Gershom Carmichael was a Scottish philosopher.

Gershom Carmichael was a Scottish subject born in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the son of Alexander Charmichael, a Church of Scotland minister who had been banished by the Scottish privy council for his religious opinions. As a child, he suffered from crooked limbs (probably rickets

Rickets

Rickets is a softening of bones in children due to deficiency or impaired metabolism of vitamin D, magnesium , phosphorus or calcium, potentially leading to fractures and deformity. Rickets is among the most frequent childhood diseases in many developing countries...

) and was treated by "body menders" who made him wear limb braces. Through the Charmichael's friendship with the Duke of Hamilton

Duke of Hamilton

Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...

, Gershom visited Bath

Bath

Bath is a city in the ceremonial county of Somerset in the south west of England. It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol. The population of the city is 83,992. It was granted city status by Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth I in 1590, and was made a county borough in 1889 which...

 to take the waters and he was eventually able to dispense with the braces.

He graduated at Edinburgh University

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...

 in 1691, and became a regent at St Andrews

St Andrews

St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....

. In 1694 he was elected a master in the university of Glasgow

University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

 – an office that was converted into the professorship of moral philosophy

Professor of Moral Philosophy, Glasgow

The Chair of Moral Philosophy is a professorship at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, which was established in 1727.The Nova Erectio of King James VI of Scotland shared the teaching of Moral Philosophy, Logic and Natural Philosophy among the Regents...

 in 1727, when the system of masters was abolished at Glasgow.

Sir William Hamilton

Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet

Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet was a Scottish metaphysician.-Early life:He was born in Glasgow. He was from an academic family, including Robert Hamilton, the economist...

 regarded him as "the real founder of the Scottish school of philosophy." He wrote Breviuscula Introductio ad Logicam, a treatise on logic

Logic

In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...

 and the psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

 of the intellectual powers, combining Arnauld

Antoine Arnauld

Antoine Arnauld — le Grand as contemporaries called him, to distinguish him from his father — was a French Roman Catholic theologian, philosopher, and mathematician...

 and Nicole

Pierre Nicole

Pierre Nicole was one of the most distinguished of the French Jansenists.Born in Chartres, he was the son of a provincial barrister, who took in charge his education...

 with Locke

John Locke

John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...

; Synopsis Theologiae Naturalis; and an edition of Pufendorf, De Officio Hominis et Civis, with notes and supplements of high value. His son Frederick was the author of Sermons on Several Important Subjects and Sermons on Christian Zeal, both published in 1753.

External links