynbee
Arnold Toynbee was a British economic historian also noted for his social commitment and desire to improve the living conditions of the working classes.-Biography:...
, and it was there that the foundations were laid both for his interest in idealistic
philosophy associated with the name of Hegel, and also of his strong bent toward practical politics; his political philosophy was dominated by the belief that practical action must be derived from principles.
Ritchie married twice. His first marriage was in 1881 to Flora Lindsay, daughter of Col. A. A. Macdonell of Lochgarry, and sister of Professor A. A. Macdonell of Oxford. Flora died in 1888. He was married a second time in 1889 to Ellen Haycraft, sister of Professor John Berry Haycraft. He had a daughter by the first marriage and a son by the second.
In 1894 Ritchie left Oxford on being appointed professor of logic and metaphysics at the University of St. Andrews. At this time the university was in the midst of a turmoil of conflicting interests which involved litigation and much party feeling. In this conflict Ritchie supported the side of progress, which ultimately prevailed. He remained at St. Andrews until his death on 3 February 1903.
D. G. Ritchie was a founding member, and the third President (1898–1899), of the Aristotelian Society
Aristotelian Society
The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Square which resolved "to constitute a society of about twenty and to include ladies; the society to meet fortnightly, on Mondays at 8 o'clock, at the rooms of the Spelling...
, an influential academic organization that is still very much in active existence.
Philosophy
Both at Oxford and at St. Andrews, Ritchie wrote much of on ethics and political philosophy. One of his earliest writings was an essay on The Rationality of History, contributed to Essays in Philosophical Criticism, written in 1883 by a number of young men influenced by Hegel and his interpretors. He was very much one of the generation of thinkers who were sometimes referred to as the Young Hegelians.Of an absolutely simple and unaffected nature, Ritchie pursued the truth he set himself to seek with an entire devotion. Despite his retirng manner, he had many friends. He held strongly that questiions of ethics and politics must be regarded from a metaphysical point of view. For him the foundation of ethics necessarily rested on the ideal end of social well-being, and keeping this end in view, he proceeded to trace its history at different times, the manner in which it shapes itself in the mind of each individual, and the way in which it can be developed and realized. Ritchie was an advanced liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
with socialist leanings. He considered that the ultimate value of religion depended on the ideal it set before mankind when it represented its highest form.
Works
Among his works may be cited:- Darwinism and Politics (1889)
- Principles of State Interference (1891)
- Darwin and Hegel (1893)
- Natural Rights (1895)
- Studies in Political and Social Ethics (1903)
- Plato (1903)
- a translation with Sir Richard Lodge and Percy Ewing MathesonPercy Ewing Matheson-Selected works:* A skeleton outline of Roman history * The Theory of the State by Johann Caspar Bluntschli * National ideals...
of Bluntschli's Theory of the State (1885) - many articles in the philosophical journal MindMind (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...
), the Philosophical Review, etc.
His Philosophical Studies was edited with a memoir by Robert Latta (1905).