A Terribly Serious Adventure: Philosophy at Oxford 1900-60

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What are the limits of language How to bring philosophy closer to everyday life What is a good human being

These were among the questions that philosophers wrestled with in mid-twentieth-century Britain, a period shadowed by war and the rise of fascism. In response to these events, thinkers such as Gilbert Ryle, J. L. Austin, Elizabeth Anscombe and Iris Murdoch aspired to a new level of watchfulness and self-awareness about language. Being vigilant about their words was their way to keep philosophy true to everyday experience.

A Terribly Serious Adventure traces the friendships and the rivalries, the shared preoccupations and the passionate disagreements of Oxford's most brilliant thinkers. Far from being stuck in a world of tweed, pipes and public schools, the Oxford philosophers drew on their wartime lives as soldiers and spies, conscientious objectors and prisoners of war in creating their greatest works, works that are original in both thought and style, true masterpieces of British modernism.

Nikhil Krishnan brings his knowledge and understanding of philosophy to bear on the lives and intellectual achievements of a large and lively cast of characters. Together, they stood for a compelling moral vision of philosophy that is still with us today.

Reviews

'As Cambridge undergraduates we read Ryle, Williams, Wittgenstein, Anscombe, Ayer... some we heard in lectures, others we read in books; but we never saw them as a tribe, widely differing but part of the same association of human beings on the same adventure: people who knew each other. Krishnan brings that association - its ideas, of course, but its characters too - wonderfully to life' - Matthew Parris

'A compelling story-teller, Krishnan brings human sympathy and acuity to his very readable book. Past debates spring vividly to life, with all their drama and comedy: so we understand how philosophers walked-and-talked, suffered and interacted. Recommended to everyone interested in ideas, not just students of philosophy' - Peter Conradi, author

'This riveting and beautifully written book offers a compelling insight into the various ways in which philosophy developed in Oxford in the first half of the twentieth century. Anyone with a specialist interest in philosophy during this period is sure to be captivated by the book, but there will be plenty of interest for others too, as Krishnan expertly sets his narrative in the context of the two wars and the surrounding political turmoil' - Adrian Moore, philosopher and author

'This is Oxford philosophy in the round. The philosophical arguments (clearly explained), the personal lives, the colourful quotes, the elbow patches and buttered crumpets. Brilliantly written' - James Franklin, author

Author Bio

Nikhil Krishnan is a Fellow in Philosophy at Robinson College, Cambridge. He completed his doctorate in Philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford. His essays and reviews have appeared in the New Yorker, New Statesman, Daily Telegraph and Literary Review.