Susan Stebbing
Encyclopedia
L. Susan Stebbing (December 2, 1885 – September 11, 1943) was a British philosopher. She belonged to the 1930s generation of analytic philosophy
, and was a founder in 1933 of the journal Analysis
.
, she studied at Girton College, Cambridge
, graduating in 1908. She was a lecturer in philosophy at King's College London
from 1913 to 1915. From 1920 she held positions at Bedford College, University of London, where she became a reader in 1924 and a Professor of philosophy in 1933, having gained a D Lit in 1931. She was also a visiting professor at Columbia University
from 1931 to 1932. She was president of the Mind Association
from 1931 to 1932 and the Aristotelian Society
from 1933 to 1934.
She was a pupil of William Ernest Johnson
; according to P. M. S. Hacker
she was most influenced by G. E. Moore, and was a point of contact with the Vienna Circle
, first inviting Carnap to talk in the UK.
. Published on the eve of the Second World War, Stebbing wrote:
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
, and was a founder in 1933 of the journal Analysis
Analysis (journal)
Analysis is a peer-reviewed academic journal of philosophy established in 1933 that is published quarterly by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Analysis Trust. Prior to January 2009, the journal was published by Blackwell Publishing. Electronic access to this journal is available via JSTOR ,...
.
Biography
Born in North Finchley, MiddlesexMiddlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
, she studied at Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. It was England's first residential women's college, established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon. The full college status was only received in 1948 and marked the official admittance of women to the...
, graduating in 1908. She was a lecturer in philosophy at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
from 1913 to 1915. From 1920 she held positions at Bedford College, University of London, where she became a reader in 1924 and a Professor of philosophy in 1933, having gained a D Lit in 1931. She was also a visiting professor at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
from 1931 to 1932. She was president of the Mind Association
Mind Association
The Mind Association is a philosophical society whose purpose is to promote the study of philosophy. The association publishes the journal Mind quarterly....
from 1931 to 1932 and 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...
from 1933 to 1934.
She was a pupil of William Ernest Johnson
William Ernest Johnson
William Ernest Johnson was a British logician mainly remembered for his Logic , in 3 volumes....
; according to P. M. S. Hacker
Peter Hacker
Peter Michael Stephan Hacker is a British philosopher.His principal expertise is in the philosophy of mind andphilosophy of language...
she was most influenced by G. E. Moore, and was a point of contact with the Vienna Circle
Vienna Circle
The Vienna Circle was an association of philosophers gathered around the University of Vienna in 1922, chaired by Moritz Schlick, also known as the Ernst Mach Society in honour of Ernst Mach...
, first inviting Carnap to talk in the UK.
Thinking to some purpose
Stebbing’s most popular work is Thinking to some purpose (1939) which was described on the cover of the first Pelican Books edition as being:“A manual of first-aid to clear thinking, showing how to detect illogicalities in other people's mental processes and how to avoid them in our own”. The work arose out of a synopsis she wrote for a series of radio broadcasts intended for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. Published on the eve of the Second World War, Stebbing wrote:
“There is an urgent need to-day for the citizens of a democracy to think well. It is not enough to have freedom of the Press and parliamentary institutions. Our difficulties are due partly to our own stupidity, partly to the exploitation of that stupidity, and partly to our own prejudices and personal desires.”Some of our ineffective thinking arises from a proper desire to have a confident opinion about complicated issues. Unfortunately, “few true statements about a complicated state of affairs can be expressed in a single sentence. … We easily fall into the habit of accepting compressed statements which save us from the trouble of thinking. Thus arises what I shall call Potted Thinking:
“This metaphor seems to me to be appropriate, because potted thinking is easily accepted, is concentrated in form, and has lost the vitamins essential to mental nourishment. You will notice that I have continued the metaphor by using the word ‘vitamins.’ Do not accept the metaphor too hastily: it must be expanded. Potted meat is sometimes a convenient form of food; it may be tasty, it contains some nourishment. But its nutritive value is not equivalent to that of the fresh meat from which it was potted. Also, it must have originally been made from fresh meat, and must not be allowed to grow stale. Similarly a potted belief is convenient; it can be stated briefly, sometimes also in a snappy manner likely to attract attention. A potted belief should be the outcome of a belief that is not potted. It should not be held on to when circumstances have changed and new factors have come to light. We should not allow our habits of thought to close our minds, nor rely upon catch-words to save ourselves from the labour of thinking. Vitamins are essential for the natural growth of our bodies; the critical questioning at times of our potted beliefs is necessary for the development of our capacity to think to some purpose.”
Works
- Pragmatism and French Voluntarism (1914)
- A Modern Introduction to Logic (1930)
- Logical Positivism and Analysis (1933)
- Logic in Practice (1934)
- Imagination and Thinking (1936) with C. Day Lewis
- Thinking to Some Purpose (1939)
- Philosophy and the Physicists (1937)
- Ideals and Illusions (1941)
- A Modern Elementary Logic (1943)
External links
- "Susan Stebbing on Cambridge and Vienna Analysis" - Abstract, by Michael Beaney
- Works by Stebbing, on the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- Logical Constructions, A Modern Introduction to Logic (1931), Harper Torchbooks Press
- Postulational Systems and Principia Mathematica, A Modern Introduction to Logic