David Pears
British philosopher (1921–2009)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Francis Pears, FBA (8 August 1921 – 1 July 2009) was a British philosopher renowned for his work on Ludwig Wittgenstein.[1][2] Along with Brian McGuinness, he published what became the standard English translation of the Tractatus in 1961.[3]
.jpg)
David Pears | |
|---|---|
Pears in 1972 | |
| Born | August 8, 1921 Bedfont, Middlesex |
| Died | July 1, 2009 (aged 87) Oxford |
| Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Philosopher |
| Notable work | Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1961) translation with Brian McGuinness |
Life
David Francis Pears was born on 8 August 1921 at Bedfont, Middlesex. He was the second of four sons born to Robert Pears (1891–1986) and Gladys Eveline, née Meyers (1892–1977). His father was a descendant of Andrew Pears the creator of Pears soap, and Robert's family were amongst those who benefitted from the sale of the company to the Lever Brothers.[4][3]
Pears attended Westminster school with Richard Wollheim and Patrick Gardiner who became fellow philosophers and lifelong friends.[1][5] At Westminster he had specialized in classics and it was as a classical scholar that he went to Balliol College, Oxford in 1939. He obtained a first in classical moderations in 1940 but his academic career was interrupted by World War II.[3]
He served in the Royal Artillery, but was seriously injured in a practice gas attack. As a result Pears was not sent to North Africa with the rest of his regiment. Peacocke reports that "Casualties there were so heavy that, [Pears] said, this accident may have saved his life."[4]
Another accident would help determine just what he would do with it. After leaving the army, he returned to Balliol College and achieved a first in literae humaniores in 1947.[3] The master of Balliol, Sandie Lindsay, thought he ought try for an assistant lectureship in Latin at Glasgow, but Pears was unsure what he ought do next.[6]
Jumping, to escape a brawl, out of a window of the Randolph Hotel, Oxford that, unexpectedly, opened on to a well to the basement, Pears landed up in hospital with a broken leg, and a copy of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus.[7] The latter reportedly being grabbed from a friend as he was being carried to the ambulance.[1][2][8] Pears left hospital fascinated by Wittgenstein's work and certain that philosophy was his true interest.[3]
On this account he started the Oxford B.Phil but his appointment as research lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford in 1948 meant he did not have to complete it.[7] Pears took up a fellowship in philosophy at Corpus Christi College, Oxford from 1950 to 1960 then returned to Christ Church in 1960 as a tutor in philosophy. There he became reader in philosophy in 1972 and professor of philosophy in 1985, retiring in 1988 as a professor emeritus.[9]
Works
Books authored
- Bertrand Russell and the British Tradition in Philosophy 1967
- What is Knowledge? 1971
- Ludwig Wittgenstein. Viking Press 1970.
- Questions in the Philosophy of Mind 1975
- Motivated Irrationality. Oxford: Clarendon Press 1984.[10]
- The False Prison: A Study of the Development of Wittgenstein's Philosophy. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1987/1988.[11][12]
- Hume's System: An Examination of the First Book of His Treatise. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1991.[13]
