Alfred Henry Lloyd | |
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| Interim President of the University of Michigan | |
| In office 1925–1925 | |
| Preceded by | Marion LeRoy Burton |
| Succeeded by | Clarence Cook Little |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1864-01-06)January 6, 1864 |
| Died | May 11, 1927(1927-05-11) (aged 63) |
| Signature | .png) |
Alfred Henry Lloyd (January 3, 1864 – May 11, 1927)[1] was an American philosopher.
Lloyd received both his B.A. and M.A. degrees fromHarvard. He studied philosophy atGöttingen University andHeidelberg University, before returning to Harvard for his Ph.D., which he received in 1893. Upon returning from Europe in 1891, Lloyd was recruited byJohn Dewey[2] as an instructor in philosophy at theUniversity of Michigan. He remained there his entire career, becoming full professor in 1906. He was named dean of the graduate school in 1915.[3]
Lloyd was interim president of the University of Michigan from February 26[4] through September 1925, following the death ofMarion LeRoy Burton. He died inAnn Arbor, Michigan, on May 11, 1927.[5]
He was succeeded byClarence Cook Little. Lloyd's daughter,Alice Crocker Lloyd, served as the dean of women.[6]
Lloyd was the author of five books—Citizenship and Salvation (1897),Dynamic Idealism (1898),Philosophy of History (1899),The Will to Doubt (1907),[7] andLeadership and Progress (1922)—and over 70 articles.[8]
The Will to Doubt was Lloyd's fourth book and was published as a volume in the Ethical Library Series. The book was a response toWilliam James' 1896 collection of essays titledThe Will to Believe. Professor Lloyd's simple thesis is that "doubt is essential to real belief".[9] He wrote at the beginning of the 20th century, in what he called an age of doubt:
We would often hide it from others, not to say from ourselves, but it is there, and we all know it to be there.[10] Though many fear doubt, and try to keep it hidden and locked away, the confession of doubt is in fact the beginning of philosophy.[11]
Fear is a chief motivator ofdogmatism, and dogmatic people are slaves to their fears. This is not genuine confidence.[12] But doubt is not the road toatheism; in fact, doubt is part of a very difficult road totheism.[13]
Bertrand Russell built upon these arguments in subsequent years, even directly referencing Lloyd inFree Thought and Official Propaganda.
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| Preceded by | President of the University of Michigan 1925–1925 | Succeeded by |
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