Mary and Geoff Midgley Papers
Introduction
Contents and arrangement
Publications by Geoff MidgleyPublished monographs by or for Mary MidgleyJournal articles by Mary Midgley - additionsArticles by Mary Midgley - reprints
Catalogue
Reference code: GB-0033-MID
Title: Mary and Geoff Midgley Papers
Dates of creation: 1940s-2010s, with some earlier family material within MID/G
Extent: 8 metres
Held by: Durham University Library, Archives and Special Collections
Origination: Mary Midgley (1919-2018) and Geoff Midgley (1921-1997)
Language: English

Contents and arrangement

Academic (and some personal) papers of moral philosopher Mary Midgley (1919-2018) and of her husband (and philosopher) Geoff Midgley (1921-1997), including drafts, working files, published articles and correspondence
See Collection Level Description for biographical information, summary of philosophical themes and acquisition details
Papers of Mary and Geoff Midgley are arranged in the following sequence, with MID/A-H being papers of Mary Midgley, and MID/J-L of Geoff Midgley.
MID/A. Philosophy files: working papers for talks, articles and subjects, including drafts, notes, cuttings, articles by other people and Mary's letters to the press
MID/B. Newcastle University Philosophy Department: files relating to Mary's work at the department or accrued while working there
MID/C. Published or broadcast outputs: article offprints and final drafts, texts of radio broadcasts, newspaper articles/cuttings, reviews written by Mary and some earlier (unpublished) poetry, plays and fiction
MID/D. Publication files: administrative files in connection with publications, and published reviews of Mary's books
MID/E. Personal (academic and autobiographical): including awards of degrees and honours, interviews, references written by Mary and correspondence
MID/F. Personal (family and friends): chiefly letters (not listed but outline of contents within catalogue)
MID/G. Ancestors (family records): chiefly photographs with some letters and other papers (listed in summary only)
MID/H. Additional items acquired from other sources
MID/J. Geoff Midgley's notes for lectures and on logic
MID/K. Geoff Midgley's essays
MID/L. Geoff Midgley's personal items and miscellaneous notes

Mary Midgley's papers have generally been retained within files reflecting their original storage/arrangement, with similar series kept together. The series and files have been arranged in the above order to reflect in part her own description of her working practice within The Owl of Minerva (2005) p.192-193. So notes for talks and on specific topics, with smaller interventions such as letters to the press and articles by other thinkers, are listed first (MID/A, effectively 'philosophy in progress'), with published articles and broadcasts following in MID/C, and files relating to publication and reviews of her books in MID/D.
Geoff Midgley's papers make up a third of the total collection, but have not yet been listed: the arrangement outlined above is tentative and may change.

Conditions of access

Sections MID/A-E (and MID/G by arrangement) are open for consultation. Other series are not yet catalogued.

Copyright and copying

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Sub-Librarian, Special Collections (e-mail PG.Library@durham.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material

Publications by Geoff Midgley

W. Mays and G.C.J. Midgley, “Symposium: Linguistic rules and language habits”, in Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes (29, 1955) p.165-212 (www.jstor.org/stable/4106639)
G.C.J. Midgley, “Linguistic rules”, in Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society (New Series 59, 1958-59) p.271-290 (www.jstor.org/stable/4544615)

