Alexander Bain | |
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| Born | (1818-06-11)11 June 1818 Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Died | 18 September 1903(1903-09-18) (aged 85) Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Education | Marischal College(MA (Hons)) |
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Alexander Bain (11 June 1818 – 18 September 1903) was aScottish philosopher andeducationalist in theBritish school of empiricism and a prominent and innovative figure in the fields ofpsychology,linguistics,logic,moral philosophy andeducation reform. He foundedMind, the first ever journal of psychology and analytical philosophy, and was the leading figure inestablishing and applying thescientific method topsychology. Bain was the inauguralRegius Chair in Logic andProfessor of Logic at theUniversity of Aberdeen, where he also held Professorships inMoral Philosophy andEnglish Literature and was twice electedLord Rector of the University of Aberdeen.
Alexander Bain was born inAberdeen, north Scotland, to George Bain, a weaver and veteran soldier, and Margaret Paul. At age eleven he left school to work as aweaver[1] hence the description of him as Weevir,rex philosophorum. He also attended lectures at theMechanics' Institutes of Aberdeen and theAberdeen Public Library.
In 1836 he enteredMarischal College where he came under the influence of Professor of Mathematics John Cruickshank, Professor ofChemistry Thomas Clark and Professor ofNatural Philosophy William Knight. Towards the end of his undergraduate degree he became a contributor to theWestminster Review with his first article entitled "Electrotype and Daguerreotype," published in September 1840. This was the beginning of his connection withJohn Stuart Mill, which led to a lifelong friendship. He was awarded the Blue Ribbon and also the Gray Mathematical Bursary. His college career and studies were distinguished especially inmental philosophy, mathematics andphysics and he graduated with aMaster of Arts with Highest Honours.
In 1841, Bain substituted for Dr. Glennie the Professor ofMoral Philosophy, who, due toill-health, was unable to discharge his academic duties. He continued to do this three successive terms, during which he continued writing for theWestminster, and also helpedJohn Stuart Mill with the revision of themanuscript of hisSystem of Logic (1842). In 1843 he contributed the first review of the book to theLondon and Westminster.
In 1845 he was appointed Professor of Mathematics andNatural philosophy atAnderson's University in Glasgow. A year later, preferring a wider field, he resigned the position and devoted himself to writing. In 1848 he moved to London to fill a post in theBoard of Health underSir Edwin Chadwick where he worked for social reform and became a prominent member of the intellectual circle which includedGeorge Grote andJohn Stuart Mill. In 1855 he published his first major work,The Senses and the Intellect, followed in 1859 byThe Emotions and the Will. These treatises won him a position among independent thinkers. Bain was also Examiner inLogic andMoral Philosophy from 1857 to 1862 and 1864–1869 for theUniversity of London and also an instructor inmoral science for theIndian Civil Service examinations.
In 1860 he was appointed by theBritish Crown to the inauguralRegius Chair ofLogic and the Regius Chair of English Literature at theUniversity of Aberdeen, which was newly formed after the amalgamation ofKing's College, Aberdeen andMarischal College by theScottish Universities Commission of 1858.
Until 1858, neither logic nor English had received adequate attention inAberdeen, and Bain devoted himself to supplying these deficiencies. He succeeded not only in raising the Standard of Education generally in theNorth of Scotland, but also in establishing a School of Philosophy at theUniversity of Aberdeen, and in widely influencing the teaching of Englishgrammar andcomposition in the United Kingdom. His efforts were first directed to the preparation of textbooks:Higher English Grammar[2] andAn English Grammar[3] were both published in 1863, followed in 1866 by theManual of Rhetoric, in 1872 byA First English Grammar, and in 1874 by theCompanion to the Higher Grammar. These works were wide-ranging and their original views and methods met with wide acceptance.
Bain's philosophical writings already published, especiallyThe Senses and the Intellect to which was added in 1861 TheOn the Study of Character including anEstimate of Phrenology, were too large for effective use in the classroom. Accordingly, in 1868, he published hisManual of Mental and Moral Science, mainly a condensed form of his treatises, with the doctrines re-stated, and in many instances freshly illustrated, and with many important additions. The year 1870 saw the publication of theLogic.[4][5] This, too, was a work designed for the use of students; it was based onJohn Stuart Mill, but differed from him in many particulars, and was distinctive for its treatment of the doctrine of the conservation of energy in connection with causation and the detailed application of the principles of logic to the various sciences with a section on the classification of all thesciences.[citation needed] Next came two publications in the "International Scientific Series", namely,Mind and Body (1872),[6] andEducation as a Science (1879).[7] All these works, from theHigher English Grammar downwards, were written by Bain during his twenty years as a professor at the University of Aberdeen. He also started the philosophical journal,Mind; the first number appeared in January 1876, under the editorship of a former pupil,George Croom Robertson, ofUniversity College London. To this journal Bain contributed many important articles and discussions; and in fact he bore the whole expenses of it till Robertson, owing to ill-health, resigned the editorship in 1891 andGeorge Stout took up the baton.
