George Sylvester Morris

George Sylvester Morris (1840-1889) was an American educator and philosophical writer, born at Norwich, Vt., the son of a well known abolitionist and temperance man. He graduated in 1861 at Dartmouth College, served in the Union army for two years during the American Civil War, and taught at Dartmouth in 1863-64.

He studied philosophy and theology in Germany for several years, after which, in 1870, the University of Michigan appointed him professor of modern languages and literature. He arranged for John Dewey's first college level teaching position at the University of Michigan. He was also offered the chair of philosophy at Bowdoin College, which he declined in view of Bowdoin's wish for some assurance of his soundness in Christian doctrine. In January 1878 he gave twenty lectures at Johns Hopkins University (Hopkins Hall Lectures, which were open to the public) in the History of Philosophy. In 1880 he resigned his chair at Michigan, and accepted a position at Johns Hopkins, where he remained until 1884, lecturing on such topics as British Philosophy, German Aesthetics, and ethics. He also gave a course of twelve public lectures on "British Thought and Thinkers" (which he would later publish in book form), and served as president of the Metaphysical Club. Professor Morris published a translation of Ueberweg's "History of Philosophy" (two volumes, 1872-74) and an edition of "Philosophical Classics" by Gregg, and he wrote:

* "British Thought and Thinkers" (1880)
* "Kant's Critique of Pure Reason: A Critical Exposition" (1882)
* "Philosophy and Christianity" (1883)
* "Hegel's Philosophy of the State and of History" (1887)