Biography:John Foster (philosopher)

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Short description: 20th century English idealist philosopher
John Foster
Born
John Andrew Foster

(1941-05-05)5 May 1941
London, England
Died12 March 2009(2009-03-12) (aged 67)
London, England
Notable work
A World for Us (2008)
SchoolAnalytic philosophy
InstitutionsBrasenose College, Oxford
Doctoral advisorA. J. Ayer
Main interests
Metaphysics
Notable ideas
Phenomenalistic idealism

John Andrew Foster (5 May 1941 - 12 March 2009), known as John Foster, was a British philosopher and tutorial Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford, from 1966 to 2005 (and then a Emeritus Fellow until his death in 2009). He authored several books, including The Case for Idealism (1982) and A World for Us: The Case for Phenomenalistic Idealism (2008). His A. J. Ayer (1985) was described by Anthony Quinton as "the only serious monograph" about Ayer's philosophy".[1]

Biography

Foster was born in North London on 5 May 1941 and grew up in Southgate.[2] He studied at Mercers' School, but had to transfer to the City of London School to do A-levels after Mercers' closure (about which he wrote a letter to The Times in protest).[2] He started studying classics at Lincoln College, Oxford, but transferred to psychology, philosophy and physiology after discovering a distaste for studying ancient history. Foster stayed a further year at Lincoln, after obtaining a First in 1964, and began a D.Phil. The support of his doctoral supervisor, A. J. Ayer, ensured Foster’s election to a Stone-Platt Junior Research Fellowship at New College in 1965 and, a year later, to his tutorial Fellowship at Brasenose.[2] He retained this position until ill health finally forced his early retirement, as a "Mr" in 2005.[2] (As Peter J. N. Sinclair notes, most Brasenose Arts tutors of Foster's generation, never completed a doctoral thesis).[2]

Foster was a devoted Christian and an outspoken pro-life campaigner. Foster met his wife-to-be Helen in 1963 and the two married in Royal Tunbridge Wells in 1967. He joined the Church of England. In 1989 both John and Helen converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism.[2]

Foster died on 1 January 2009.

Philosophical work

In 2008, he put forward a thesis called phenomenalistic idealism, which combines phenomenalism and idealism.[3][4]

Works

Books authored

  • (1982) The Case for Idealism. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London. ISBN:0-7100-9019-6.[5]
  • (1985) A. J. Ayer. Routledge & Kegan Paul, Boston. ISBN:0415203899.[6]
  • (1991) The Immaterial Self: A Defence of the Cartesian Dualist Conception of Mind. Routledge, New York. ISBN:9780415156332.[7]
  • (2000) The Nature of Perception. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN:978-0198237693.[8]
  • (2004) The Divine Lawmaker: Lectures on Induction, Laws of Nature, and the Existence of God. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN:978-0199250592.[9][10]
  • (2008) A World for Us: The Case for Phenomenalistic Idealism. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN:0-19-929713-4[11]

Select papers/chapters

  • (1976) "Meaning and Truth Theory" in: Gareth Evans, John McDowell (eds.) Truth and Meaning: Essays in Semantics Oxford
  • (1985) "Berkeley on the physical world" In John Foster & Howard Robinson (eds.), Essays on Berkeley: A Tercentennial Celebration. Oxford University Press.
  • (1985) "Personhood and the Ethics of Abortion" in: (ed.). J. H. Channer, Abortion and the Sanctity of Human Life, Paternoster Press,
  • (1992) "The Construction of the Physical World." In L. E. Hahn (ed.), The Philosophy of A J Ayer. Open Court.
  • (1993) "The Succinct Case for Idealism." In Howard Robinson (ed.), Objections to Physicalism. Clarendon Press. pp. 293-313.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Quinton, Anthony (1996) "Alfred Jules Ayer". Proceedings of the British Academy, 94, pp. 280–281."The only serious monograph about his philosophy is that of John Foster, a most loyal, but penetratingly critical, admirer, which came out in 1985, in good time for him to enjoy it."
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Sinclair, Peter (2010). "John Foster Remembered". The Brazen Nose: 135–141. http://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/downloads/the_brazen_nose_2010.pdf. 
  3. ↑ Garrett, Brian Jonathan (2010). "John Foster, A World For Us: The Case for Phenomenalistic Idealism. Review". Philosophy in Review XXX (6): 397–399. http://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/pir/article/viewFile/5369/1876. 
  4. ↑ Foster, John (2008). A World for Us: The Case for Phenomenalistic Idealism. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ISBN:0-19-929713-4.
  5. ↑ Kincaid, Harold (1984). "Review of The Case for Idealism". The Philosophical Review 93 (3): 465–468. doi:10.2307/2184553. ISSN 0031-8108. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2184553. 
  6. ↑ Brueckner, Anthony L. (1989). "Review of A. J. Ayer". The Philosophical Review 98 (1): 97–104. doi:10.2307/2185374. ISSN 0031-8108. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2185374. 
  7. ↑ Armstrong, D. M. (1993). "Review of The Immaterial Self: A Defence of the Cartesian Dualist Conception of the Mind.". The Philosophical Review 102 (2): 272–274. doi:10.2307/2186043. ISSN 0031-8108. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2186043. 
  8. ↑ Crane, Tim (2002). [Review] "The Nature of Perception" by John Foster and "Perception and Reason" by Bill Brewer. The Times Higher Education Supplement 1
  9. ↑ Fales, Evan (9 September 2004). "The Divine Lawmaker: Lectures on Induction, Laws of Nature, and the Existence of God" (in en). https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/the-divine-lawmaker-lectures-on-induction-laws-of-nature-and-the-existence-of-god/. 
  10. ↑ Oppy, Graham (2006-01-01). "John Foster, THE DIVINE LAWMAKER: LECTURES ON INDUCTION, LAWS OF NATURE, AND THE EXISTENCE OF GOD". Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers 23 (1): 111–116. doi:10.5840/faithphil200623112. ISSN 0739-7046. https://philpapers.org/archive/OPPRT-2.pdf. 
  11. ↑ Seager, William (2009-04-07). "Review of A World for Us: The Case for Phenomenalistic Idealism" (in en). Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. ISSN 1538-1617. https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/a-world-for-us-the-case-for-phenomenalistic-idealism/. 

Further reading

  • "Foster, John (Andrew)" in: Trosky, Susan M (ed.) "Contemporary Authors : a bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields. Vol. 126. Detroit : Gale Research. 1989. ISBN:978-0-8103-1951-6



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