John Fearn (philosopher)

John Fearn (* 1768 in Chatham , Kent ; † December 3, 1837 in Chelsea , London ) was a British philosopher. In his early years he served two years as a midshipman on HMS Royal George and toured the Pacific. This fact led to the fact that he is often confused with the eponymous whaler John Fearn and discoverer of the Pacific island of Nauru .

As a philosopher he was self-taught in the tradition of John Locke . Fearn dealt in controversial form with various areas of the natural, perceptual and linguistic philosophy, where he came into conflict with his contemporaries Dugald Stewart , David Brewster , Horne Tooke and Mary Shepherd . Academic recognition of his point of view was denied him, which gave rise to extensive polemics.

Fearn had married in 1806 and had a daughter born in 1807, but shortly thereafter became a widower and remarried in 1808. The marriage was short-lived, however, as the wife was otherwise inclined and became the mother of a daughter who was not recognized by Fearn. The result was an extensive argument with the father-in-law and a smear campaign directed against Fearn, which may have affected his health.

Fonts

• An Essay on Consciousness, or a Series of Evidences of a Distinct Mind. London 1810. 2nd edition 1812.
• A Review of First Principles of Bishop Berkeley, Dr. Reid, and Professor Stewart, with an indication of other principles. London 1813.
• An Essay on Immortality. London 1814.
• A Demonstration of the Principles of Primary Vision, with the consequent state of Philosophy in Great Britain. London 1815.
• A Demonstration of Necessary Connection. London 1815.
• A Letter to Professor Stewart on the Objects of General Terms, and on the Axiomatical Laws of Vision. London 1817.
• First Lines of the Human Mind. London 1820.
• Anti-toooke; or an Analysis of the Principles and Structure of Language exemplified in the English Tongue. London 1824.
• A Manual of the Physiology of Mind, comprehending the First Principles of Physical Theology, with which are laid out the crucial objections to the Reideian Theory. To which is suffixed a paper on the Logic of Relation considered as a machine for Ratiocinative Science. London 1829.
• A Rationale of the Laws of Cerebral Vision, comprising the Laws of Single and of Erect Vision, deduced upon the Principles of Dioptrics. London 1830.
• The Human Sensorium investigated as to figure. London 1832.
• An Appeal to Philosophers by name on the Demonstration of Vision on the Brain, and against the attack of Sir David Brewster on the Rationale of Cerebral Vision. London 1837.

literature

• Brigitte Asbach-Schnitker: A linguistic commentary on John Fearn's Anti-Tooke (1824/27) . (= Linguistic work 4). M. Niemeyer, 1973.
• Alan Marshall: Fearn, John. In: Oxford Dictionary of NAtional Biography. Oxford 2004, doi : 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 9238 , online version January 3, 2008.

Web links

• Literature by and about John Fearn in the catalog of the German National Library
• Writings by John Fearn