Published monographs by or for Mary Midgley

Mary Midgley, Beast and man: the roots of human nature (Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1978; also Brighton, Harvester Press, 1979, and Brisbane, University of Queensland Press, 1979; paperback editions by New American Library, New York, 1980 and Methuen, London, 1980; in Spanish by Fondo de Cultura Económica as Bestia y Hombre: Las raíces de la naturaleza humana, 1989; 2nd edition by Routledge, London, 1995; Routledge Classics edition, 2002)
Mary Midgley, Heart and mind: the varieties of moral experience (Brighton, Harvester Press, 1981)
Mary Midgley, Animals and why they matter (Harmondsworth, Penguin, 1983; also Athens, University of Georgia Press, 1984)
Mary Midgley and Judith Hughes, Women's choices: philosophical problems facing feminism (London, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1983; also New York, St Martin's Press, 1983)
Mary Midgley, Biological and cultural evolution (Tunbridge Wells, Institute for Cultural Research, 1984)
Mary Midgley, Wickedness: a philosophical essay (London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984; also Routledge Classics edition with new preface, 2001)
Mary Midgley, Evolution as a religion: strange hopes and stranger fears (London & New York, Methuen, 1985; also Routledge Classics edition, 2002)
Mary Midgley, Conflicts and inconsistencies over animal welfare (Fifth Hume memorial lecture delivered 1986, UFAW, 1987) [omitted from Kidd bibliography as below]
Mary Midgley, Freeze Matters. Articles from the Guardian (FREEZE, Bristol, 1987) [omitted from Kidd bibliography as below]
Mary Midgley, Wisdom, information, and wonder: what is knowledge for? (London, Routledge, 1989)
Mary Midgley, Can't we make moral judgements? (Bristol, Bristol Classical Press, 1991)
Mary Midgley, Science as salvation: a modern myth and its meaning (London & New York, Routledge, 1992)
Mary Midgley, The ethical primate: humans, freedom and morality (London, Routledge, 1994). Translated into Dutch by Arend Smilde as Mens, moraal en vrijheid: over goed en kwaad bij een denkende primaat (Baarn, Ten Have, 1998)
Mary Midgley, Utopias, dolphins and computers: problems of philosophical plumbing (London & New York, Routledge, 1996)
Mary Midgley and Bryan Appleyard, Education, Values and Science: The Victor Cook Memorial Lectures (University of St Andrew's, 1999): reprinted as chapters within John Haldane (ed), Values, Education, and the Human World (2004), as Kidd bibliography
Mary Midgley, Science and poetry (London & New York, Routledge, 2001)
Mary Midgley, Gaia: the next big idea (London, Demos, 2001)
Discussing Darwin : An extended interview with Mary Midgley (Theos, 2009)
Mary Midgley, The myths we live by (London, Routledge, 2003; also Routledge Classics edition with new introduction, 2011)
Mary Midgley, The owl of Minerva: a memoir (London, Routledge, 2005)
David Midgley (ed), The essential Mary Midgley (London, Routledge, 2005)
Mary Midgley, ed. Michael Smith, Intelligent design theory and other ideological problems (London, Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain, 2007)
Mary Midgley and Joan Solomon (ed), Journal of Consciousness Studies, vol.13 no.5, under sub-title Intersubjectivity and John Ziman's legacy (2006)
Mary Midgley (ed), Earthy realism: the meaning of Gaia (Exeter, Imprint Academic, 2007)
Mary Midgley, The solitary self: Darwin and the selfish gene (Durham, Acumen, 2010)
Mary Midgley, Are you an illusion? (London, Routledge, 2014)
Ian James Kidd and Liz McKinnell (eds), Science and the Self: Animals, Evolution, and Ethics: Essays in Honour of Mary Midgley (London, Routledge, 2016)
Mary Midgley, What is Philosophy for? (London and Oxford, Bloomsbury, 2018)

