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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]
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship,[2] National Endowment for the Humanities Grant [3]
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
Main interests
George Berkeley's philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Metaphor, Language
Notable ideas
The Myth of Metaphor

Colin Murray Turbayne (7 February 1916 – 16 May 2006) was an Australian philosopher and scholar of George Berkeley. He spent most of his thirty-five-year academic career at the University of Rochester and authored The Myth of Metaphor.

Biography

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Early life

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Turbayne was born on February 7, 1916, in the rural town of Tannymorel in Queensland, Australia.[4] 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 was 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.[4][5]

In 1940 he married Ailsa Krimmer and subsequently raised a family of two boys: Ron and John. They remained married for fifty-one years until her death in 1992.[6]

Academic studies

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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.[4]

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).[4] 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 professor of philosophy and continued to teach at the University of Rochester until his appointment to professor emeritus in 1981.[4]

Academic works

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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.[4] In addition, he was the first commentator to recognize the central importance of metaphor in the philosophy of Berkeley.[8] He is best known for his book The Myth of Metaphor.[9] A critical reviewer described the work as a "welcome addition to the analysis of metaphorical language".[10]

In his book, Turbayne argues that metaphor would necessarily occur in any language that could ever claim to embody richness and depth of understanding.[11] 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 that underlies much of the scientific materialism which prevails in the modern Western world.[10] 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.[12][13][14][10][15]

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. Turbayne claims 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.[5]

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 that were initially developed to explain such occurrences in the physical world.[14] 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.[5][16]

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.[17] Turbayne provides a 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 Immanuel Kant.[18][19] 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.[18][19] A critical reviewer of the book noted that it contains interesting material which is likely to both provoke and surprise its readers.[19] In addition, it has been described as presenting a contribution to the modern philosophical debate concerning relativism and philosophical realism.[18]

External images
image icon Photograph of Colin M. Turbayne in his memoriam by Paul J. Olscamp Here on fsu.edu
image icon Photograph of Colin Murray Turbayne at the University of Rochester in 1965 Here on gf.org

Turbayne has been described as being convinced of phenomenalism, as well as being skeptical of the validity of materialism.[14] In addition, he has been cited as supporting the view that metaphors are properly characterized as "categorical mistakes" that may lead an unsuspecting user to considerable obfuscation of thought.[14][20]

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.[21]

Notable students of Colin Murray Turbayne include Paul J. Olscamp, President Emeritus Bowling Green State University and Western Washington University.[5]

Honours

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During his academic career, Turbayne was a Fulbright Fellow as well as the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1965[22][23] 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.[24] In 1979, he was honored as a senior fellow by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).[25][23] In addition, he was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters at Bowling Green State University.[6] He was cited in Marquis' Who's Who in the World, 1982-1983.[26] as well as Who was Who in America in 2010.[27]

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 students were commonplace throughout his long tenure at the university.[6]

Death

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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.[6]

Publications

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External videos
video icon You may read selected publications by Colin Murray Turbayne
Here on Archive.org
video icon You may read
Turbayne, Colin Murray (1959). "Berkeley's Two Concepts of Mind". Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 20 (1): 85–92. doi:10.2307/2104957. JSTOR 2104957.
video icon You may read Turbayne's "The Myth of Metaphor" (1962)
Here on hathitrust.org

Texts

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Included among Colin Murray Turbayne's publications are the following texts:[28]

  • Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous by George Berkeley, Editor Colin Murray Turbayne (1954)[9]
  • A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge by George Berkeley, Editor Colin Murray Turbayne (1957) [4]
  • The Myth of Metaphor by Colin Murray Turbayne, 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.[29]
  • Works on Vision by George Berkeley, Ed. Colin Murray Turbayne (1963)[4]
  • Principles, Dialogues and Philosophical Correspondence by George Berkeley, Ed. Colin Murray Turbayne (1965)[30]
  • Berkeley: Principles of Human Knowledge, Text and Critical Essays Ed. Colin Murray Turbayne (1970).[31]
    Reviewed by G. P. Conroy. Journal of the History of Philosophy 9 (1971): 510–12; J. M. Beyssade. Études philosophiques 4 (1970):523-26.
  • Berkeley: Critical and Interpretive Essays, Ed. Colin Murray Turbayne (1982)[32]
  • Turbayne, Colin Murray (1991). Metaphors for the mind : the creative mind and its origins. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-699-6. OCLC 21675468.

