- W. K. C. Guthrie
William Keith Chambers Guthrie (
1 August 1906 –17 May 1981 ) was a Scottishclassical scholar , best known for his "History of Greek Philosophy", published in six volumes between 1962 and his death.Early life and education
Although of long standing Scottish stock on both his father's and mother's side, Guthrie was born and brought up in
London where his father, Charles James Guthrie, pursued a career with theWestminster Bank .After attending
Dulwich College , Guthrie went up toCambridge University in 1925 winning the Eric Evan Spicer scholarship to Trinity College. He excelled in his studies, being supervised by, amongst others,Francis Cornford andA. S. F. Gow , and was placed in the first class of both Parts of theClassical Tripos , with distinction in Part II and the award of the Craven Prize.After
graduating he embarked on apostgraduate career at Trinity. He met his future wife, Adele Marion Ogilvie, an Australian studying atNewnham College , while supervising herundergraduate studies in 1929-1930. They married in 1933 and went on to have two children.Early career and World War Two
In 1930 Guthrie left Trinity College to take up a Bye Fellowship at
Peterhouse , going on to become a fullFellow in 1932. Between 1936-1937 he served as a universityproctor and in 1939 was appointed as the University Orator, a position he held for eighteen years, responsible for delivering speeches in Latin in honour of recipients ofhonorary doctorates .During the war he exchanged scholarship for
military service serving in theIntelligence Corps between 1941 - 1945, based initially inLondon , then inSt Albans and, from 1943, inIstanbul , achieving the temporary rank ofMajor .Post war career
Returning to Cambridge after the war Guthrie was much in demand in his capacity as Orator, called upon to deliver Latin
encomia in honour of such dignitaries asWinston Churchill ,Clement Attlee ,Jan Smuts , Nehru,Dwight D. Eisenhower , Viscount Slim and General Montgomery.In 1946 he was promoted to Reader before becoming the third
Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy in 1952, the year in which he became aFellow of the British Academy . In 1950 he edited an edition of his mentor Cornford's essays under the title "The Unwritten Philosophy".In 1957 he moved to his third Cambridge college when invited to become the Master of
Downing College where he would remain for the rest of his life. As Master he took a full part in the administrative, cultural and social life of the college, occasionallypreaching in the collegechapel and supporting the undergraduate music club and boat club. He oversaw a rewriting of the college statutes and introduced a maximum term for a Master of fifteen years, by which he chose voluntarily to abide although it did not apply to him.In 1956 he was approached by the Syndics of the
Cambridge University Press to write a history ofancient philosophy . The first volumes, devoted to thepre-Socratics , of what would be his life'smagnum opus were published to high acclaim in 1962 and 1964. The work continued while serving as Master of Downing and became his life's full mission after retiring from that position in 1972. The venture remained, however, unfinished at his death aged 74 in 1981 the year in which he published the sixth volume in the series, devoted toAristotle .As a philosopher Guthrie followed in the tradition of Cornford in believing that ancient philosophers should be read and interpreted against their own historical background, rather than engaged with, as has been the practice of later generations of classical philosophers, in the context of the whole canon of philosophy both ancient and modern.
References
* [http://www.proc.britac.ac.uk/cgi-bin/somsid.cgi?page=68p561&session=&type=header "William Keith Chambers Guthrie, 1906–1981"] by
G. E. R. Lloyd , "Proceedings of the British Academy" 68, 561-577Works
* "Orpheus"" and Greek Religion" (1935)
* "The Greeks and their Gods" (1951)
* "Protagoras" "and" "Meno" (1956) dialogues of Plato, translator
* "The Greek Philosophers from" "Thales" "to Aristotle" (1960)
* "In the Beginning" (1965)
* "On the Heavens", translator (1969)
* "The Pre-Socratics: A Collection of Critical Essays" (1974)
* "A History of Greek Philosophy Volume I: The Earlier Presocratics and the" "Pythagoreans" (1962)
* "A History of Greek Philosophy Volume II: The Presocratic Tradition from" "Parmenides" to "Democritus" (1965)
* "A History of Greek Philosophy Volume III: The Fifth-Century Enlightenment - Part 1: The Sophists; Part 2:" "Socrates" (1971)
* "A History of Greek Philosophy Volume IV:" "Plato" - "the Man and his Dialogues: Earlier Period" (1975)
* "A History of Greek Philosophy Volume V: The Later Plato and the Academy" (1978)
* "A History of Greek Philosophy Volume VI: Aristotle: An Encounter" (1981)
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