Journal articles by Mary Midgley - additions

See comprehensive bibliography by Ian Kidd within Science and the Self (as above, 2016) or online at Women in Parenthesis website. Articles omitted from that bibliography include the following. See also reviews by Mary Midgley at MID/C/1 and MID/C/109-189, which are not included within the following list.
as Mary Scrutton, “A little weary”, in Tamesis (University of Reading, vol.49, no.1, 1950) p.32-34
“The absence of a gap between facts and values”, in Supplementary volumes of the proceedings of the Aristotelian Society (1974)
“The Neutrality of the Moral Philosopher”, in Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society (New Series vol.74, 1973-1974) p.211-229: wrongly recorded in Kidd bibliography as from Supplementary Volume of the Aristotelian Society for 1974
Letter, “Why Darwin's theory is the fittest to survive”, in Guardian (8 December 1978)
“The notion of instinct”, in Cornell Review (Fall, 1979)
“Rival fatalisms: the hollowness of the sociobiology debate”, in Ashley Montagu (ed), Sociobiology examined (New York, 1980) p.15-38
“Moral melodrama: Mary Midgley considers how our view of Darwin's ideas is more strongly influenced by primitive economic theories than we often realise”, in The Times Higher Education Supplement (16 April 1982) p.10
“Viewpoint: Selves and shadows”, in Times Literary Supplement (30 July 1982) p.821
“Deterrence, provocation and the Martian temperament”, in N. Blake and K. Pole (eds), Dangers of deterrence: philosophers on nuclear strategy (1983) p.19-40
“Can Specialisation Damage your Health?”, in The Philosopher (Philosophical Society of England, vol.33, 1983)
“Sex and personal identity: the Western individualistic tradition”, in Encounter 63 (1984) p.50-55
“Why the feminists cannot succeed if they try to go it alone”, in Guardian (4 Jan 1984)
multiple contributions for column “Body and Soul”, in Guardian (1984-1988), as at MID/C/190
“How Darwin's theory of Evolution has been distorted by his 'disciples'”, in The New Statesman (2 November 1985), p.23-25
“Evolution as a religion”, in J. Durant (ed), Darwinism and divinity (1985): reprinted in shorter form in Zygon (1987) as Kidd bibliography
“Freedom, feminism and war”, in African Philosophical Enquiry 1 (1987)
“Logic of disaster: the case for Philosophy”, in Times Higher Education Supplement (8 July 1988)
“A theory of economic gravity”, in Guardian (27 July 1988)
“A report of the Church & Society meeting in Brazil”, in World Council of Churches Church and Society Newsletter [1988]
“The ethics of modern debt” (under name 'Mary Midgeley'), in Credit Management: Journal of the Institute of Credit Management (August 1988) p.33-35
“Competitive folk in procurement”, in Guardian (25 Nov 1988)
“The reality of human wickedness”, in David M. Rosenthal and Fadlou Shehadi (eds), Applied ethics and ethical theory (University of Utah Press, 1988) p.306-321
“The Peckham pioneers”, in Guardian (1 Dec 1989)
“Fancies about human immortality”, in The month, 2nd new series vol.23 no.11 (November 1990) p.458-466
“Try learning from Benjamin Franklin”, in Guardian (23 Mar 1993)
“Practical utopianism”, in Catherine Thick (ed), The right to hope, global problems, global visions (1995)
“Can education be moral?”, in Prospero: magazine for philosophical and educational renewal (vol. 1, no. 1/2, 1995) p.10-11: revised version in Res Publica (1996) as Kidd bibliography
“Rights and wrongs”, in Guardian (16 Jan 1996)
“To do the decent thing”, in Guardian (2 Feb 1996)
“Away with superstition”, in Guardian (21 Mar 1996)
Letter, “Heat of animal passions”, in Guardian (29 March 1996)
“Double Trouble”, in Guardian (25 Feb 1997)
“The hunt faces death”, in Guardian (10 Apr 1997)
“The morality of creature comfort”, in Times Higher Education Supplement (11 July 1997)
