J. L. Ackrill

John Lloyd Ackrill, (30 December 1921 – 30 November 2007) was an English philosopher and classicist who specialized in Ancient Greek philosophy, especially the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Ackrill has been said to be, along with Gregory Vlastos and G. E. L. Owen, "one of the most important figures responsible for the upsurge of interest in ancient Greek philosophy among Anglo-American philosophers of the second half of this century".

Biography

Ackrill was born, to Frederick William Ackrill and Jessie Anne Ackril, in Reading, Berkshire where he attended Reading School.

In 1940 he entered St. John's College, Oxford as a scholar in Classics where his philosophy tutors were Paul Grice and John Mabbott. before becoming, in 1953, a tutorial fellow at Brasenose College. In 1966, Oxford university created a statutory chair in the History of Philosophy, to which Ackrill was elected as the first holder. He retained that Chair, whilst remaining a fellow of Brasenose, until he retired in 1989 as an emeritus professor. In 1981 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy and, in 1996, an Honorary Fellow of St John's.

Major writings

Books Aristotle's Ethics (1973) Aristotle on Eudaimonia (1975) Aristotle the Philosopher (1981) Essays on Plato and Aristotle (1997)

Translations and commentaries Aristotle, Categories and De Interpretatione (1963) Aristotle, A New Aristotle Reader (1987)