"John Arthur Thomson" redirects here. For the Australian biblical scholar, see J. A. Thompson.
Sir John Arthur ThomsonFRSE (8 July 1861 – 12 February 1933) was a Scottish naturalist[1][2] who authored several notable books and was an expert on soft corals.
He was born at Pilmuir east of East Saltoun, East Lothian, the second son of Isabella Landsborough (1828-1905)[3] and the Rev Arthur Thomson (1823-1881), a minister in the Free Church of Scotland, originally from Muckhart.[4]
Thomson's grave at St Peter's Church in Limpsfield, Surrey, England in 2013
In his Gifford lectures and a number of books written with his friend Patrick Geddes he argued for a form of holistic biology in which the activity of the living organism could transcend the physical laws governing its component parts.[8][9] Some had termed the work of Geddes and Thomson as neovitalist though the position presented in their books is more closer to panpsychism as Thomson had claimed that mind can not emerge from matter and that it has existed in nature all the time. Thomson had believed there was life at all levels, he wrote that "there is nothing inanimate". He had however found the vitalist ideas of Henri Bergson inspirational.[10]
According to Peter J. Bowler, Thomson was a popular science writer who had promoted a nonmaterialist interpretation of science though his interpretation was not accepted by all within the scientific community as some had claimed his views were neovitalist and thus outdated.[11]
Thomson had also promoted the importance of symbiosis and cooperation in nature as opposed to the idea of struggle.[12]
In 1889 he married Margaret Robertson Stewart and they were parents to the ornithologistArthur Landsborough Thomson, who wrote a short biography about his father in School Nature Study, april 1944.[14]
Works by Arthur Thomson at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
Portrait of Sir John Arthur Thomson
May 05, 2023
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John Arthur Thomson redirects here For the Australian biblical scholar see J A Thompson Sir John Arthur Thomson FRSE 8 July 1861 12 February 1933 was a Scottish naturalist 1 2 who authored several notable books and was an expert on soft corals John Arthur Thomson Contents 1 Life 2 Family 3 Selected publications 4 References 5 External linksLife EditHe was born at Pilmuir east of East Saltoun East Lothian the second son of Isabella Landsborough 1828 1905 3 and the Rev Arthur Thomson 1823 1881 a minister in the Free Church of Scotland originally from Muckhart 4 He studied natural history at the University of Edinburgh graduating with an MA in 1880 He had already established a reputation as a worthy scientist within his first years and in 1887 aged 25 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh His proposers were Patrick Geddes J T Cunningham Sir John Murray and Robert McNair Ferguson 5 He taught at the Royal Dick Veterinary College from 1893 until 1899 then University of Aberdeen from 1899 until 1930 as Regius Professor of Natural History Aberdeen the year he was knighted His popular works sought to reconcile science and religion Thomson s Outline of Science published in 1922 sold more than one hundred thousand copies in five years 6 He lived at 15 Chanonry in Aberdeen 7 Thomson s grave at St Peter s Church in Limpsfield Surrey England in 2013 In his Gifford lectures and a number of books written with his friend Patrick Geddes he argued for a form of holistic biology in which the activity of the living organism could transcend the physical laws governing its component parts 8 9 Some had termed the work of Geddes and Thomson as neovitalist though the position presented in their books is more closer to panpsychism as Thomson had claimed that mind can not emerge from matter and that it has existed in nature all the time Thomson had believed there was life at all levels he wrote that there is nothing inanimate He had however found the vitalist ideas of Henri Bergson inspirational 10 According to Peter J Bowler Thomson was a popular science writer who had promoted a nonmaterialist interpretation of science though his interpretation was not accepted by all within the scientific community as some had claimed his views were neovitalist and thus outdated 11 Thomson had also promoted the importance of symbiosis and cooperation in nature as opposed to the idea of struggle 12 While at the University of Aberdeen Thomson supervised the research of respected carcinologist Isabella Gordon 13 He was knighted in 1930 by King George V He died at home St Mary s Lodge in Limpsfield Surrey Family EditIn 1889 he married Margaret Robertson Stewart and they were parents to the ornithologist Arthur Landsborough Thomson who wrote a short biography about his father in School Nature Study april 1944 14 His younger brother was the zoologist James Stuart Thomson FRSE Selected publications EditParasitism Organic and Social 1895 Progress of Science in the Century 1903 Heredity 1908 Darwinism and Human Life 1909 Evolution 1912 with Patrick Geddes Problems of Sex 1912 Zoological Studies 1911 1915 The Outline of Science editor 4 vol 1922 repr 1937 What Is Man 1923 Science and Religion 1925 The Minds Of Animals An Introduction To The Study Of Animal Behaviour 1927 Modern Science 1929 Life Outlines of General Biology 1931 Riddles of Science 1932 Biology for Everyman 1933 published posthumously References Edit Thomson John Arthur Who s Who Vol 59 1907 p 1743 Ritchie James 4 March 1933 Sir J Arthur Thomson Nature 131 3305 296 doi 10 1038 131296a0 Ewing William Annals of the Free Church Bio www cambridge org Retrieved 27 February 2020 Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783 2002 PDF The Royal Society of Edinburgh July 2006 ISBN 0 902 198 84 X Archived from the original PDF on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 9 December 2018 Rhees David J 1979 THE NEW PUBLIC INTEREST IN SCIENCE CHAPTER I PART III via Smithsonian Institution Retrieved December 22 2006 Aberdeen Post Office Directory 1905 Peter J Bowler Reconciling science and religion the debate in early twentieth century Britain 2001 p 170 Peter J Bowler Science for all the popularization of science in early twentieth century 2009 p 24 Peter J Bowler Monkey Trials and Gorilla Sermons 2009 p 148 David M Knight Matthew Eddy Science and beliefs from natural philosophy to natural science 1700 1900 2005 p 231 Scott Mandelbrote Nature and Scripture in the Abrahamic Religions 1700 Present Volume 2 2008 p 196 Holthius L B Ingle R W 1989 Isabella Gordon D SC O B E 1901 1988 Crustaceana 56 1 93 105 doi 10 1163 156854089x00833 JSTOR 20104425 Thomson Arthur Landsborough April 1944 Sir J Arthur Thomson LL D 1861 1933 School Nature Study 39 155 22 25 External links Edit Wikisource has original works by or about John Arthur Thomson Works by John Arthur Thomson at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Arthur Thomson at Internet Archive Works by Arthur Thomson at LibriVox public domain audiobooks Portrait of Sir John Arthur Thomson Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arthur Thomson naturalist amp oldid 1136320776, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