“Drumcree and freedom”, in Guardian (10 July 1998)
“Defend which freedom”, in Living Marxism (no.115, November 1998)
“Being scientific about our selves”, in S. Gallagher and J. Shear (eds), Journal of consciousness studies: controversies in science and the humanities (Vol.6, no.4, “Special issue: Models of the self (Part 4)”, Imprint Academic, 1999) p.85-98
Letter, “Why you can't lose with Darwin”, in Guardian (8 February 1999)
“Mind, matter and Gaia”, in Gaia Circular, vol.2, issue 1, spring 1999, p.9
“Intelligence, wisdom and folly”, in Stephen C. Barton (ed), Where shall wisdom be found? Wisdom in the Bible, the church, and the contemporary world (Edinburgh, 1999)
“Trouble with the zeitgeist”, in Journal of the Oxford Society, vol.51, no.1 (1999): reprinted as “Sorting out the zeitgeist” (2000), as Kidd bibliography
“Wickedness”, in The philosophers' magazine (spring 2001 and autumn 2001): publication not confirmed
“Wickedness”, in Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte B. Becker (eds), Encyclopedia of ethics (2nd ed, 2001), available online
with John Ziman, “Pluralism in science: a statement”, in Interdisciplinary science reviews (vol.26, no.3, autumn 2001) p.153
“At war over animals”, in The Tablet (17 Feb 2001), p.233-234
“The many maps model: how scientific pluralism works”, in Kurt Almqvist and Erik Wallrup (eds), Consciousness, genetics and society: perspectives from the Engelsberg Seminar 2002 (Stockholm, 2005) p.143-148: extended version of article in Philosophy Now (2002) as Kidd bibliography, similar to “Do we ever really act?” (below)
“Do we ever really act?”, in Dai Rees and Steven Rose (eds), The new brain sciences: perils and prospects (Cambridge, 2004) p.17-33 [in Kidd bibliography under title, “Do we even act”]
“On the origin of creationism”, in New Scientist (no.2479, 25 December 2004)
“What, if anything, is moral relativism”, in sof (Sea of Faith Network, no.73, 2005) p.8-11
Letter, “Good god guide”, in New Scientist (25 March 2006)
Letter, “It's no miracle”, in New Scientist (15 July 2006)
“Heresy at the Royal Society”, in Science & Public Affairs (December 2008) p.11
“Sorting out pseudo-Darwinisms”, in The BIble in TransMission (Bible Society, spring 2009)
“The mistake about Darwin”, in Varsity (2 October 2009)
“The pseudo-Darwinist conspiracy”, in RSA Journal, Vol. 156, No. 5544 (Winter 2010), p.36-39
“Against humanism”, in New Humanist (vol.125 no.6, Nov/Dec 2010) p.35-39
“Developmental doubts”, in Carlo Jaeger et al (eds), European Research on Sustainable Development. Volume 1: Transformative Science Approaches for Sustainability (Springer, 2011) p.9-21
“Darwinism, purpose and meaning”, in Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement (vol.68, 2011) p.193-201
Letter, “He holds us with his glittering eye”, in Guardian (16 April 2011)
Letter, “Mystery of the mind”, in Guardian (9 March 2012)
Letter, “Dresden, drones and victims of war”, in Guardian (25 June 2012)
Letter, “Going Erewhon fast”, in Guardian (30 August 2012)
Letter, “The golden age of female philosophy”, in Guardian (29 November 2013)
Letter, “Mind and body”, in New Scientist (11 January 2014)
Letter, “Trade off”, in New Scientist (22 February 2014)
Letter, “Infinitely confusing”, in New Scientist (22 March 2014)
Letter, “False logic of those opposing assisted dying”, in Guardian (21 July 2014)
“Are You an Illusion? Why today's neuroscientists could do with a little more philosophical training”, in IAI News (11 August 2014)
“Devout Disbelief: Claims that we do not exist are based on a fundamentally outdated conception of the self”, in IAI News (7 May 2015)
“The mythology of selfishness”, in The Philosopher's Magazine (5 January 2016)
“Letter to a Young Philosopher” (original publication date and journal not traced, see MID/C/194)

