Harold Joachim
Encyclopedia
Harold Henry Joachim was a British idealist philosopher. A disciple of Francis Herbert Bradley, whose posthumous papers he edited, Joachim is now identified with the later days of the British Idealist movement. He is generally credited with the definitive formulation of the coherence theory of truth
, in his book The Nature of Truth (1906). He was also a scholar of Aristotle
and Spinoza.
The coherence theory is nowadays viewed as part of a class of theories called robust or inflationary accounts of truth. In this class, it is a rival to the correspondence
and the pragmatist theories. Both Bertrand Russell
, arguing for the former, and William James
, arguing for the latter, cited Joachim's text as a paradigm of what they thought was wrong about the coherence theory.
. He was educated at Harrow School
and Balliol College, Oxford
, where he was a pupil of R. L. Nettleship. He was elected to a Prize Fellowship at Merton College
in 1890, and in 1892 became a philosophy lecturer at the University of St Andrew's. Returning to Oxford in 2894, he was Lecturer at Balliol until becoming a Fellow and Tutor at Merton in 1897. In 1907 he married his first cousin, a daughter of the violinist Joseph Joachim
. He became Wykeham Professor
of Logic of the University of Oxford
from 1919, succeeding the realist John Cook Wilson
, and occupied the chair until his death. Whilst at Oxford he taught the American poet T.S. Eliot. Joachim was a nephew of the great 19th Century violinist Joseph Joachim
, and was himself a talented amateur violinist.
He was probably involved, if uncredited, in the editing of Bradley's collected works, including the Collected Essays with Bradley's sister Marian de Glehn, and Ethical Studies.
Coherence theory of truth
Coherence theory of truth regards truth as coherence with some specified set of sentences, propositions or beliefs. There is no single coherence theory of truth, but rather an assortment of perspectives that are commonly collected under this title...
, in his book The Nature of Truth (1906). He was also a scholar of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
and Spinoza.
The coherence theory is nowadays viewed as part of a class of theories called robust or inflationary accounts of truth. In this class, it is a rival to the correspondence
Correspondence theory of truth
The correspondence theory of truth states that the truth or falsity of a statement is determined only by how it relates to the world, and whether it accurately describes that world...
and the pragmatist theories. Both Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
, arguing for the former, and William James
William James
William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
, arguing for the latter, cited Joachim's text as a paradigm of what they thought was wrong about the coherence theory.
Life
Harold Henry Joachim was born in London, the son of a wool merchant who had come to England as a boy from HungaryHungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. He was educated at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
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....
, where he was a pupil of R. L. Nettleship. He was elected to a Prize Fellowship at Merton College
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
in 1890, and in 1892 became a philosophy lecturer at the University of St Andrew's. Returning to Oxford in 2894, he was Lecturer at Balliol until becoming a Fellow and Tutor at Merton in 1897. In 1907 he married his first cousin, a daughter of the violinist Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.-Origins:...
. He became Wykeham Professor
Wykeham Professor
The University of Oxford has three statutory professorships named after William of Wykeham.-Logic:The Wykeham Professorship in Logic was established in 1859, although it was not known as the Wykeham chair until later...
of Logic of the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
from 1919, succeeding the realist John Cook Wilson
John Cook Wilson
John Cook Wilson was an English philosopher. The only son of a Methodist minister, after Derby School he went up to Balliol College, Oxford in 1868, where he read both Classics and Mathematics, gaining a double First in both. Wilson became a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford in 1873...
, and occupied the chair until his death. Whilst at Oxford he taught the American poet T.S. Eliot. Joachim was a nephew of the great 19th Century violinist Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.-Origins:...
, and was himself a talented amateur violinist.
Quotation
- "'Truth' and 'Falsity', in the only strict sense of the terms, are characteristics of 'Propositions'. Every Proposition, in itself and in entire independence of mind, is true or false; and only Propositions can be true or false. The truth or falsity of a Proposition is, so to say, its flavour, which we must recognize, if we recognize it at all, immediately: much as we appreciate the flavour of a pineapple or the taste of gorgonzola."
Works
- Study of the Ethics of Spinoza (Ethica Ordine Geometrico Demonstrata) (1901)
- The Nature of Truth (1906)
- De lineis insecabilis (1908) translator
- Immediate Experience and Mediation (1919)
- Aristotle on Coming-To-Be and Passing-Away (De Generatione Et Corruptione) (1922)
- Logical Studies (1948)
- Descartes's Rules for the Direction of the Mind (1957) edited from notes by John AustinJ. L. AustinJohn Langshaw Austin was a British philosopher of language, born in Lancaster and educated at Shrewsbury School and Balliol College, Oxford University. Austin is widely associated with the concept of the speech act and the idea that speech is itself a form of action...
and Errol HarrisErrol HarrisErrol Eustace Harris was a contemporary South African philosopher. His work focused on developing a systematic and coherent account of the logic, metaphysics, and epistemology implicit in contemporary understanding of the world...
He was probably involved, if uncredited, in the editing of Bradley's collected works, including the Collected Essays with Bradley's sister Marian de Glehn, and Ethical Studies.
External links
- The Nature of Truth: An essay, full text at Google Books
- Coherence Theory of Truth by Harold H. Joachim, excerpts from The Nature of Truth and related comments in a document on the website of the philosophy department of Lander UniversityLander UniversityLander University is a public university located in Greenwood, South Carolina. It is the state's smallest publicly-funded baccalaureate institution.-History:...