Gilbert Ryle

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Gilbert Ryle was born in Brighton, England, on 19 August 1900, and grew up in an environment of learning. He was educated at Brighton College and in 1919 went up to The Queen's College at Oxford to study classics, but was soon drawn to philosophy. He graduated with a 'triple first'; he received first-class honours in classical Honour Moderations (1921), literae humaniores (1923), and philosophy, politics, and economics (1924). In 1924, Ryle was appointed lecturer in philosophy at Christ Church, Oxford. A year later, he became a fellow and tutor at Christ Church, where he remained until 1940. In the Second World War, Ryle was commissioned in the Welsh Guards. A capable linguist, he was recruited into intelligence work and by the end of the war had been promoted to the rank of Major. After the war he returned to Oxford and was elected Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy and Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. He published The Concept of Mind in 1949. He was president of the Aristotelian Society from 1945 to 1946, and editor of the philosophical journal Mind from 1947 to 1971. Ryle died on 6 October 1976 at Whitby, North Yorkshire. Ryle's brothers John Alfred (1889–1950) and George Bodley (1902–1978), both educated at Brighton College, also had eminent careers. John became Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge and physician to King George V. George, after serving as Director of Forestry first for Wales and then England, was Deputy-Director of the Forestry Commission and appointed a CBE. Ryle was the subject of a portrait by Rex Whistler, which he said made him look like 'a drowned German General'. Michael Dummett recalls Ryle's complaint, adding 'but that was exactly what he did look like'. In retirement he lived with his twin sister Mary. He was a lifelong bachelor, and never married.

Reader's Guide

Ryle's significance lies in his influential critique of Cartesian dualism, which he attacked as involving category mistakes and philosophical nonsense in The Concept of Mind. He argued that dualism posits a 'ghost in the machine'. His distinction between 'knowing-how' and 'knowing-that' has attracted independent interest and is the origin of procedural and declarative models of long-term memory; this distinction is widely accepted in philosophy. Ryle analogised philosophy to cartography, aiming to rectify the 'logical geography of the knowledge we already possess'. He introduced the notion of 'thick description' in 1968 in 'The Thinking of Thoughts: What is "Le Penseur" Doing?' and 'Thinking and Reflecting', distinguishing thin description (surface-level observations of behaviour) from thick description (adding context and understanding motivations). This notion has been an important influence on cultural anthropologists such as Clifford Geertz. Although his views were challenged by the rise of cognitivism in the 1960s and 1970s, philosopher Daniel Dennett, a student of Ryle's, has said that recent trends in psychology such as embodied cognition, discursive psychology, and situated cognition have provoked a renewed interest in Ryle's work. Dennett provided a sympathetic foreword to the 2000 edition of The Concept of Mind.

Did You Know?

• Ryle coined the phrase 'ghost in the machine' for his critique of Cartesian dualism.
• He graduated with a 'triple first': first-class honours in classical Honour Moderations (1921), literae humaniores (1923), and philosophy, politics, and economics (1924).
• During the Second World War, Ryle was commissioned in the Welsh Guards, recruited into intelligence work, and promoted to Major.
• Ryle's brother John Alfred Ryle became Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge and physician to King George V.
• Ryle was the subject of a portrait by Rex Whistler, which he said made him look like 'a drowned German General'.