Elizabeth Sanderson Haldane

“ Bain and his followers admit that there are certain notions such as extension, solidity, time, and space, which are constructed by the mind itself, the material alone being supplied to it, but they make it their work to trace the process by which the mind constructs its ideas, and believe that the laws by which it operates will be found not to be anything remote or inexplicable, but simply the actual working out of well-known principles. ”

“ Thus Bain's conclusion is (1) that the phenomena of the mind which seem the more complicated are formed out of the simple and elementary; and (2) that the mental laws by means of which the formation takes place are the laws of association. Bain considers that these laws extend to everything, and he proceeds to inquire how much of the apparent variety of the mental phenomena they are capable of explaining. ”

“ Ritchie received his early schooling at Jedburgh Academy. Not allowed to make friends with other boys of his own age, he never learned to play games, and lived a solitary life, concentrating his mind rather too early on purely intellectual subjects. ”

“ Stirling's style of writing, trenchant and forceful as that of Carlyle, from whom he learned much, emphasised the lessons he set himself to teach. Few philosophical books have exerted an equal influence on the trend of thought in younger students, and to it and Stirling's succeeding works may be ascribed in great measure the rise of the school of idealism which has flourished of late years, more especially in the Scottish universities. The 'Secret' was succeeded in 1865 by an ’Analysis of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy,' a forcible attack on Hamilton's philosophy of perception ”

“ He applied natural history methods of classification to psychical phenomena in a manner which gave scientific value to his work, and a knowledge of the physical sciences unusual to a philosopher of his day, conjoined with remarkable analytic powers, enabled him to present his system with effect. ”

“ LL.D. of the University of Edinburgh in 1867 and of Glasgow in 1901; he was elected a foreign member of the Philosophical Society of Berlin in 1871. In 1889 he was granted a civil list pension of 50l, Meanwhile he wrote much in the 'Fortnightly Review,' 'Macmillan's Magazine,' and 'Mind,' as well as in American periodicals. His themes included materialism, philosophy in the poets, and nationalisation of the land; in 'Community of Property' (1885) he sought to refute the views of Henry George.
Stirling lived the ideal life of a philosopher, devoting all his time and talents to special studies. ”

“ Three brothers died young. James Stirling was educated first at Young's Academy, Glasgow, and then for nine successive sessions (1833–42) at Glasgow University, where he attended the classes in the faculties of arts and medicine, and took a high place in mathematics and classics. He became M.R.C.S. Edinburgh in July 1842, and F.R.C.S. in 1860. In 1843 he was appointed assistant to a medical practitioner at Pontypool in Monmouthshire, and in 1846 he was made surgeon to the Hirwain iron-works. ”