John Lucas (philosopher)
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John Randolph Lucas (born 18 June, 1929) is a philosopher. He was for 36 years, until his retirement in 1996, a Fellow and Tutor of Merton College, Oxford, and remains an emeritus member of the University Faculty of Philosophy.
As an undergraduate, he studied first mathematics, then Greats (Philosophy and Ancient History) at Balliol College, Oxford. After graduation he became a Junior Research Fellow in philosophy at Merton. His philosophical interests have included inter alia the implications of Gödel's incompleteness theorem, problems of mind and will, philosophy of science, space-time and causation, political principles, ethical behaviour particularly in business, and aspects of religion. Lucas is well known for a paper Minds, Machines and Gödel in which he argues that that a human mathematician cannot be represented accurately by an automaton.
Beside his philosophical career, Lucas has taken a practical interest in ethical behaviour in business. He helped found the Oxford Consumers' Group [1] (http://www.communigate.co.uk/oxford/oxfordconsumergroup/index.phtml), and was its first Chairman in 1961-3, serving again in 1965.
The son of a Church of England clergyman, Lucas describes himself as "a dyed-in-the-wool traditional Englishman". He married in 1961 Morar Portal, and they have four children. Sartorially independent, he may be remembered for a cool-weather habit of wearing a tie over his sweater under a jacket.
Career Highlights
- Schooled at St Mary's College, Winchester
- 1952 Balliol College, Oxford; John Locke Scholarship
- 1953-6 Junior Research Fellow, Merton College, Oxford
- 1956-9 Fellow and Assistant Tutor, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
- 1957-8 Jane Eliza Procter Visiting Fellow, Princeton University
- 1959-60 Leverhulme Research Fellow, Leeds University
- 1960-96 Fellow and Tutor of Merton College, Oxford
- 1988 Elected a Fellow of the British Academy
- 1990-6 Reader in Philosophy, Oxford University
- 1991-3 President, British Society for the Philosophy of Science
Books
- Principles of Politics, 1966 (ed.) ISBN 0198247745
- The Concept of Probability 1970 ISBN 0198243405
- The Freedom of the Will, 1970 ISBN 019824343X
- The Nature of Mind, 1972
- The Development of Mind, 1973
- A Treatise on Time and Space, 1973 ISBN 0416750702
- Essays on Freedom and Grace, 1976 ISBN 0281029326
- Democracy and Participation, 1976 ISBN 0140218823
- Butler's Philosophy of Religion Vindicated 1978 ISBN 0907078060
- On Justice, 1980 ISBN 019824598X
- Space, Time and Causality, 1985 (with P. E. Hodgson) ISBN 0198750579
- The Future, 1989 ISBN 0631166599
- Spacetime and Electromagnetism, 1990 (with P. E. Hodgson) ISBN 0198520387
- Responsibility, 1993 ISBN 019823578X
- Ethical Economics, 1997 (with M. R. Griffiths) ISBN 0312163983
- Conceptual Roots of Mathematics 1999 ISBN 041520738X
- An Engagement with Plato's "Republic" 2003 (with B.G. Mitchell) ISBN 0754633667
Lucas's home page lists his other publications.
External links
- Home page of J.R.Lucas (http://users.ox.ac.uk/~jrlucas/)
- Oxford University Faculty of Philosophy Home Page (http://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/index.shtml)
- Oxford Consumers' Group (http://www.communigate.co.uk/oxford/oxfordconsumergroup/index.phtml)