June 15, 2004

Stuart Hampshire dies

Posted by Chris

British philosopher Sir Stuart Hampshire has died at the age of 89. The Telegraph has a very interesting obituary . I’ll add others to this post as they appear: Guardian , Times .

Posted on June 15, 2004 07:51 AM UTC
Comments

According to the obituary, he married Nancy Cartwright in 1985, with whom he had two daughters.

If he died this year at 89, he must have been almost 70 when he married Cartwright.

This man had two children after the age of 70!

Philosophy must keep you healthy.

Posted by Anonymous · June 15, 2004 03:16 PM

Sorry to burst your bubble, anonymous; but the children were adoptive.
I’ve got some more information on Hampshire up at my not-quite moribund site, and will be adding more, for those interested in this admirable man and important thinker:
http://j3.blogspot.com

Posted by josh · June 15, 2004 07:51 PM

As josh points out in the link he gives, Hampshire was as committed to equality as anyone could be who thought that liberty was more important. The DT obit was rivetting, but misleading on that point, I thought. They’ve won all the battles — they could at least be honest about who our thinkers are/were.

Posted by harry · June 15, 2004 10:12 PM

Well, in the Telegraph’s defense, Harry, at least they were pretty nice about Hampshire — their statement, I assume, was meant as a compliment - unlike, say, the Guardian’s nasty and unjust take on Mel Lasky (but that’s another story). But hopefully other obits will emphasise Hampshire’s commitment to socialism more fully.

Posted by josh · June 15, 2004 11:35 PM

We had dinner with Stuart and Nancy at their house a few years ago… he was that sort of modest and urbane Oxbridge type who’s really easy to like. He told some funny stories about a holiday he took in Kerry (in the Southwest of Ireland) with Isaiah Berlin in the 1930s or ’40s.

Posted by Kieran Healy · June 16, 2004 12:16 AM

A fellow Hussite! I did not know that.

The Hussites invented the tank, you know. Centuries later the Russians taught them to regret this.

Posted by Zizka · June 16, 2004 03:55 AM
Followups

→ Stuart Hampshire.
Excerpt:

Chris Bertram reports that Stuart Hampshire has died, and will link to obituaries as they become available.

Read more at The Volokh Conspiracy

This discussion has been closed. Thanks to everyone who contributed.