J. O. Urmson

James Opie Urmson (4 March 1915 – 29 January 2012), usually cited as J. O. Urmson, was a philosopher and classicist who spent most of his professional career at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was a prolific author and expert on a number of topics including British analytic/linguistic philosophy, George Berkeley, ethics, and Greek philosophy (especially Aristotle).

J. O. Urmson was born in Hornsea. He was named after his father, the Rev. James Opie Urmson (1881–1954), a Methodist Minister. Urmson was educated at Kingswood School, Bath (1928–1934) and Corpus Christi College, Oxford (1934–38).

When World War II broke out, he joined the Army, where he served for 6 years. He was captured and spent three years in Germany as a prisoner of war, where he spent his time "playing bridge and doing mathematics". After the war, he was awarded the Military Cross.

After the war he was a Student (i.e. a Fellow) of Christ Church, Oxford from 1945 to 1955. During this period he lived in Monckton Cottage in Headington, Oxford.

In 1955 he accepted an appointment as Professor of Philosophy at Queen's College Dundee, then part of the University of St Andrews in Scotland. In 1959 he returned to Oxford as a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford and a Tutor in Philosophy. Except for visiting appointments in the United States (e.g. Visiting Associate Professor of philosophy at Princeton University in 1950–51), he remained at Oxford until his retirement, at which point he assumed the position of Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, at Stanford University.

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