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 o'clock, at the rooms of the Spelling Reform Association?"^[2]

Amongst other things, the rules of the Society stipulate:

The object of this Society shall be the systematic study of philosophy; 1st, as to its historical development; 2nd, as to its methods and problems.

According to H. Wildon Carr, in choosing a name for the society, it was:

"essential to find a name which would definitely prescribe the speculative character of the study which was to be the Society's ideal, and it seemed that this could best be secured by adopting the name of a philosopher eminently representative. There is only one such name in the history of philosophy and so we became the Aristotelian Society, not for the special study of Aristotle, or of Aristotelianism, but for the systematic study of Philosophy."^[3]

The Society's first president was Mr. Shadworth H. Hodgson. He was president for fourteen years from 1880 until 1894, when he proposed Dr. Bernard Bosanquet as his replacement.

Publications

The first edition of the Society's proceedings, the Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, now the Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, was issued in 1888.

The Society holds an annual conference in July of each year, consisting mainly of papers by invited speakers, that is conducted jointly with The Mind Association (publishers of the philosophical journal Mind). The Society publishes these invited papers in the June of each year (i.e., prior to the joint conference) in The Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volume.

List of Past Presidents

Many significant philosophers have served the Society as its president:

• Shadworth H. Hodgson (1880-1894) First President
• Bernard Bosanquet (1894-1898)
• D. G. Ritchie (1898-1899)
• G. F. Stout (1899-1904)
• Hastings Rashdall (1904-1907)
• Lord Haldane of Cloan (1907-1908)
• Samuel Alexander (1908-1911)
• Bertrand Russell (1911-1913)
• G. Dawes Hicks (1913-1914)
• Arthur Balfour (1914-1915)
• H. Wildon Carr (1915-1918)
• G. E. Moore (1918-1919)
• James Ward (1919-1920)
• W. R. Inge (1920-1921)
• F. C. S. Schiller (1921-1922)
• A. N. Whitehead (1922-1923)
• T. Percy Nunn (1923-1924)
• Lord Lindsay of Birker (1924-1925)
• J. A. Smith (1925-1926)
• C. Lloyd Morgan (1926-1927)
• C. D. Broad (1927-1928)
• A. E. Taylor (1928-1929)
• J. Laird (1929-1930)
• Beatrice Edgell (1930-1931)
• W. G. de Burgh (1931-1932)
• Leonard J. Russell (1932-1933)
• L. S. Stebbing (1933-1934)
• G. C. Field (1934-1935)
• J. L. Stocks (1935-1936)
• Samuel Alexander (1936-1937)
• Bertrand Russell (1937-1938)
• G. F. Stout (1938-1939)
• Sir William David Ross (1939-1940)
• Hilda D. Oakeley (1940-1941)
• A. C. Ewing (1941-1942)
• Morris Ginsberg (1942-1943)
• H. H. Price (1943-1944)
• H. J. Paton (1944-1945)
• Gilbert Ryle (1945-1946)
• R. B. Braithwaite (1946-1947)
• Norman Kemp Smith (1947-1948)
• C. A. Mace (1948-1949)
• W. Kneale (1949-1950)
• J. Wisdom (1950-1951)
• A. J. Ayer (1951-1952)
• H. B. Acton (1952-1953)
• Dorothy Emmet (1953-1954)
• C. D. Broad (1954-1955)
• J. N. Findlay (1955-1956)
• J. L. Austin (1956-1957)
• R. I. Aaron (1957-1958)
• Sir Karl Popper (1958-1959)
• H. L. A. Hart (1959-1960)
• A. E. Duncan-Jones (1960-1961)
• Prof. A. M. MacIver (1961-1962)
• H. D. Lewis (1962-1963)
• Sir Isaiah Berlin (1963-1964)
• W. H. Walsh (1964-1965)
• Ruth L. Saw (1965-1966)
• Stephan Körner (1966-1967)
• Richard Wollheim (1967-1968)
• D. J. O?Connor (1968-1969)
• P. F. Strawson (1969-1970)
• W. B. Gallie (1970-1971)
• Martha Kneale (1971-1972)
• R. M. Hare (1972-1973)
• C. H. Whiteley (1973-1974)
• D. D. Raphael (1974-1975)
• A. M. Quinton (1975-1976)
• D. M. Mackinnon (1976-1977)
• D. W. Hamlyn (1977-1978)
• G. E. L. Owen (1978-1979)
• A.R. White (1979-1980)
• P. G. Winch (1980-1981)
• R. F. Holland (1981-1982)
• T. J. Smiley (1982-1983)
• A. R. Manser (1983-1984)
• Peter Alexander (1984-1985)
• Richard Sorabji (1985-1986)
• Martin Hollis (1986-1987)
• G. E. M. Anscombe (1987-1988)
• Onora O'Neill (1988-1989)
• Renford Bambrough (1989-1990)
• John Skorupski (1990?1991)
• Timothy Sprigge (1991-1992)
• Hugh Mellor (1992-1993)
• David E. Cooper (1993-1994)
• Jonathan Dancy (1994-1995)
• Christopher Hookway (1995-1996)
• Jennifer Hornsby (1996-1997)
• John Cottingham (1997-1998)
• Adam Morton (1998-1999)
• David Wiggins (1999-2000)
• James Griffin (2000-2001)
• Jane Heal (2001-2002)
• Bob Hale (2002-2003)
• Paul Snowdon (2003-2004)
• Timothy Williamson (2004-2005)
• Myles Burnyeat (2005-2006)
• Thomas Baldwin (2006-2007)

Dorothy Edgington is currently president of the Aristotelian Society. She will be succeeded by Professor M G F Martin.

Notes

1. ↑ Five individuals attended this meeting: Mr. F. G. Fleay, Dr. Alfred Senier (1853-I918) (later Professor of Chemistry in the University of Galway), Mr. Herbert Burrows, Mr. Edward Clarkson, and Mr. Alfred Lowe (Carr, 1928-1929, pp.360).
2. ↑ Carr (1928-1929), pp.360.
3. ↑ Carr (1928-1929), pp.361.

References

• Carr, H.W., "The Fiftieth Session: A Retrospect", Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Vol.29, (1928-1929), pp.359-386.

External links

• - The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy

fi:Aristotelian Society