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Colin Murray Turbayne

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Colin Murray Turbayne
Born(1916-02-07)7 February 1916
Tannymorel
 Australia
Died16 May 2006(2006-05-16) (aged 90)
Queensland, Australia[1]
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
Main interests
George Berkeley's philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Metaphor, Language

Colin Murray Turbayne (7 February 1916 – 16 May 2006) was an Australian philosopher and an internationally recognized authority on the writings of George Berkeley. He spent most of his thirty five year academic career at the University of Rochester and was noted as the author of the book The Myth of Metaphor.

Biography

Early life

Turbayne was born on February 7, 1916, in the rural town of Tannymorel in Queensland, Australia. His father David Livingston Turbayne was a banker and his mother Alice Eva Rene Lahey was descended from an early pioneer family in Queensland.

Colin received his earliest education at the Church of England Grammar School in Brisbane, where he distinguished himself as both a cricketer and Head Prefect. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia in 1940 as well as an MA degree in 1946. During World War II he worked for Australian Intelligence in the Pacific War theatre and served as Chief of Staff for Australian Intelligence to Douglas MacArthur in several pacific theatres.[2][3]

in 1940 he married Ailsa Krimmer and subsequently raised a family of two boys: Ron and John. They remained happily married for fifty-one years until her death in 1992.[4]

Academic studies

After emigrating to the United States following the conclusion of World War II in 1947, he undertook graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1950 he earned both his MA and PhD degrees in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.[5]

The Rush Rhees Library at University of Rochester

His PhD. dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania Constructions Versus Inferences in the Philosophy of Bertrand Russell focused on the philosophical works of the British philosopher and logician Bertrand Russell (1950).[6] His MA dissertation at the University of Queensland focused on Berkeley's philosophy as embodied in his Commonplace book(1947).[7]

Following the completion of his advanced studies, Turbayne acquired his first academic post as an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Washington. He remained on the faculty from 1950 until 1955. Subsequently, he served as an Assistant Professor of Speech at the University of California at Berkley from 1955 until 1957. Soon thereafter, he was appointed as an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Rochester in 1957. A short time later in 1962, he was promoted to Full Professor of Philosophy and continued to teach at the University of Rochester until his appointment to Professor Emeritus in 1981.[8]

Academic works

In addition to serving as a lecturer, Turbayne was a noted authority and researcher on the philosophical insights of George Berkeley. Over the years, he edited several of Berkeley's works and essays, while helping to sustain interest in Berkeley's works during the mid twentieth century.[9] In addition, he was the first commentator to recognize the central importance of metaphor in the philosophy of Berkeley.[10] He is best known for his book The Myth of Metaphor which was published in 1962 by Yale University Press.[11] A critical reviewer described the work as a "welcome addition to the analysis of metaphorical language".[12]

In his book, Professor Turbayne argues that metaphor would necessarily occur in any language that could ever claim to embody richness and depth of understanding.[13] In addition, he provides a critical analysis of the simplistic Cartesian and Newtonian depictions of the universe as little more than a "machine" - a concept which underlies much of the scientific materialism which prevails in the modern Western world.[14] He also provides evidence that the philosophical concept of "material substance" or "substratum" has limited meaning at best and that modern man has unknowingly fallen victim to an unnecessary literal interpretation of one of many potentially beneficial metaphorical models of the universe.[15][16][17][18]

Another central theme of The Myth of Metaphor is Turbayne's analysis of Berkelely's theory of vision and his theory of space as compared to Newtonian mechanics. Through careful analysis, Turbayne demonstrates that Berkeley's "language metaphor" provides a more convincing explanation of various natural phenomena including: the Barrovian case, the case of the horizontal moon and the case of the inverted retinal image.[19] Turbayne also provides a detailed review of Berkeley's effort to dispel the confusing use of metaphorical language in the description of the mind and in the description of ideas in general through the misuse of hypotheses which were initially developed to explain such occurrences in the physical world.[20] As a result, Turbayne has been described as one of the leading interpreters of Berkeley's theories of vision and relative motion as well as Berkeley's relationship to both Kant and Hume.[21][22]