Journal articles

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Selected peer-reviewed articles published by Colin Murray Turbayne include:[33]

  • "Berkeley and Russell on Space". Dialectica (1954):210-227 [34]
  • "Kant's Refutation of Dogmatic Idealism". The Philosophical Quarterly (1955):225-224[35]
  • "The Influence of Berkeley's Science on his Metaphysics". Philosophy and Phenomenological Research (1956):476-87[9]
  • "Grosseteste and an Ancient Optical Principle". Isis (1959):467-72.[36][37]
  • "Berkeley's Two Concepts of Mind". Philosophy and Phenomenological Research(1959):85-92[38] In this collection of essays, Turbayne's work comprised two papers that had been published in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research:
    • "Berkeley's Two Concepts of Mind"
    • Grave, S. A. (1962). "A Note on Berkeley's Conception of the Mind". Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 22 (4): 574–576. doi:10.2307/2105263. JSTOR 2105263.
  • "A Bibliography of George Berkeley, 1933-1962". The Journal of Philosophy (1963):93-112[39]
  • "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.[40]
  • "Visual Language From the Verbal Model". Journal of Typographical Research (1969):345-370[41]
  • "Berkeley's Metaphysical Grammar". In Turbayne, Colin Murray. Berkeley, Principles ... Text and Critical Essays(1970).pp. 3–36.[40]
  • "Visual Language". ECT (1971):51-58[42]
  • "A Bibliography of George Berkeley, 1963-1974" Journal of the History of Philosophy (1977):83-95.[43]
  • "Lending Philonous a Hand: The Berkeley, Plato, Aristotle Connection". In Turbayne, Colin Murray, ed. Berkeley: Critical and Interpretive Essays. Minneapolis, 1982 pp. 295-310.
  • "A Bibliography of George Berkeley 1963-1979". In Turbayne, Colin Murray, ed. Berkeley: Critical and Interpretive Essays. Manchester, 1982 pp. 313–329 [44]
  • "Hume's influence on Berkeley". Revue Internationale de Philosophie (1985):259-269[45]

Professional affiliations

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Colin Murray Turbayne was an active member of both the American Philosophical Association as well as the American Association of University Professors.[46]

See also

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George Berkely
Metaphysics
Epistemology
Philosophy of Language

