| Description | Correspondence with Herbert Wildon Carr [1857-1931, philosopher].
/1 Copy of letter from Oliver Lodge to H. Wildon Carr, dated 14 April 1924. Lodge seeks clarification regarding the content of Carr's Cartesian Lecture. He comments on the work of Descartes. He offers to send a copy of his book 'Pioneers of Science'. He describes the ether as continuous but structured.
/2 Letter from H. Wildon Carr to Oliver Lodge, written from Sunny Patch, Thurlestone, South Devon, dated 15 April 1924. Carr discusses his notice about Johnson's 'Logic'. He responds to Lodge's question about his Descartes lecture. He asks where the definition of the Cartesian Coordinater comes from. He accepts the offer of a copy of Lodge's 'Pioneers of Science'.
/3 Letter from H. Wildon Carr to Oliver Lodge, written from Sunny Patch, Thurlestone, South Devon, dated 21 April 1924. Carr praises Lodge's book ['Pioneers of Science'].
/4 Copy of letter from Oliver Lodge to H. Wildon Carr, dated 29 December 1924. Lodge discusses E. W. Hobson's recently published Gifford lectures and asks whether they are taken seriously by philosophers. He asks whether Vaihinger's 'Philosophy Of As If' is considered an important work.
/5 Letter from H. Wildon Carr to Oliver Lodge, written from Hotel Hesperia, Bordighera, Italy, dated 5 January 1925. Carr gives his opinion of Hobson's Gifford lectures and Vaihinger's 'Philosophy Of As If', both of which he reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement. He is weary of the Freudians and the anti-Freudians and comments: 'If Freud had been like Einstein a disinterested theorist he would have stood out as one of the greatest contemporary geniuses. The professional aspect of his doctrine has spoiled it for science and philosophy.' He recommends Emile Meyerson's 'De l'explication dans les sciences'. He responds to Lodge's criticism of Ray Lankester.
/6 Copy of letter from Oliver Lodge to H. Wildon Carr, dated 16 January 1925. Lodge expresses his opinion of [E. W.] Hobson's work.
/7 Copy of letter from Oliver Lodge to H. Wildon Carr, dated 13 July 1927. Lodge thanks Carr for sending a copy of his book. He discusses the problem of pain, writing that he always thought of pain as a necessary safeguard but this does not explain the pain which accompanies 'normal and healthy operations' such as childbirth.
/8 Letter from H. Wildon Carr to Oliver Lodge, written from the Athenaeum, Pall Mall, dated 14 July 1927. Carr writes that his view of pain as a 'utility value and not retributive' comes from Frederick Mott. |