HAMILTON William (Hamilton William)

(1788-1856)
Born in Glasgow, March 8, 1788. He was educated at Glasgow and Oxford. He was a professor of civil history at Edinburgh University. Gave his version of Kantian philosophy in the essay unconditional (The Philosophy of Unconditioned) in the 'Edinburgh Review' ( 'Edinburgh Review', 1829). Through this work, Hamilton was known and received the chair of logic and metaphysics at Edinburgh University (1836). The blow happened to him in 1844, has restricted its activities. Hamilton died in Edinburgh on May 6, 1856.
Hamilton wrote works on philosophy and literature, which traces the history of ideas, examining how major figures, as well as many lesser-known authors. He was editor of the Proceedings T. Reed and D. Stewart, believing themselves to philosophical successor, but was never able to make a successful union of Kantian and the motives of Scottish. Of his account of Kant served as material for various purposes: G. Mansel made it the basis for religious faith in the boundaries of religious thought (The Limits of Religious Thought Examined, . 1858), . and Herbert Spencer - for its positivist scheme, . provided in the first principles (First Principles, . 1862),
. Kantianism Hamilton was replaced in England idealistic and Hegelian readings of Kant in the second half of the 19

. According to the philosophy of unconditional, . as expressed in Hamilton's discussion of questions of philosophy and literature (Discussions on Philosophy and Literature, . 1852), . 'our knowledge, . whether it be on the mind or matter, . can not be anything else, . as knowledge of the relative forms of existence, . which in itself should be recognized, . if we want to show the highest wisdom, . beyond the limits of philosophy ',
. According to Hamilton, 'to think - means conditional'; even perceive the experience - means conditional (define). External objects, entering the realm of human experience, transformed the conditions of human perception. A man comes to the knowledge of visibility, but it will never come upon such things as. His perception correlate with the few senses, which were at his disposal, as well as their characteristics. Philosophy tells man how he should think, but can not comprehend things as they exist outside of human. According to Hamilton, science - 'enlightened ignorance', because it is exploring conditional. Metaphysics as a way of escaping from the limitations of human nature and limitations of personal approach to the universe can not.

The main difficulty of Hamilton are the four-volume Lectures on metaphysics and logic (Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic, 1859-1860).