Although his influence as alogician andlinguist in grammar and rhetoric was considerable, his reputation rests on his works inpsychology. At one with the Germanphysiologist and comparative anatomistJohannes Peter Müller in the convictionpsychologus nemo nisi physiologus (one is not a psychologist who is not also a physiologist), he was the first in Great Britain during the 19th century to apply physiology in a thoroughgoing fashion to the elucidation of mental states. In discussing the will, he favoured physiological over metaphysical explanations, pointing to reflexes as evidence that a form of will, independent of consciousness, inheres in a person's limbs. He sought to chart physiological correlates of mental states but refused to make any materialistic assumptions.[8] His idea of applying thescientific method of classification to psychical phenomena gave scientific character to his work, the value of which was enhanced by his methodical exposition and his command of illustration. In line with this, too, is his demand thatpsychology should be cleared ofmetaphysics; and to his lead is no doubt due in great measure the position that psychology has now acquired as a distinct positive science. Bain established psychology, as influenced byDavid Hume andAuguste Comte, as a more distinct discipline of science through application of thescientific method. Bain proposed that physiological and psychological processes were linked, and that traditional psychology could be explained in terms of this association. Moreover, he proposed that all knowledge and all mental processes had to be based on actual physical sensations, and not on spontaneous thoughts and ideas, and attempted to identify the link between the mind and the body and to discover the correlations between mental and behavioural phenomena.
William James calls his work the "last word" of the earlier stage of psychology, but he was in reality the pioneer of the new. Subsequentpsycho-physical investigations "have all been in" the spirit of his work; and although he consistently advocated the introspective method in psychological investigation, he was among the first to appreciate the help that may be given to it bysocial psychology,comparative psychology anddevelopmental psychology. He may justly claim the merit of having guided the awakened psychological interest of British thinkers of the second half of the 19th century into fruitful channels. Bain emphasised the importance of our active experiences of movement and effort, and though his theory of a central innervation sense is no longer held as he propounded it, its value as a suggestion to later psychologists is great. His thought that a belief is but a preparation for action is respected by bothpragmatism andfunctionalism.[9]
Bain's autobiography, published in 1904, contains a full list of his works, and also the history of the last thirteen years of his life by Professor W. L. Davidson of the University of Aberdeen, who further contributed toMind (April 1904) a review of Bain's services to philosophy.[10] Further works include editions with notes ofPaley'sMoral Philosophy (1852);Education as a Science (1879);Dissertations on leading philosophical topics (1903, mainly reprints of papers inMind); he collaborated with JS Mill and Grote in editing James Mill'sAnalysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind (1869), and assisted in editing Grote'sAristotle and Minor Works; he also wrote a memoir prefixed to G Croom Robertson'sPhilosophical Remains (1894).
Bain took a keen interest insocial justice anddevelopment and was frequently an active part in thepolitical andsocial movements of the day; after his retirement from the Chair of Logic, he was twice electedLord Rector of the University of Aberdeen each term of office extending over three years. He was a strenuous advocate of reform, especially in theteaching of sciences, and supported the claims ofmodern languages to a place in the curriculum. Moreover, he was an avid supporter forstudent rights and in 1884 the Aberdeen University Debating Society took the first steps towards the introduction of astudents' representative council and laterAberdeen University Students' Association under his support.
Bain was a member of the Committee of theAberdeen Public Library throughout his life as well as theSchool Board of Aberdeen. Furthermore, Professor Bain gave lectures and wrote papers for theMechanics' Institutes of Aberdeen and served as the Secretary of its committee.
His services to education and social reform inScotland were recognised by the conferment of the honorary degree ofDoctor of law by theUniversity of Edinburgh in 1871. A marble bust of him stands in the Aberdeen Public Library and his portrait hangs inMarischal College.
Bain retired from his chair and Professorship from the University of Aberdeen and was succeeded byWilliam Minto, one of his most brilliant pupils. Nevertheless, his interest in thought, and his desire to complete the scheme of work mapped out in earlier years, remained as keen as ever. Accordingly, in 1882 appeared theBiography ofJames Mill, and accompanying itJohn Stuart Mill: a Criticism, with Personal Recollections.[11] Next came (1884) a collection of articles and papers, most of which had appeared in magazines, under the title ofPractical Essays. This was succeeded (1887, 1888) by a new edition of theRhetoric, and along with it, a bookOn Teaching English, being an exhaustive application of the principles of rhetoric to the criticism of style, for the use of teachers; and in 1894 he published a revised edition ofThe Senses and the Intellect, which contain his last word on psychology. In 1894 also appeared his last contribution toMind. His last years were spent in privacy at Aberdeen, where he died on 18 September 1903. He married twice but left no children. His last request was that "no stone should be placed upon his grave: his books, he said, would be his monument."[12]
The University of Aberdeen Philosophy Department established the Bain Medal in 1883. It is awarded annually to the best candidate who gains First Class Honours inMental philosophy.
As Professor William L. Davidson wrote in Bain's obituary inMind "In Dr. Bain's death, psychology has sustained a great loss; but so too has education and practical reform. It is rare to find a philosopher who combines philosophical with educational and practical interests, and who is also an active force in the community in which he dwells. Such a combination was here. Let us not fail to appreciate it."
"Bain, Alexander",A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, 1910 – viaWikisource| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Lord Rector of the University of Aberdeen 1881–? | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by none | Regius Chair in Logic at the University of Aberdeen ?–? | Succeeded by |
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