In his final book Metaphors for the Mind: The Creative Mind and Its Origins (1990), Turbayne illustrates the manner in which historical traditions in philosophical thought have contributed to accepted modern theories of human thought in general and theories of language in particular.[23] Turbayne provides an in depth review of the early philosophical writings of both Plato and Aristotle, while illustrating the manner in which Platonic metaphors have influenced the works of both Berkeley and Emmanuel Kant.[24][25] In addition, he demonstrates the manner in which Plato's procreation model as outlined within his Timeus has influenced modern theories of thought and language. He concludes by attempting to restore the original model which describes a mind in which both the female and male hemispheres function in concert to participate in the act of creation.[26][27] A critical reviewer of the book noted that it contains interesting material which is likely to both provoke and surprise its readers.[28]

Turbayne has been described as being convinced of Phenomenalism, as well as being skeptical of the validity of Materialism.[29] In addition, he has been cited as supporting the view that metaphors are properly characterized as "categorical mistakes" which may lead an unsuspecting user to considerable obfuscation of thought.[30]

In the early 1990s Colin M. Turbayne and his wife established an International Berkeley Essay Prize competition in cooperation with the Philosophy Department at the University of Rochester in order to encourage continued research into Berkeley's works by aspiring young scholars.[31]

Notable students of Colin Murray Turbayne include: Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowling Green State University & Western Washington University.[32]

Honors

During his long academic career Turbayne was a noted Fulbright Fellow as well as the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1965[33][34] In 1959 and 1966 he was the recipient of grants from the American Council of Learned Societies for his contributions to their project on the linguistic structure of the mind.[35] In 1979 he was honored as a Senior Fellow by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).[36][37] In addition, he was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters at Bowling Green State University.[38] He was cited in Marquis' Who's Who in the World, 1982-1983.[39] as well as Who was Who in America in 2010.[40]

Turbayne's philosophical lectures at the University of Rochester were often punctuated with illustrative re-enactments of scenes from Shakespearian drama to illustrate his arguments. It was not at all unusual for him to appear before his students at lectures dressed in cloak and dagger quoting the moving scene from MacBeth: "Is this a dagger that I see before me..?" in order to illustrate the use of metaphor. He was considered a master Socratic interrogator who gently guided his students to the proper conclusion. He was also noted for his skillful use of the reductio ad absurdum in his lectures. Standing ovations from his grateful students were commonplace throughout his long tenure at the University.[41]

Death

Colin Murray Turbayne died on May 16, 2006, in Queensland, Australia at the age of 90. He was survived by his two sons and two grandchilden.[42]

Publications

External videos
video icon You may read selected publications by Colin Murray Turbayne
Here on Archive.org
video icon You may read Turbayne's "Berkeley's Two Concepts of Mind" (1959)
Here on JSTOR.org
video icon You may read Turbayne's "Berkeley's Two Concepts of Mind Part II" (1962)
Here on JSTOR.org
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray, ed. Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, George Berkeley. New York & Indianapolis, 1954[43]
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray. "Berkeley and Russell On Space"- Dialectica, Vol. 8, No. 3, September, 1954, pp. 210–227.[44]
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray. "Kant's Refutation of Dogmatic Idealism" - The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 20, July 1955, pp.225-244[45]
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray, ed. A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge George Berkeley, New York, 1957[46]
  • Turbayne, C. M. (September 1959). "Berkeley's Two Concepts of Mind". Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 20 (1): 85–92. doi:10.2307/2104957. JSTOR 2104957.
    Repr. in Engle, Gale; Taylor, Gabriele (1968). Berkeley's Principles of Human Knowledge: Critical Studies. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. pp. 24–33. In this collection of essays, Turbayne’s work comprised two papers that had been published in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research:
  • Turbayne C. M. A Bibliography of George Berkeley 1963-1979 // Berkeley: Critical and Interpretive Essays. Ed. by C. M. Turbayne. Manchester, 1982. ISBN 978-0-8166-1065-5 pp. 313–329.
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray, and Robert Ware. "A Bibliography of George Berkeley, 1933-1962." Journal of Philosophy 60 (1963):93-112.
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray, ed. Works on Vision George Berkeley, Indianapolis, 1963[47]
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray, ed. Principles, Dialogues and Philosophical Correspondence, George Berkeley. Prentice Hall Vol. 208 of Library of Liberal Arts 1965, ISBN 0024216003.[48]
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray. "The Origin of Berkeley's Paradoxes." In Steinkraus, Warren E., ed. New Studies in Berkeley's Philosophy. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966. Foreword by Brand Blanshard. pp. 31–42.
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray. "Visual Language from the Verbal Model." Visible Language 3 (1969):345-70 [49]
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray, ed. Berkeley: Principles of Human Knowledge, Text and Critical Essays. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1970.
    Reviewed by G. P. Conroy. Journal of the History of Philosophy 9 (1971): 510-12; J. M. Beyssade. Études philosophiques 4 (1970):523-26.
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray. "Berkeley's Metaphysical Grammar." In Turbayne. Berkeley, Principles … Text and Critical Essays. 1970. pp. 3–36.
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray "Visual Language", ETC: A Review of General Semantics Vol. 28, No. 1. March 1971. pp.51-58.[50]
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray. The Myth of Metaphor. With forewords by Morse Peckham and Foster Tait and appendix by Rolf Eberle. Columbia, S. C: University of South Carolina Press, 1970. Rev. of 1962 ed. Spanish ed., Fondo de Cultura Economica, Mexico, 1974. Reviewed by Paul J. Olscamp "The Philosophical Importance of С. M. Turbayne's The Myth of Metaphor." International Philosophical Quarterly 6 (1966): 110-31.
  • Turbayne, С. M., and R. Appelbaum. "A Bibliography of George Berkeley, 1963-1974." Journal of the History of Philosophy 15 (1977):83-95.
  • Turbayne, Colin M. "Grosseteste and an Ancient Optical Principle", Isis 50 (1959): 467-72.
  • Turbayne, Colin M., ed., Berkeley. Critical and interpretive essays. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1982.
  • Turbayne, Colin M. "Hume’s Influence on Berkeley." Revue internationale de philosophie 154 (1985): 259-69.
  • Turbayne, Colin M. Metaphors for the Mind. The Creative Mind and its Origin. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1991.

