C. D. Broad (full name Charlie Dunbar Broad; 30 December 1887 - 11 March 1971) was an English epistemologist, historian of philosophy, philosopher of science, moral philosopher, and writer on the philosophical aspects of psychical research. He was known for his thorough and dispassionate examinations of arguments in such works as The Mind and Its Place in Nature, published in 1925, Scientific Thought, published in 1930, and Examination of McTaggart's Philosophy, published in 1933. It has been suggested that Contemporary philosophy be merged into this article or section. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar, known as the year of cyclohexanol. ... Analytic philosophy (sometimes, analytical philosophy) is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century. ... Plato (Left) and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome) Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the ultimate nature of reality, being, and the world. ... For other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation). ... A phrenological mapping of the brain. ... Logic (from Classical Greek λόγος logos; meaning word, thought, idea, argument, account, reason, or principle) is the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration. ... For other persons named John Locke, see John Locke (disambiguation). ... William Ernest Johnson (June 23, 1858 – January 14, 1931) was a British logician known for his three volume work Logic (1921-1924). ... Alfred North Whitehead, OM (February 15, 1861, Ramsgate, Kent, England – December 30, 1947, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.) was an English-born mathematician who became a philosopher. ... George Edward Moore George Edward Moore, also known as G.E. Moore, (November 4, 1873 - October 24, 1958) was a distinguished and hugely influential English philosopher who was educated and taught at the University of Cambridge. ... Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, advocate for social reform, and pacifist. ... Alfred Jules Ayer (October 29, 1910 - June 27, 1989), better known as simply A. J. Ayer (and called Freddie by friends), was a British philosopher. ... is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar, known as the year of cyclohexanol. ... Theory of knowledge redirects here: for other uses, see theory of knowledge (disambiguation) According to Plato, knowledge is a subset of that which is both true and believed Epistemology or theory of knowledge is the branch of philosophy that studies the nature, methods, limitations, and validity of knowledge and belief. ... The history of philosophy is the study of philosophical ideas and concepts through time. ... Philosophy of science is the study of assumptions, foundations, and implications of science, especially in the natural sciences and social sciences. ... For other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation). ... Look up argument in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart (1866-1925) was the leading Hegel scholar in England at the beginning of the 20th Century, and friend and teacher of Bertrand Russell and G. E. Moore. ...

Life

Broad was born in Harlesden, in Middlesex, England. He was educated at Dulwich College from 1900 until 1906.^[1] He gained a scholarship to study at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1906. In 1910 he graduated with First-Class Honours, with distinction. The Middlesex Guildhall at Westminster Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and was the second smallest (after Rutland). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Dulwich New College buildings. ... Full name The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity Motto Virtus vera nobilitas Virtue is true Nobility Named after The Holy Trinity Previous names King’s Hall and Michaelhouse (until merged in 1546) Established 1546 Sister College(s) Christ Church Master The Lord Rees of Ludlow Location Trinity Street... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In 1911, he became a Fellow of Trinity College. This was a non-residential position, which enabled him to also accept a position he had applied for as an assistant lecturer at St Andrews University. He was later made a lecturer at St Andrews University, and remained there until 1920. He was appointed professor at Bristol University in 1920, and worked there until 1923, when he returned to Trinity College as a College lecturer. He was a lecturer in 'moral science' in the Faculty of philosophy at Cambridge University from 1926 until 1931. In 1931, he was appointed 'Sidgwick Lecturer' at Cambridge University. He kept this role until 1933, when he was appointed Knightbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy at Cambridge University, a position he held for twenty years, until 1953. University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410-1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the United Kingdom. ... University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410-1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the United Kingdom. ... The University of Bristol was founded in 1876 as the University College, Bristol. ... The University of Cambridge was the birthplace of the analytical school of philosophy in the early 20th century. ... The Knightbridge Professorship of Philosophy is the senior professorship in philosophy at the University of Cambridge. ...

Broad was President of the Aristotelian Society from 1927-1928, and again from 1954-1955. He was also President of the Society for Psychical Research in 1935 and 1958. The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy (more generally known as the Aristotelian Society) was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880[1] which resolved to constitute a society of about twenty and to include ladies; the society to meet fortnightly, on Mondays at 8 oclock... The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a non-profit organization which started in the United Kingdom and later acquired branches in other countries. ...