Articles by Mary Midgley - reprints

Ian Kidd's bibliography excludes reprints, but the following have been identified from surviving drafts and correspondence among Midgley's papers. This list is far from complete, and omits most articles that have been substantially revised or reworked for later re-publication. Some of the chapters from Midgley's books mentioned here may also be included within The essential Mary Midgley: these reprints are also omitted from the list.
“Gene-juggling”, in Ashley Montagu (ed), Sociobiology examined (New York, 1980) p.108-134
“Freedom and Heredity”, as chapter 2 of her Heart and Mind (Harvester Press, 1981)
“On Trying Out One’s New Sword on a Chance Wayfarer”, as chapter 5 of her Heart and Mind (Harvester Press, 1981)
“The Objection to Systematic Humbug”, as chapter 6 of her Heart and Mind (Harvester Press, 1981)
“Is 'Moral' a Dirty Word?”, as chapter 7 of her Heart and Mind (Harvester Press, 1981)
“Duties concerning islands”, in Robert Elliot and Arran Gare (eds), Environmental philosophy: a collection of readings (Open University Press and University of Queensland Press, 1983) p.166-181
“Duties concerning islands”, in Wesley Cragg, Contemporary moral issues (McGraw-Hill, 1983; also later editions)
“Selves and shadows” (originally as “Viewpoint” article in Times Literary Supplement, 30 July 1982), as chapter 5 of her Wickedness: a philosophical essay (Routledge, 1984)
“Duties concerning islands” (as “The vulnerable world and its claims on us”), as chapter 18 of her Evolution as a religion (Methuen, 1985)
“Divided Loyalty” (“Body and Soul” column in Guardian, 28 Nov 1984), as “Fatalism and Freedom”, in Housman Society Journal (vol.XI, [1985]) p.69-72
“Duties concerning islands”, in Donald Van De Veer and Christine Pierce (ed), People, penguins and plastic trees: basic issues in environmental ethics (California, 1986) p.156-165
“The significance of species”, in Eugene C. Hargrove (ed), The animal rights/environmental ethics debate: the environmental perspective (New York, 1992)
“The significance of species” (from Animals and Why They Matter), in Steven Luper-Foy and Curtis Brown (eds), The moral life (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College, 1992): inclusion of Midgley article unconfirmed
“Duties concerning islands”, in Peter Singer (ed), Ethics (Oxford, 1994) p.375-
“Duties concerning islands”, in Robert Elliot (ed), Environmental ethics (Oxford, 1995) p.89-103
“Philosophical plumbing”, as chapter 1 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“Practical utopianism”, as chapter 2 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“Homunculus trouble”, as chapter 3 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“Myths of intellectual isolation”, as chapter 4 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“The use and uselessness of learning”, as chapter 5 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“Sex and personal identity”, as chapter 6 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“Freedom, feminism and war”, as chapter 7 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“The end of anthropocentrism?”, as chapter 8 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“Persons and non-persons” (as “Is a dolphin a person?”), as chapter 9 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“Sustainability and moral pluralism”, as chapter 10 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“Visions, secular and sacred” (as “Visions: secular, sacred and scientific”), as chapter 11 of her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996)