Metaphor

Mind-Body Dualism
Naturalism
Catachresis

References

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  1. ^ Paul J. Olscamp. In Memoriam: Colin Murray Turbayne – Berkeley Newsletter No. 17 (2006): pp. 5–6.
  2. ^ Colin M. Tyrbayne: Guggenheim Fellowship 1965 on gf.org
  3. ^ Colin Murrray Turbayne National Endowment for the Humanities grant 1979 on neh.gov
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  5. ^ a b c d In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowing Green State University "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  6. ^ a b c d In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp - President Emeritus Bowling Green State University "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  7. ^ Colin Murray Turbayne - academic thesis on worldcat.org
  8. ^ Murphy, Jeffrie G. "Berkeley and the Metaphor of Mental Substance." Ratio 7 (1965):171, note 3.
  9. ^ a b c Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 Biography of Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  10. ^ a b c Hesse, Mary (1966). "Review of The Myth of Metaphor". Foundations of Language. 2 (3): 282–284. JSTOR 25000234.
  11. ^ Murphy, Jeffrie G. "Berkeley and the Metaphor of Mental Substance." Ratio 7 (1965):176.
  12. ^ 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
  13. ^ The Culturium - "Greg Goode Colin Turbayne and the Myth of Metaphor" January 15,2017 on theculturium.com
  14. ^ a b c d Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers Shook, John. 2005 p. 2451 Biography of Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  15. ^ "Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Metaphor" Stanford University, August 19, 2011 Revised August 12, 2022 "Section 5. Recent Developments 5.3 Metaphor and Make Believe" ISSN 1095-5054. Colin Turbayne's "The Myth of Metaphor" and "It is easy to loose sight of metaphorical pretense. We may mistake the model for a real instance of what it models...take literally what was originally mean metaphorically. ...Berkeley and his mechanist rivals...set out to offer metaphors but end up propounding theories; they lost track of their own "as ifs" and became victims of their own insights" See Hills, David, "Metaphor", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2024 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2024/entries/metaphor/>. on plato.stanford.edu
  16. ^ 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
  17. ^ 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
  18. ^ a b c Turbayne, Colin Murray (1991). Metaphors for the mind : the creative mind and its origins. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-699-6. OCLC 21675468.
  19. ^ a b c Bracken, Harry M. (1994). "Colin Murray Turbayne., Metaphors for the Mind: The Creative Mind and Its Origins". International Studies in Philosophy. 26 (2). Philosophy Documentation Center: 151. doi:10.5840/intstudphil1994262171. ISSN 0270-5664.
  20. ^ "Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Metaphor" Stanford University. August 19, 2011 Revised August 12, 2022. "Section 5 Recent Developments - 5.3 Metaphor and Make Believe." ISSN 1095-5054. Colin Turbayne's "The Myth of Metaphor" and "It is easy to loose sight of metaphorical pretense. We may mistake the model for a real instance of what it models...take literally what was originally mean metaphorically. ...Berkeley and his mechanist rivals...set out to offer metaphors but end up propounding theories; they lost track of their own "as ifs" and became victims of their own insights" See Hills, David, "Metaphor", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2024 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2024/entries/metaphor/>.on plato.stanford.edu
  21. ^ Colin and Ailsa Turbayne International Berkeley Essay Prize Competition
  22. ^ John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: Colin M. Turbayne on www.gf.org
  23. ^ a b In Memorium: Colin Murray Turbayne Paul J. Olscamp "Berkely Newsletter" on berkelystudies.philosophy.fsu
  24. ^ The American Council of Learned Societies - Colin Murray Turbayne ACLS Grants 1959, 1966 on acls.org
  25. ^ National Endowment for the Humanities - Grants to Colin Murray Turbayne in 1979 on neh.gov
  26. ^ "Marquis Who's Who Colin Murray Turbayne" p. 1085 on Google books
  27. ^ "Who was Who in America Colin Murray Turbayne" p. 311 on Google Books
  28. ^ Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  29. ^ the Myth of Metaphor by Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  30. ^ Principles, Dialogues and Philosophical Correspondence George Berkeley, editor Colin Murray Turbayne ISBN 0024216003 on Google Books
  31. ^ "A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. George Berkeley, Colin Murray Turbayne editor on worldcat.org
  32. ^ Berkeley:Critical and Interpretive Essays by Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Books
  33. ^ Colin Murray Turbayne on Google Scholar
  34. ^ Turbayne, Colin Murray (1954). "Berkeley and Russell on Space". Dialectica. 8 (3): 210–227. doi:10.1111/j.1746-8361.1954.tb01135.x. JSTOR 42964117.
  35. ^ Turbayne, Colin M. (July 1955). "Kant's Refutation of Dogmatic Idealism". The Philosophical Quarterly. 5 (20): 225–244. doi:10.2307/2957436. JSTOR 2957436.
  36. ^ Turbayne, Colin M. "Grosseteste and an Ancient Optical Principle", Isis 50 (1959): 467-72
  37. ^ Turbayne, Colin M. (1959). "Grosseteste and an Ancient Optical Principle". Isis. 50 (4). University of Chicago Press: 467–472. doi:10.1086/348802. ISSN 0021-1753. S2CID 145197542.
  38. ^ 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.
  39. ^ [Turbayne, Colin Murray; Ware, Robert (1963). "A Bibliography of George Berkeley, 1933-1962". The Journal of Philosophy. 60 (4): 93–112. doi:10.5840/jphil196360424. JSTOR 2022898.
  40. ^ a b Berkeley: Critical and Interpretive Essays ed. Colin Murray Turbayne University of Minnesota Press, 1982 pp.328 on Google Books
  41. ^ Turbayne, Colin Murray (October 1969). "Visual Language from the Verbal Model". Journal of Typographic Research. 3 (4): 345–370. ProQuest 1297964661.
  42. ^ TURBAYNE, COLIN MURRAY (1971). "VISUAL LANGUAGE". ETC. 28 (1): 51–58. JSTOR 42574680.
  43. ^ [Turbayne, С. M., and R. Appelbaum. "A Bibliography of George Berkeley, 1963-1974." Journal of the History of Philosophy 15 (1977):83-95.
  44. ^ 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.
  45. ^ [Turbayne, Colin M. "Hume's Influence on Berkeley." Revue internationale de philosophie 154 (1985): 259-69.
  46. ^ "APA Membership List". Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association. 60 (1): 101–226. 1986. JSTOR 3131628.
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