Professional affiliations

Colin Murray Turbayne was an active member of both the American Philosophical Association as well as the American Association of University Professors.[51]

See also

George Berkely
Metaphysics
Epistemology

Philosophy of Language
Metaphor

References

  1. ^ Paul J. Olscamp. In Memoriam: Colin Murray Turbayne – Berkeley Newsletter No. 17 (2006): pp. 5–6.
  2. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray turbayne on Google Books
  3. ^ In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowing Green State University "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  4. ^ In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowling Green State University "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  5. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray turbayne on Google Books
  6. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray turbayne on Google Books
  7. ^ Colin Murray Turbayne - academic thesis on worldcat.org
  8. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray turbayne on Google Books
  9. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray turbayne on Google Books
  10. ^ Murphy, Jeffrie G. "Berkeley and the Metaphor of Mental Substance." Ratio 7 (1965):171, note 3.
  11. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  12. ^ Critical review of The Myth of Metaphor by Colinn M. Turbayne. Mary Hesse Foundations of Language Vol. 2, No. 3 August 1966 pp.282-284 on jstor.org
  13. ^ Murphy, Jeffrie G. "Berkeley and the Metaphor of Mental Substance." Ratio 7 (1965):176.
  14. ^ Critical review of The Myth of Metaphor by Colinn M. Turbayne. Mary Hesse Foundations of Language Vol. 2, No. 3 August 1966 pp.282-284 on jstor.org
  15. ^ The University of Rochester Department of Philosophy- Berkley Essay Prize Competition - History of the Prize Colin Turbayne's The Myth of Metaphor on rochester.edu
  16. ^ The Culturium - "Greg Goode Colin Turbayne and the Myth of Metaphor" January 15,2017 on theculturium.com
  17. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 p. 2451 Biography of Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  18. ^ Critical review of The Myth of Metaphor by Colinn M. Turbayne. Mary Hesse Foundations of Language Vol. 2, No. 3 August 1966 pp.282-284 on jstor.org
  19. ^ In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowing Green State University "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  20. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 p. 2451 Biography of Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  21. ^ In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowing Green State University "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  22. ^ The Carleton Miscellany, 1965 Spring, Carleton College pp. 94-101 Critical Review of The Myth of Metaphor by Colin Murray Turbayne on Carleton Digital Collections at carleton.edu
  23. ^ The University of Rochester Department of Philosophy- Berkley Essay Prize Competition - History of the Prize Colin Turbayne's Metaphors for the Mind: The Creative Mind and Its Origins on rochester.edu
  24. ^ Metaphors for the Mind: The Creative Mind and Its Origins Turbayne, Colin Murray. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina, 1991 ISBN#0872496996 Abstract of Metaphors for the Mind: The Creative Mind and Its Origins on philpapers.org
  25. ^ International Studies in Philosophy Vol. 26, No. 2, 1994, p. 151 Harry M. Braken. Review of Metaphors for the Mind: The Creative Mind and ITs Origins Colin Murray Turbayne on the Philosophical Documentation Center at pdcnet.org
  26. ^ Metaphors for the Mind: The Creative Mind and Its Origins Turbayne, Colin Murray. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, South Carolina, 1991 ISBN#0872496996 Abstract of Metaphors for the Mind: The Creative Mind and Its Origins on philpapers.org
