J. N. Findlay (1903–1987)

John Niemeyer Findlay (1903-1987) was one of the twentieth century’s most unique philosophers. At a time when positivism, scientific materialism, linguistic analysis, and ordinary language philosophy were the academic staple in Britain and America, Findlay championed phenomenology, revived Hegelianism, and wrote works that were inspired by Plotinus, Buddhism, and Absolute Idealism. In the course of a long career that brought him to universities in South Africa and New Zealand, to Kings College in London, Yale, the University of Texas at Austin, and Boston University, Findlay made major contributions to the study of Meinong, Husserl (he translated both volumes of the Logical Investigations into English), Hegel, Plato, Wittgenstein and Kant. His 1958 work, Hegel: A Reexamination, was instrumental in reviving the interest in Hegel in the English-speaking world. His highly original rational-mystical philosophy is detailed in four of his books, The Discipline of the Cave, The Transcendence of the Cave, Values and Intentions and Ascent to the Absolute.