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Nicholas Maxwell

Nicholas Maxwell (born 3 July 1937[1]) is a British philosopher.

Maxwell taught philosophy of science at University College London, where he is now Emeritus Reader. In 2003 he founded Friends of Wisdom.[2] He has published fifteen books.[3] He has published over eighty papers in scientific and philosophical journals on problems that range from consciousness,[4] free will,[5] value,[6] and art[7] to the rationality of science,[8] simplicity,[9] scientific realism,[10] explanation,[11] time[12] and quantum theory.[13]

Philosophical contribution[edit]

Maxwell's work has been devoted to tackling two fundamental interlinked problems:-
Problem 1: How can we understand our human world, embedded as it is within the physical universe, in such a way that justice is done both to the richness, meaning and value of human life on the one hand, and to what modern science tells us about the physical universe on the other hand?
Problem 2: What ought to be the overall aims and methods of science, and of academic inquiry more generally, granted that the basic task is to help humanity achieve what is of value – a more civilised world – by cooperatively rational means (it being assumed that knowledge and understanding can be of value in themselves and form a part of civilised life)?


In connection with Problem 1, Maxwell has put forward a version of the double-aspect theory, according to which experiential and physical features of things both exist.[14]


In connection with Problem 2, Maxwell argues that the problematic aims of science, and of academic inquiry more generally, need much more honest and critical attention than they have received so far.[15]

Criticism[edit]

Maxwell's books have been widely reviewed.[16] His work is discussed by twelve scholars in Science and the Pursuit of Wisdom, edited by Leemon McHenry. David Miller and Maxwell had a short exchange about Aim Oriented Empiricism, which was the central thesis of Maxwell's The Comprehensibility of The Universe.[17][18][19][20]

1976, What’s Wrong With Science?, Bran's Head Books, Hayes, Middlesex.

1984, From Knowledge to Wisdom: A Revolution in the Aims and Methods of Science, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.

1998, , Oxford University Press, Oxford.

The Comprehensibility of the Universe: A New Conception of Science

2001, , Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham.

The Human World in the Physical Universe: Consciousness, Free Will and Evolution

2004, , Imperial College Press, London.

Is Science Neurotic?

2007, , 2nd edition, revised and enlarged, Pentire Press, London.

From Knowledge to Wisdom: A Revolution for Science and the Humanities

2008, ed., with R. Barnett, Wisdom in the University, Routledge, London.

2009, , 2nd edition, revised with new preface, Pentire Press, London.

What's Wrong With Science?

2009, L. McHenry, ed., Science and the Pursuit of Wisdom: Studies in the Philosophy of Nicholas Maxwell, Ontos Verlag, Frankfurt.

2010, , Pentire Press, London.

Cutting God in Half – And Putting the Pieces Together Again: A New Approach to Philosophy

2014, , Imprint Academic, Exeter.

How Universities Can Help Create a Wiser World: The Urgent Need for an Academic Revolution

2014, , Imprint Academic, Exeter.

Global Philosophy: What Philosophy Ought to Be

2016, , Rounded Globe. Free online.

Two Great Problems of Learning: Science and Civilization

2017, McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal

In Praise of Natural Philosophy: A Revolution for Thought and Life

2017, , Paragon House, St. Paul, MN.

Understanding Scientific Progress: Aim-Oriented Empiricism

2017, , UCL Press, London. [open access book, free to download]

Karl Popper, Science and Englightenment

2019, , Springer, Cham, Switzerland.

Science and Enlightenment: Two Great Problems of Learning

2019, , Springer, Cham, Switzerland.

The Metaphysics of Science and Aim-Oriented Empiricism: A Revolution for Science and Philosophy

2020, , McGill-Queen's University Press, Canada.

Our Fundamental Problem: A Revolutionary Approach to Philosophy

2021, , World Scientific, Singapore.

The World Crisis — And What to Do About It: A Revolution for Thought and Action

Nicholas Maxwell’s website

The website of Friends of Wisdom

Intellectual autobiography

Outline of contributions to philosophy: How Can Life of Value Best Flourish in the Real World?

Publications available online at UCL Discovery

Publications available at PhilPapers

Papers available at PhilSciArchive

Reviews of Books by Nicholas Maxwell

TEDxUCL talk: The Urgent Need to Bring About a Revolution in Academia

Review in Nature of From Knowledge to Wisdom

Videos and broadcasts by Nicholas Maxwell

Details about Is Science Neurotic?

Interview on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation