L. P. Jacks
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Pearsall Jacks abbreviated L. P. Jacks was an English
educator, philosopher
, and Unitarian minister who rose to prominence in the period from World War I
to World War II
.
, to Anne Steere and Jabez Jacks. When his father died in 1874, George Herbert, at the University School in Nottingham, allowed the 14 year old Jacks to continue his education without fee. At about the same time, his family took in a Unitarian lodger, Sam Collinson, who discussed religion with Jacks and lent him books such as Matthew Arnold
's Literature and Dogma. Jacks left school at the age of 17 and spent the next five years teaching at private schools, while earning a degree as an External Student at the University of London
.
In 1882, Jacks enrolled in Manchester New College, London, to train for the clergy, and became a Unitarian
while at the College, under the influence of James Estlin Carpenter and James Martineau
. After graduating, he spent a year on scholarship at Harvard University
, where he studied with the philosopher Josiah Royce
and the literary scholar Charles Eliot Norton
. In 1887, after returning from the United States of America, he received an unexpected invitation (due to Carpenter's recommendation) to take the prestigious position of assistant minister to Stopford Brooke in his chapel in London; he later wrote that "Had I received an invitation to become demigod to Apollo my surprise would hardly have been greater." He served as assistant minister for a year, and then accepted a position as Unitarian minister for Renshaw Street Chapel in Liverpool
in 1888.
In 1889, Jacks married Olive Brooke (the fourth daughter of Stopford Brooke), whom he had fallen in love with on the ship returning from America. They had six children together.
In 1894, Jacks was appointed minister for the Church of the Messiah in Birmingham
, England
, where he developed his democratic
political and religious views, holding that "the Common Man is the appointed saviour of the world," and developed his idea of a natural religion accessible to everyone, regardless of denomination or creed.
and theology
. He taught the work of Henri Bergson
and Baruch Spinoza
, and published The Alchemy of Thought in 1910. He served as Principal of the College from 1915 until his retirement in 1931, where he opened the theology program to lay students and tried to introduce the study of Asian religious thought, in an effort to relieve what he saw as the "insufficient ventilation" in the theology program.
Jacks served as the editor of the Hibbert Journal from its founding in 1902 until 1948. Under his editorship the Journal became one of the leading forums in England for work in philosophy and religion. He gained international notoriety as a public intellectual with the outbreak of World War I
, when he wrote in support of the war effort, citing the need to defeat German militarism and defend "the liberties of our race." In September 1915, he published "The Peacefulness of Being at War" in The New Republic
, arguing that the war had "brought to England a peace of mind such as she had not possessed for decades," claiming that the sense of common purpose brought on by the war had overcome social fragmentation and improved English life.
After the war, Jacks wrote prolifically and gained popularity as a lecturer in Britain and America. He frequently returned to the theme of militarism and the "mechanical" mindset, which he regarded as one of the greatest threats in modern life. In his Revolt Against Mechanism (1933), he wrote that "The mechanical mind has a passion for control—of everything except itself. Beyond the control it has won over the forces of nature it would now win control over the forces of society of stating the problem and producing the solution, with social machinery to correspond." He proposed liberal education
and world vision as a hope for salvation from the mechanistic world, in books such as his Education for the Whole Man (1931) and his 1938 BBC Radio Lectures.
Although he continued to preach Unitarianism, he became increasingly critical of all forms of institutional religion and denominationalism, and refused to let his name be added to a list of Unitarian ministers published by the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
in 1928. He accepted an invitation to preach in Liverpool Cathedral
in 1933; a Convocation of the Church of England rebuked the cathedral for allowing a Unitarian to preach, igniting a controversy in the press.
Jacks published prolifically over a period of fifty years, including philosophical and visionary treatises, biographies, articles, and moral parables.
He died in Oxford on February 17, 1955, at the age of 94.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
educator, philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and Unitarian minister who rose to prominence in the period from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Early life
Jacks was born on October 9, 1860, in NottinghamNottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, to Anne Steere and Jabez Jacks. When his father died in 1874, George Herbert, at the University School in Nottingham, allowed the 14 year old Jacks to continue his education without fee. At about the same time, his family took in a Unitarian lodger, Sam Collinson, who discussed religion with Jacks and lent him books such as Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
's Literature and Dogma. Jacks left school at the age of 17 and spent the next five years teaching at private schools, while earning a degree as an External Student at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
.
In 1882, Jacks enrolled in Manchester New College, London, to train for the clergy, and became a Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
while at the College, under the influence of James Estlin Carpenter and James Martineau
James Martineau
James Martineau was an English religious philosopher influential in the history of Unitarianism. For 45 years he was Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Political Economy in Manchester New College, the principal training college for British Unitarianism.-Early life:He was born in Norwich,...