“Rights Talk Will Not Sort Out Child Abuse: Comment on Archard on Parental Rights”, in Rosalind Ekman Ladd (ed), Children's rights re-visioned: philosophical readings (Wadsworth, 1996)
“Duties concerning islands”, in T.D.J. Chappell (ed), The philosophy of the environment (Edinburgh University Press, 1997)
“Can education be moral?”, in Richard Smith and Paul Standish (eds), Teaching right and wrong: moral education in the balance (1997)
“One World – But a Big One”, in Steven Rose (ed), From brains to consciousness? Essays on the new sciences of the mind (1998)
“Individualism and the concept of Gaia”, in Tom Bentley and Daniel Stedman Jones (eds), The moral universe (London, Demos, 2001): reworked from version published in Review of International Studies (2000), but perhaps as published in How might we live? (2001), both as KIdd bibliography
“Trying out one's new sword”, in Barbara MacKinnon, Ethics: theory and contemporary issues (3rd ed, Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2001)
“Trying out one's new sword”, in Dawn Elm and Kenneth Goodpaster, Business Ethics (Coursewise Publishing Inc, online access, ca.2000: this reprinting/republication unconfirmed)
“Duties concerning islands”, in David Schmidtz and Elizabeth Willott (eds), Environmental ethics: what really matters, what really works (Oxford University Press, 2002)
“Philosophical plumbing” (parts), in Samuel Enoch Stumpf and Donald C. Abel, Elements of philosophy: an introduction (4th ed, McGraw-Hill, 2002)
“Reductive Megalomania”, as chapters 5-7 of her The myths we live by (Routledge, 2003)
“Do we ever really act” [credited as “Do we even act”], as chapter 8 of her The myths we live by (Routledge, 2003)
“Why Memes?”, as chapters 9-11 of her The myths we live by (Routledge, 2003)
“Choosing the selectors”, as chapters 12-13 of her The myths we live by (Routledge, 2003)
“The soul's successors”, as chapters 14-15 of her The myths we live by (Routledge, 2003)
“Biotechnology and monstrosity: why we should pay attention to the 'yuk factor'”, as chapters 16-18 of her The myths we live by (Routledge, 2003)
“Heaven and earth, an awkward history”, as chapters 19-20 of her The myths we live by (Routledge, 2003)
“Are you an animal”, as chapters 21-23 of her The myths we live by (Routledge, 2003)
“Beasts versus the biosphere”, as chapters 24-25 of her The myths we live by (Routledge, 2003)
“The problem of living with wildness”, as chapters 26-27 of her The myths we live by (Routledge, 2003)
“Putting Nature in Her Place” (from Science as Salvation, chapter 7) in Harry Oldmeadow (ed.), The Betrayal of Tradition: Essays on the Spiritual Crisis of Modernity (Bloomington, 2005) p.313-322
“Is a dolphin a person?”, in Andrew Bailey (ed), First philosophy: fundamental problems and readings in philosophy (Broadview Press, 2004; also Concise Ed, 2006)
“Duties concerning islands”, in J. Baird Callicott and Clare Palmer (eds), Environmental philosophy: critical concepts in the environment (Routledge, 2005)
“Can the retention of British nuclear weapons be justified ethically in today's world?”, in Ken Booth and Frank Barnaby (eds), The Future of Britain's Nuclear Weapons: Experts Reframe the Debate (Oxford Research Group, 2006)
“Sorting out pseudo-Darwinisms”, in Running Tide, issue 19 (Amida Trust, autumn 2009)
“On being an anthrozoon”, online at marymidgley.wordpress.com (2012)

