In his series of lectures, Knox views action as the core element in ethics and explores its connection with religious belief. Establishing the reasonable nature of religious belief by examining ethical concerns, he considers historical problems raised by a tradition of great thinkers. Ultimately, Knox is concerned with the paradox of immanence and transcendence that both pervades and is unique to Christianity. Throughout his lectures, the heavy influence of Hegel is clear.
Thomas Malcolm Knox was born on 28 November 1900 in Birkenhead, England. An administrator and philosopher, he is widely known for his translations of Hegel’s works. In 1923, he became Secretary to Lord Leverhulme, eventually managing the conglomerate’s interests. Bursar and Lecturer in Philosophy at Jesus College, Oxford in 1930, he then moved to Queen’s College as Lecturer in Greek Philosophy. Appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews in 1936, he stepped in as Deputy Principal in 1951, and Vice-Chancellor and Principal in 1953.
Knighted in 1961, he was awarded several honorary doctorates and was Vice-President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. A traditionalist, he took as a high praise a remark that he was an ‘academic dinosaur’. His efficient management secured the university’s financial position and removed unnecessary bureaucracy. Important works include ‘Hegel and Prussianism’ in Philosophy (1940), a translation of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right (1942), a translation, with Richard Kroner, of Hegel’s Early Theological Writings (1948), and with Zbigniew Pelczynski, Hegel’s Political Writings (1964).
