author
Alexander Campbell Fraser
1819–1914
A leading Scottish philosopher of the 19th century, he spent decades shaping how students and readers approached thinkers like Berkeley and Locke. His writing brings together philosophy, religion, and the long tradition of Scottish intellectual life.
1 Audiobook
Thomas Reid
by Alexander Campbell Fraser
About the author
Born in Ardchattan, Argyll, on September 3, 1819, Alexander Campbell Fraser studied at Glasgow and then the University of Edinburgh. After the 1843 Disruption in the Church of Scotland, he joined the Free Church, was ordained in 1844, and served briefly as minister at Cramond before moving fully into academic life.
Fraser became professor of logic at New College, Edinburgh, in 1846, and later held the chair of Logic and Metaphysics at the University of Edinburgh for many years. He was especially known for his scholarly work on major British philosophers, including George Berkeley and John Locke, and for helping preserve and interpret the empiricist tradition for later readers.
Even after retiring, he remained active as a writer and lecturer. His Gifford Lectures, later published as The Philosophy of Theism and On Selfhood and Godhood, show his lasting interest in the relationship between reason, belief, and human personality. He died in Edinburgh on December 2, 1914, after a remarkably long life in philosophy and education.