Robbins Library Notes

Good morning, readers!

Today, I am going to start a series of occasional posts on the history of philosophy at Harvard University.  I have been doing some research about this, and I would like to share the fruits of my labor with you.  Harvard has had (and still has) a large and influential role in American philosophy, so it’s interesting to learn more about this history.
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Given the prominence and history of Harvard in American education, it is unsurprising that several famous figures have passed through the Department of Philosophy over the years.

Three of the Department’s most famous visitors are Bertrand Russell, Rudolph Carnap, and Alfred Tarski. These three taught at Harvard during the 1940-1941 academic year: Russell and Carnap in the Department of Philosophy, and Tarski in the Department of Mathematics. [1]

Yet, we may number more than philosophers among those who have passed through the Department. There are poets among these ranks, most notably Wallace Stevens (1879 – 1955) and T. S. Eliot. (1888 – 1965). Stevens attended Harvard from 1894 to 1897 as a non-degree special student, and became close to George Santayana – in fact, one of his later poems is “To an Old Philosopher in Rome,” written in homage to his old mentor. [2] Stevens maintained a life-long interest in philosophy, as evidenced in his poetry and essays. [3]

On his part, Eliot attended Harvard from 1906 to 1910, taking his A.B. in the latter year. He spent the next several years studying philosophy and traveling in Europe, submitting a dissertation in philosophy to Harvard in 1916. However, he was not awarded a Ph.D., since he did not return to Cambridge for a dissertation defense. Philosophy would be part of the fabric of Eliot’s work for much of his life.

Finally, J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904 – 1967), the father of the atomic bomb, included philosophy among his studies during his undergraduate years at Harvard. Bird & Sherwin (2006) write that, as a concentrator in chemistry, he attended Whitehead’s 1924 course on the Principia Mathematica. [4]  They also include a letter of Oppenheimer’s to a friend, in which he notes that he spent a good deal of time studying in Robbins Library. [5]  Oppenheimer, a gifted polymath, retained an interest in philosophy, especially Asian philosophy, throughout his life.

Notes:

[1.] For those who are curious, the Harvard President’s Report for 1940-41 lists their respective courses, along with enrollment numbers: http://hul.harvard.edu/huarc/refshelf/AnnualReportsCites.htm#tarHarvardPresidents.

[2.] A copy of this poem can be found at http://englishhistory.net/keats/old-phil.html.

[3.]  See Stevens, W. (1997).  Wallace Stevens: Collected Poetry and Prose.  New York: Library of America.

[4.] Bird, K. & Sherwin, M.J. (2006).  American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer.  New York: Vintage Books, 34-35.

[5.] Bird & Sherwin (2006), 35.