Catalogue

Mary Midgley
Reference: MID/A-H
Dates of creation: 1942-2017
Extent: 5 metres
Philosophical, personal and family papers of moral philosopher Mary Midgley.
See start of catalogue for summary of arrangement, and Collection Level Description for biographical and philosophical introduction.

Philosophy files
Reference: MID/A
Dates of creation: 1949-2014
Extent: 1½ metres
Notes, drafts, talks and articles, by herself and others, mostly collated by Mary Midgley within topical files. These files reflect Mary's working practice, as described in her Owl of Minerva (2005) p.192-193, and could be described as 'philosophy in progress'. They show how specific themes have developed, the range of sources she has used to develop her ideas and some of the groups with which she has shared her thinking before committing talks to publication as journal articles or as books (for which see section MID/C).

Specific projects
Reference: MID/A/1-53, 162
Dates of creation: 1969-2014
Extent: 3 boxes
Drafts and notes in connection with specific books, articles, conferences, pamphlets etc by Mary Midgley

MID/A/1-10   [1969-1979]
Notes and drafts relating to Beast and Man: the roots of human nature (published 1979 but chiefly written 1976), and to earlier seminars for Newcastle University Adult Education Department and Cornell University. Original box marked 'Beasts - Bits' and 'Beasts - Old notes'
See also publication file at MID/D/1.
10 files 
MID/A/1   [ca.1969]
Notes on various sources including Rousseau and Ashley Montagu, and including detailed summary for ethology seminars (original file marked 'BEASTS'). Includes programme for course on ethology, moral philosophy and moral theology taught for Newcastle University Department of Adult Education in 1969, under title “The nature of man” (see Owl of Minerva p.189)
MID/A/2   [ca.1976]
Notes on “continuity between man and beast”, and notes for seminars (original file marked “Colloquium. 'Human nature'”), relating perhaps to seminars at Cornell University in 1976 (see Owl of Minerva p.191, Beast and Man p.xi)
MID/A/3   April 1975
Manuscript and typescript notes on human nature and human needs, for 'HST colloquium', 30 f.
MID/A/4   [ca.1976]
Notebook with brief lists of topics concerning beasts, reductionism and rationality, and outline of scheme (2 f.) for first two chapters (headed 'Beastliness paper', referring ? to paper in Philosophy no.184, 1973)
MID/A/5   [ca.1976]
Manuscript notes on behaviourism, 5 f.
MID/A/6   [ca.1976]
Manuscript notes/draft for Introduction, 12 f.
MID/A/7   [ca.1976]
Rough manuscript draft/notes for sections 1A and 2, sheets numbered with section/page numbers, 92 f.
MID/A/8   [ca.1976]
Typescript drafts for parts of foreward and (incomplete) sections on human cultures, innate behaviour and instinct, 36 f. (most written on back of scrap paper previously used for other notes or university purposes)
MID/A/9   [ca.1976]
Manuscript notes, moreorless disordered, 14 f.
MID/A/10   [ca.1977]
Notes from Muriel Beadle, The cat: history, biology, and behaviour (1977), headed 'Beasts. Bibliog. Cats'
MID/A/11   [1979 or 1981]
Heavily corrected typescript draft of article headed “Instincts”. Published as “The notion of instinct” (in Cornell Review, Fall 1979), and in shortened form within Midgley's Heart and Mind (1981): this draft perhaps relates to re-working for the 1981 publication. Mostly written on the back of scrap paper
1 file 
MID/A/12-16   1980-1985
Drafts and correspondence relating to Animals and why they matter (published 1983), taken from wallet file originally labelled 'A.A.W.T.M. - Bits'.
See also publication file at MID/D/7.
6 files 
MID/A/12   [ca.1982]
Typescript of 'summary', with some annotations, marked 'working copy', 20 f.
MID/A/13   [ca.1982]
Draft/notes for first chapter ('Getting animals in focus'), with additional title “Across the species barrier”, with annotations, 11 f.
MID/A/14   1980-1982
Copies of news cuttings with correspondence from Compassion in World Farming, chiefly relating to veal farming and specifically 'welfare veal' (reared in straw yards instead of crates). Includes copy of Ag: the journal for non-violence in agriculture (Compassion in World Farming, Petersfield), no.59, June 1980
MID/A/15   1985
Correspondence with London Weekend Television following MIdgley's complaint that she had been misrepresented during an issue of the Credo programme on animals (“I loathe TV work in any case”)
MID/A/16   undated [1970s/80s]
Letter from Mary Midgley [to a newspaper], responding to a letter from John Skoyles denouncing 'animal rights philosophers', and supporting Tom Regan
MID/A/17-22   1984-1985
Drafts and notes for series of lectures given at the Centre for Philosophy and Public Affairs of the University of St Andrew's, on Thought and the world. Noted on original file cover, “Went into W.I.W.” [Wisdom, Information and Wonder: what is knowledge for, 1989: see p.ix]
6 files 
MID/A/17   June 1984
Outline (MS) and synopsis (typescript) for lectures, latter with notes on possible respondents