. After graduating, he spent a year on scholarship at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he studied with the philosopher Josiah Royce
Josiah Royce
Josiah Royce was an American objective idealist philosopher.-Life:Royce, born in Grass Valley, California, grew up in pioneer California very soon after the California Gold Rush. He received the B.A...
and the literary scholar Charles Eliot Norton
Charles Eliot Norton
Charles Eliot Norton, was a leading American author, social critic, and professor of art. He was a militant idealist, a progressive social reformer, and a liberal activist whom many of his contemporaries considered the most cultivated man in the United States.-Biography:Norton was born at...
. In 1887, after returning from the United States of America, he received an unexpected invitation (due to Carpenter's recommendation) to take the prestigious position of assistant minister to Stopford Brooke in his chapel in London; he later wrote that "Had I received an invitation to become demigod to Apollo my surprise would hardly have been greater." He served as assistant minister for a year, and then accepted a position as Unitarian minister for Renshaw Street Chapel in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in 1888.
In 1889, Jacks married Olive Brooke (the fourth daughter of Stopford Brooke), whom he had fallen in love with on the ship returning from America. They had six children together.
In 1894, Jacks was appointed minister for the Church of the Messiah in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he developed his democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
political and religious views, holding that "the Common Man is the appointed saviour of the world," and developed his idea of a natural religion accessible to everyone, regardless of denomination or creed.
Oxford
In 1903 he accepted a Professorship at Manchester College, Oxford, where he taught philosophyPhilosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
. He taught the work of Henri Bergson
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson was a major French philosopher, influential especially in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson convinced many thinkers that immediate experience and intuition are more significant than rationalism and science for understanding reality.He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize...
and Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch de Spinoza and later Benedict de Spinoza was a Dutch Jewish philosopher. Revealing considerable scientific aptitude, the breadth and importance of Spinoza's work was not fully realized until years after his death...
, and published The Alchemy of Thought in 1910. He served as Principal of the College from 1915 until his retirement in 1931, where he opened the theology program to lay students and tried to introduce the study of Asian religious thought, in an effort to relieve what he saw as the "insufficient ventilation" in the theology program.
Jacks served as the editor of the Hibbert Journal from its founding in 1902 until 1948. Under his editorship the Journal became one of the leading forums in England for work in philosophy and religion. He gained international notoriety as a public intellectual with the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, when he wrote in support of the war effort, citing the need to defeat German militarism and defend "the liberties of our race." In September 1915, he published "The Peacefulness of Being at War" in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, arguing that the war had "brought to England a peace of mind such as she had not possessed for decades," claiming that the sense of common purpose brought on by the war had overcome social fragmentation and improved English life.
After the war, Jacks wrote prolifically and gained popularity as a lecturer in Britain and America. He frequently returned to the theme of militarism and the "mechanical" mindset, which he regarded as one of the greatest threats in modern life. In his Revolt Against Mechanism (1933), he wrote that "The mechanical mind has a passion for control—of everything except itself. Beyond the control it has won over the forces of nature it would now win control over the forces of society of stating the problem and producing the solution, with social machinery to correspond." He proposed liberal education
Liberal education
A Liberal education is a system or course of education suitable for the cultivation of a free human being. It is based on the medieval concept of the liberal arts or, more commonly now, the liberalism of the Age of Enlightenment...
and world vision as a hope for salvation from the mechanistic world, in books such as his Education for the Whole Man (1931) and his 1938 BBC Radio Lectures.
Although he continued to preach Unitarianism, he became increasingly critical of all forms of institutional religion and denominationalism, and refused to let his name be added to a list of Unitarian ministers published by the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches
The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches is the umbrella organisation for Unitarian, Free Christian and other liberal religious congregations in the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1928, with denominational roots going back to the Great Ejection of 1662...
in 1928. He accepted an invitation to preach in Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral
Liverpool Cathedral is the Church of England cathedral of the Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool and is the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool but it is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
in 1933; a Convocation of the Church of England rebuked the cathedral for allowing a Unitarian to preach, igniting a controversy in the press.
Jacks published prolifically over a period of fifty years, including philosophical and visionary treatises, biographies, articles, and moral parables.
He died in Oxford on February 17, 1955, at the age of 94.
Works
- The Alchemy of Thought (1910)
- Mad Shepherds and Other Human Studies (1910)
- Among the Idolmakers (1911)
- All Men Are Ghosts (1913)
- From the Human End (1916)
- Life and Letters of Stopford Brooke (1917)
- The Legends of Smokeover (1921)
- Realities and Shams (1924)
- The Faith of a Worker (1925)
- The Magic Formula and Other Stories (1927)
- Constructive Citizenship (1927)
- The Inner Sentinal: A Study of Ourselves (1930)
- Education for the Whole Man (1931)
- Revolt Against Mechanism (1933)
- Co-operation or Coercion? (1938)
- The Last Legend of Smokeover (1939)
- Near the Brink: Observations of a Nonagenarian (1952)