author
Alexander Bain
1818–1903
A self-taught Scottish thinker who rose from a weaving family in Aberdeen to become one of the key early voices in psychology and education reform. His books helped shape how people studied the mind, and he also founded Mind, a journal that became hugely influential in philosophy and psychology.
2 Audiobooks
Moral Science; a Compendium of Ethics
by Alexander Bain
Practical Essays
by Alexander Bain
About the author
Born in Aberdeen on June 11, 1818, Alexander Bain grew up in modest circumstances and was largely self-educated before studying at Marischal College. He went on to become a Scottish philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer, with a strong interest in how the mind works and how learning could be improved.
Bain is especially remembered for bringing a more systematic, science-minded approach to psychology. Works such as The Senses and the Intellect and The Emotions and the Will helped establish him as an important figure in the study of mental processes, while his writing on logic, language, and ethics showed how widely he ranged across ideas.
He later served as professor of logic at the University of Aberdeen and played a major role in Scottish education. Bain also founded Mind in 1876, a journal that became one of the most important publications in philosophy and psychology. He died in Aberdeen on September 18, 1903.