James Clark McKerrow

James Clark McKerrow (21 May 1887 – 1965) was a British physician and philosopher.

James Clark McKerrow
Born(1887-05-21)21 May 1887
Workington
Died1965 (aged 77–78)
Occupation(s)Physician, philosopher

Biography

McKerrow was born on 21 May 1887 in Workington.[1] He was educated at University of Edinburgh and obtained his M.B. in 1912. During World War I he served in the Territorial Army but after being wounded joined family medical practice in Workington.[2] McKerrow dedicated much of his life to studying evolution, philosophy, psychology and religious experiences. He studied at the British Museum Reading Room and filled 500 notebooks with his ideas. He wrote numerous philosophical and psychology books.[2]

McKerrow was an original thinker and held unorthodox opinions about different subjects.[3][4] In his book Religion and History, he argued that there never was an Apostolic Age and that Christianity began between A.D. 70 and 135 from Gnosticism, a blend of pagan philosophy and Jewish Messianism.[5] McKerrow denied the historicity of Jesus and maintained that Christ is "mythical" not a historical figure.[5]

McKerrow's Evolution Without Natural Selection promotes a Lamarckian alternative to natural selection.[6][7] He contended that life must be accepted as a "four-dimensional process" and that living organisms evolve though "habit".[6] This idea was similar to Samuel Butler's.[6]

McKerrow died from cancer in 1965.[2]

Selected publications
  • The Appearance of Mind (1923)[8]
  • Aberrations of Life (1923)[9]
  • Economics for Nicodemus (1927)
  • Novius Organum: Essays in a New Metaphysic (1931)[3]
  • An Introduction to Pneumatology (1932)[10]
  • Religion and History (1934)[5]
  • Evolution Without Natural Selection (1937)[6]

References
  1. Runes, Dagobert D. (1942). Who's Who in Philosophy. New York: Philosophical Library. p. 172
  2. "Papers of Dr. James Clark McKerrow (1887-1965)". University of Edinburgh.
  3. "Reviewed Work: Novius Organum by James Clark McKerrow". The British Medical Journal. 1 (3712): 384–385. 1932.
  4. Ferm, Vergilius (1934). "Reviewed Work: Religion and History by James C. McKerrow". Church History. 3 (4): 325–326. doi:10.1017/S0009640700001529. S2CID 162335384.
  5. Garvie, A. E. (1934). "Reviewed Work: Religion and History by James Clark McKerrow". Philosophy. 9 (35): 378–379. doi:10.1017/S0031819100029612. S2CID 171037528.
  6. "Evolution Restated" (PDF). Nature. 145 (3675): 546. 1940. Bibcode:1940Natur.145Q.546.. doi:10.1038/145546a0. S2CID 46317077.
  7. Bowler, Peter J. (2001). Reconciling Science and Religion: The Debate in Early-Twentieth-Century Britain. University of Chicago Press. p. 391. ISBN 0-226-06858-7
  8. MacKinnon, Flora I. (1924). "Reviewed Work: The Appearance of Mind by James Clark McKerrow". The Philosophical Review. 33 (2): 217–219. doi:10.2307/2179404. JSTOR 2179404. S2CID 4137289.
  9. MacKinnon, Flora I. (1924). "Reviewed Work: Aberrations of Life by J. C. McKerrow". The Philosophical Review. 33 (3): 320–321. doi:10.2307/2179072. JSTOR 2179072.
  10. Wohlgemuth, A. (1933). "An Introduction to Pneumatology by James Clark McKerrow". Journal of Mental Science. 79 (325): 385. doi:10.1192/bjp.79.325.385.
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