J. L. Austin's Play Group included:
H. P. Grice
J. O. Urmson
S. N. Hampshire
R. M. Hare
P. F. Strawson
P. L. Gardiner
H. L. A. Hart
G. A. Paul
and of course, J. L. Austin.
--- ("I would never call it "Play Group" in Austin's presence" -- Grice).
J. O. Urmson
4 March 1915 – 29 January 2012The philosopher James Opie Urmson, MC, died on 29 January 2012, aged 96.
Urmson was educated at Kingswood School, Bath, and Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
Urmson graduated in Literae Humaniores -- like Grice.
Urmson (unlike Grice) won the John Locke Scholarship in 1938. (But Grice gave the John Locke Lectures! -- read his Proemium!)
Urmson was elected a Senior Demy of Magdalen College in 1938. (Grice was also involved with Merton College).
In 1939, Urmson was elected a Fellow by Examination.
During the Second World War Urmson served with "The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment" in France (including the withdrawal to Dunkirk), North Africa (Tunisia), and, finally Italy, where he was, unfortunately, taken prisoner (in Anzio).
On liberation, Urmson returned to Oxford, where he was a lecturer then Student of Christ Church, then (after five years as professor of philosophy at Dundee, in Scotland) fellow and tutor in philosophy at Corpus Christi, from 1959 to 1978.
Urmson was the Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Stanford.
Urmson published widely, and was particularly acclaimed for his papers on Greek and early Christian philosophy, language, ethics, aesthetics, and the history of philosophy.
Speranza's favourite essays by Urmson include:
Parenthetical Verbs
and so many others ("too many to mention") -- He has beautiful essays on probability, validity, grading, supererogation, intensionality, and the rest of it (where 'it' is philosophy with a capital Phi).
--- Urmson represented, like Grice did, the best of the Oxonian way of approaching philosophy in a classy way.
Urmson is survived by his daughter -- his wife Marion having predeceased him.
R. I. P.
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