William de Burgh

William George de Burgh ( ; 24 October 1866 – 27 August 1943) was an English philosopher who was Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading.

Career Born on 24 October 1866 in Wandsworth, de Burgh was educated at Winchester and Merton College, Oxford. He was then briefly an assistant master at Derby School, then a tutor at Toynbee Hall, and then a University Extension lecturer in Stepney.

From 1896 de Burgh was a lecturer in Greek and Latin at the University Extension College at Reading.

In 1907 the College at Reading became a University College still affiliated with Christ Church. And in that year de Burgh became Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the Faculty of Letters. His lectureship in Classics was relinquished in 1910, but both of these two latter posts he retained until he retired in 1934. Knox and Creffield record that whilst the credit for Reading becoming a university in 1926 "is generally ascribed to W. M. Childs" and "the acquisition of the necessary funds was Childs's work, the academic statesmanship was de Burgh's."

W.G. de Burgh was, as Geoff Dumbreck notes, "deeply influenced by the classics and used ideas from ancient Greek philosophy to address modern philosophical problems." He was also concerned that "the focus on the scientific method left little room" His main target being, as Dumbrek notes, the logical positivists, (1937) Towards a Religious Philosophy

(1938) From Morality to Religion (Gifford Lectures) (1939) Knowledge of the Individual *(Riddell Memorial Lectures) (1949) The Life of Reason