  27. ^ International Studies in Philosophy Vol. 26, No. 2, 1994, p. 151 Harry M. Braken. Review of Metaphors for the Mind: The Creative Mind and ITs Origins Colin Murray Turbayne on the Philosophical Documentation Center at pdcnet.org
  28. ^ International Studies in Philosophy Vol. 26, No. 2, 1994, p. 151 Harry M. Braken. Review of Metaphors for the Mind: The Creative Mind and ITs Origins Colin Murray Turbayne on the Philosophical Documentation Center at pdcnet.org
  29. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 p. 2451 Biography of Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  30. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 p. 2451 Biography of Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  31. ^ Colin and Ailsa Turbayne International Berkeley Essay Prize Competition
  32. ^ In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowing Green State University "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  33. ^ John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: Colin M. Turbayne on www.gf.org
  34. ^ In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  35. ^ The American Council of Learned Societies - Colin Murray Turbayne ACLS Grants 1959, 1966 on acls.org
  36. ^ National Endowment for the Humanities - Grants to Colin Murray Turbayne in 1979 on neh.gov
  37. ^ In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  38. ^ In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowling Green State University "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  39. ^ "Marquis Who's Who Colin Murray Turbayne" p. 1085 on Google books
  40. ^ "Who was Who in America Colin Murray Turbayne" p. 311 on Google Books
  41. ^ In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowling Green State University "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  42. ^ In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowling Green State University "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  43. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray turbayne on Google Books
  44. ^ "Berkeley and Russell On Space", Dialectica, September, 1954 pp. 210-227 on JSTOR.org
  45. ^ The Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 20, July 1955, pp.225-244 on Oxford Academic academic.oup.com
  46. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray turbayne on Google Books
  47. ^ Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray turbayne on Google Books
  48. ^ Principles, Dialogues and Philosophical Correspondence George Berkeley, editor Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  49. ^ [https://www.proquest.com/docview/1297964661 "Visual Language from the Verbal Model" Turbayne, Colin Murray. Journal of Typographical Research Vol. 3 No. 4, October, 1969 pp.345-370 on Proquest
  50. ^ "Visual Language". Colin Murray turbayne. ETC: a Review of General Semantics on JSTOR.org
  51. ^ [https://www.jstor.org/stable/3131628?searchText=Colin+Murray+Turbayne&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3Fscope%3DeyJwYWdlTmFtZSI6ICJQcm9jZWVkaW5ncyBhbmQgQWRkcmVzc2VzIG9mIHRoZSBBbWVyaWNhbiBQaGlsb3NvcGhpY2FsIEFzc29jaWF0aW9uIiwgInBhZ2VVcmwiOiAiL2pvdXJuYWwvcHJvY2FkZHJhbWVycGhpbCIsICJ0eXBlIjogImpvdXJuYWwiLCAiamNvZGVzIjogInByb2NhZGRyYW1lcnBoaWwifQ%253D%253D%26Query%3DColin%2BMurray%2BTurbayne%26groupefq%3DWyJyZXNlYXJjaF9yZXBvcnQiLCJtcF9yZXNlYXJjaF9yZXBvcnRfcGFydCIsInNlYXJjaF9jaGFwdGVyIiwiY29udHJpYnV0ZWRfdGV4dCIsInJldmlldyIsInNlYXJjaF9hcnRpY2xlIl0%253D%26pagemark%3DeyJwYWdlIjoyLCJzdGFydHMiOnsiSlNUT1JCYXNpYyI6MjV9fQ%253D%253D&ab_segments=0%2FSYC-6744_basic_search%2Ftest-2&refreqid=fastly-default%3A1954bdb9f2c74b908e8ee144f31c6fcf&seq=115 Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association Vol. 60, No. 1, September, 1986, p. 215 American Philosophical Association Membership List - Colin Murray Turbayne, Professor of Philosophy - University of Rochester, Rochester NY on JSTOR.org]

External links

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