
The Controversialist
An Intellectual Life of Goldwin Smith
Paul Phillips(Author)
Praeger Publishers Inc
Published on 28. February 2002
Book
Hardback
216 pages
978-0-275-97611-8 (ISBN)
Description
Goldwin Smith (1823-1910) was a celebrated, transatlantic writer on current events, politics, religion, history, and literature. While he made his academic mark teaching at Oxford, Cornell, and later as a resident guru at Toronto, his facile pen earned him a far greater reputation with general readers throughout the English-speaking world. Determined to rouse concern over issues that he deemed to be important to the advancement of humanity, Smith was deemed the controversialist by the Dictionary of National Biography. A study of his life and his writings provides new insight into liberalism, anti-semitism, the role of the journalist, and other aspects of life in late 19th century North America and Britain.
As a public intellectual, Goldwin Smith spoke out on a variety of issues, frequently provoking intense debate. Phillips argues that the core of Smith's thought and the driving force behind his role as a controversialist lay in his moral philosophy, which provided a sense of direction to Smith's many and sometimes disparate writings and activities. This study will also probe the serious dilemma posed by Smith's path to agnosticism in the last decades of his life. By moving to a position of virtual unbelief, Smith risked damage not only to his carefully-crafted public persona, but also to a life's work as an impassioned moralist.
As a public intellectual, Goldwin Smith spoke out on a variety of issues, frequently provoking intense debate. Phillips argues that the core of Smith's thought and the driving force behind his role as a controversialist lay in his moral philosophy, which provided a sense of direction to Smith's many and sometimes disparate writings and activities. This study will also probe the serious dilemma posed by Smith's path to agnosticism in the last decades of his life. By moving to a position of virtual unbelief, Smith risked damage not only to his carefully-crafted public persona, but also to a life's work as an impassioned moralist.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 7 to 17 years
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
508 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-275-97611-8 (9780275976118)
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Schweitzer Classification
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E-Book
02/2002
1st Edition
Praeger Publishers Inc
€82.49
Available for download
Person
PAUL T. PHILLIPS is Professor of History at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. His previous books include The Sectarian Spirit (1982), Britain's Past in Canada (1989), and A Kingdom on Earth (1996).
Content
Introduction
Early Life
Regius Professor
From Academic to Sage
Historian at Large
The Transatlantic Liberal
Anti-Semitism
Into the Abyss
Epilogue: Guesses at the Riddle of Goldwin Smith
Sources
Early Life
Regius Professor
From Academic to Sage
Historian at Large
The Transatlantic Liberal
Anti-Semitism
Into the Abyss
Epilogue: Guesses at the Riddle of Goldwin Smith
Sources