Broad was openly homosexual at a time when homosexual acts were illegal. (In 1952, the mathematician, logician and philosopher Alan Turing was convicted of 'gross indecency' for admitting to a sexual relationship with another man.^[2]) In March 1958, Broad along with fellow philosophers A.J. Ayer and Bertrand Russell, writer J.B. Priestly, and 27 others, sent a letter to The Times, which urged the acceptance of the Wolfenden Report's recommendation that homosexual acts should 'no longer be a criminal offence'.^[3] Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS (23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, logician, and cryptographer. ... Alfred Jules Ayer (October 29, 1910 - June 27, 1989), better known as simply A. J. Ayer (and called Freddie by friends), was a British philosopher. ... Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970), was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, advocate for social reform, and pacifist. ... John Boynton (Jack) Priestley, OM (13 September 1894, Bradford - 14 August 1984, Stratford-upon-Avon) was an English writer and broadcaster and son of Emma and Jack Priestley // On leaving school Priestley worked in the wool trade of his native city, but had ambitions to become a writer. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom (and the Kingdom of Great Britain before the United Kingdom existed) since 1788 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register. ... The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (better known as the Wolfenden report, after Lord Wolfenden, the chairman of the committee) was published in Britain on September 3, 1957 after a succession of well-known men, including Peter Wildeblood, were convicted of homosexual offences. ...

Psychical Research

Broad argued that if research showed that psychic events occur, this would challenge philosophical theories in at least five ways:

1. Backward causation, the future affecting the past, is rejected by many philosophers, but would be shown to occur if, for example, people could predict the future.
2. One common argument against dualism, that is the belief that minds are non-physical, and bodies physical, is that physical and non-physical things cannot interact. However, this would be shown to be possible if people can move physical objects by thought (telekinesis).
3. Similarly, philosophers tend to be sceptical about claims that non-physical 'stuff' could interact with anything. This would also be challenged if minds are shown to be able to communicate with each other, as would be the case if mind-reading is possible.
4. Philosophers generally accept that we can only learn about the world through reason and perception. This belief would be challenged if people were able to psychically perceive events in other places.
5. Physicalist philosophers believe that there cannot be persons without bodies. If ghosts were shown to exist, this view would be challenged.^[4]

Retrocausality is any of several hypothetical phenomena or processes that reverse causality, allowing an effect to occur before its cause. ... René Descartes illustration of dualism. ... Psychokinesis (literally mind-movement) or PK is the more commonly used term today for what in the past was known as telekinesis (literally distant-movement). It refers to the psi ability to influence the behavior of matter by mental intention (or possibly some other aspect of mental activity) alone. ... Skepticism (Commonwealth spelling: Scepticism) can mean: Philosophical skepticism - a philosophical position in which people choose to critically examine whether the knowledge and perceptions that they have are actually true, and whether or not one can ever be said to have absolutely true knowledge; or Scientific skepticism - a scientific, or practical... For other uses, see Mind (disambiguation). ... Telepathy, from the Greek τῆλε, tele, remote; and πάθεια, patheia, to be effected by, describes the hypothetical transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five classical senses. ... For other uses, see Reason (disambiguation). ... In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing sensory information. ... The term physicalism was coined by Otto Neurath, in a series of early 20th century essays on the subject, in which he wrote According to physicalism, the language of physics is the universal language of science and, consequently, any knowledge can be brought back to the statements on the physical...

Works

• Perception, physics and reality. An Enquiry into the Information that Physical Science can Supply about the Real. London: Cambridge University Press, 1914 (PDF; 54,07 MB)
• Scientific thought. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1923 (Introduction, Chapters VII & VIII)
• The Mind and its place in nature. London: Kegan Paul, 1925
• The Philosophy of Francis Bacon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1926
• Five types of ethical theory. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1930
• War Thoughts in Peace Time. London: Humphrey Milford, 1931
• An examination of McTaggart's philosophy. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 1933
• Determinism, interdeterminism and libertarianism. Cambridge University Press, 1934
• An examination of McTaggart's philosophy. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 1938
• Ethics and the History of Philosophy, London: Routledge, 1952; Reprint 2000, ISBN 0-415-22530-2
• Religion, Philosophy and Psychic Research, London: Routledge, 1953; Reprint 2000, ISBN 0-415-22558-2
• Human Personality and the Possibility of Its Survival. University of California Press, 1955
• Personal Identity and Survival. Society for Psychical Research, London 1958
• Lectures on Psychical Research. Incorporating the Perrott Lectures given in Cambridge University in 1959 and 1960. New York: Humanities Press, 1962 (contains Saltmarsh's Investigation of Mrs Warren Elliott's Mediumship)
• Induction, Probability, and Causation. Selected Papers of C. D. Broad, Dordrecht: Reidel, 1968.
• Broad's Critical Essays in Moral Philosophy, New York: Humanities Press, 1971.
• Leibniz: An Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975, ISBN 0-521-20691-X
• Berkeley's Argument. Haskell House Pub Ltd., 1976
• Kant: An Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978, ISBN 0-521-21755-5
• Ethics, Dordrecht: Nijhoff, 1985.

Further reading

• Paul A. Schilpp (ed.): Philosophy of C. D. Broad. Tudor Publishing Company, New York 1959

External links

• C. D. Broad on Digital Text International
• Biography by Renée Haynes on survivalafterdeath.org with links to several articles on psychical research

References

• Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2nd Edition. Volume 1. Ed. by Donald M. Borchert. Farmington Hills, MI: MacMillian Reference, 2006.