author
Roy Wood Sellars
1880–1973
A major American philosopher of the early 20th century, he helped shape critical realism and a naturalistic view of mind, knowledge, and human life. He also played a central role in early organized humanism, linking philosophy to larger cultural debates of his time.
1 Audiobook
The Next Step in Religion: An Essay toward the Coming Renaissance
by Roy Wood Sellars
About the author
Born in Seaforth, Ontario, on July 9, 1880, and later active in the United States, Roy Wood Sellars spent most of his long academic career at the University of Michigan. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy describes him as a fiercely independent thinker who kept working well into his 90s, and he is widely remembered as an important voice in American philosophy.
Sellars is best known for work on critical realism, evolutionary naturalism, and religious humanism. In simple terms, he argued that philosophy should take science seriously while still grappling with questions about perception, mind, and value. He is also noted as the father of philosopher Wilfrid Sellars, though Roy Wood Sellars earned a major reputation in his own right.
Beyond academic philosophy, he helped draft the 1933 Humanist Manifesto, showing how closely he connected ideas with public life. His writing made a case for a natural, this-worldly understanding of human beings, and that combination of rigor and reach is a big part of why he is still read today.