Green, Thomas Hill
Green, Thomas Hill (1836–82). Philosopher. Born in Yorkshire, educated at Rugby and Balliol College, Oxford, Green became Whyte's professor of moral philosophy at Oxford in 1878. He made a lasting contribution to moral and political philosophy by attacking the prevailing materialism and empiricism of utilitarian thinkers, arguing for a Hegelian sense of duty to promote the common good. His ideal was human self-perfection—a condition in which people voluntarily chose to develop their potential as active citizens in pursuit of the good life. In his essay ‘Liberal Legislation and Freedom of Contract’ (1881) Green claimed that the inequality of power between employer and worker vitiated freedom in the labour contract and prevented workers from achieving perfection. But Green was no ivory tower academic; he took an active interest in politics and social affairs, participating in the work of a royal commission on education in 1865–6, taking a leading part in the temperance movement, and becoming in 1876 a member of Oxford City Council.
Tim S. Gray
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Green, Thomas Hill