MID/A/18   [1984-1985]
Lecture 1, “Thought and the world”: early and [final] drafts, typescript
MID/A/19   [1984-1985]
Lecture 2: two corrected drafts (each paginated 1-17), [the first] titled, “The psychology of political thinking”, and another version version (headed 'S[out]hampton' and 'master copy') titled, “Philosophizing in the world”, also corrected draft for final section as published in Social Research (paginated 18-27 but not following on from other drafts). Compare long version, published as “Philosophizing out in the world”, in Social Research vol.52 (1985), as MID/C/51, and short version published as chapter 23 of Midgley's Wisdom, Information and Wonder (1989).
MID/A/20   [1984-1985]
Lecture 3, “Vast dilemmas and how we see them”: notes for lecture
MID/A/21   [1984-1985]
Lecture 4, “The personal and the political”: notes for lecture
MID/A/22   [1984-1985]
Lecture 5, “On not being too frightened of hypocrisy”: notes for lecture (in two versions)
MID/A/23   1983-1988
Letters written to Mary Midgley in response to her letter in New Scientist no. 1569 (16 July 1987, published under title “Paper chase”), requesting information on the proportion of papers printed in learned journals that are actually read
With copies of her original letter (printed from Google Books), and of article, “Learning and the learned journals”, TLS (16 December 1983), p.1397-1402
1 file 
MID/A/24   1985-1988
Letters from Richard Smith (editor) of Credit Management: journal of the Institute of Credit Management and draft article by Mary MIdgley, “The ethics of modern debt” [published August 1988]. With copies of articles by Smith and others, and other material apparently assembled by Midgley when writing her article
1 file 
MID/A/25   1986-1989
Correspondence and brochures with synopses, for Mary Midgley's Gifford Lectures at University of Edinburgh, under title “Science and Salvation” (subsequently reworked for publication in 1992 by Routledge as Science as Salvation: see file MID/D/17). Includes correspondence with and brochure for lectures by Mary Douglas, given in same year (“Claims on God”), and brochure for lectures by John Hick in 1986/87 (“An interpretation of religion”)
1 file 
MID/A/26-30   1988-1989
Drafts and letters (chiefly from working group members), in connection with report published as, The value of 'Useless' research, by the Council for Science and Society (chairman John Ziman)
4 files + outsize envelope 
MID/A/26   15 December 1988
Typescript draft report ( On the problems of 'useless' research), with extensive annotations and comments by John [Ziman], February 1989
MID/A/27   15 December 1988
Typescript draft report ( On the problems of 'useless' research), with marginal comments and covering letter by Alec [Panchen] of Newcastle University, February 1989
MID/A/28   1988-1989
Typescript draft report (different from versions at MID/A/26-27), interleaved with blank sheets, with additional notes by Mary Midgley, and letters with comments from Paul Davies (Newcastle University, School of Physics), Derek Davis (Bristol) and K[enneth] Mellanby, [January] 1989
MID/A/29   24 February 1989
Typescript 'final' draft, with letters from John Ziman and Jerome Ravetz (both of the Council for Science and Society), March-May 1989, and earlier letter from John Ziman, May 1988
MID/A/30
Original ring-binder file for MID/A/26-29, featuring design of circles annotated to form a picture of a pig, and titled Useless Knowledge...
MID/A/31-36   [1980s]
Drafts and offprints for collection of articles to be called On Mind-Changing (not published). These items were mostly stored together and marked with circled numbers apparently indicating chapters for the collection, which Mary Midgley has confirmed she at one time considered.
6 files 
MID/A/31   [1980s]
Drafts for introductory sections, viz '1. The size of the subject', '2. Psychology treated as a natural science' and (in another version of the typescript), '2. Moral philosophy without psychology', '3. On talking about human nature'. Original file cover (destroyed) stated 'On Mind-Changing. Part I. Copy'
MID/A/32   1979-1980
Corrected typescript of “Gene-juggling” (published in Philosophy and Sociobiology examined, as MID/C/40)
MID/A/33   
Heavily corrected typescript of “Utopias and science-fiction” (? unpublished)
MID/A/34   
Corrected typescript of “Ryle and Blake on visions” (? unpublished)
MID/A/35   
Corrected typescript of “How heroic is scepticism?” (? unpublished)
MID/A/36   1972-1978
Offprints of articles from Philosophy, the latter three noted as having been reprinted or reworked in Heart and Mind (1981): “More about reason, commitment and social anthropology” (1978), “Is 'Moral' a dirty word?” [1972], “The game game” (1974), “The objection to systematic humbug” (1978)
MID/A/37   1993-1994
Letters and drafts/notes for lecture ( “Problems of an ethical primate”), at Dartington Conference (on theme 'Spirit and the world'), Schumacher College, Devon.
With copy of Schumacher College prospectus 1993-94, and letters from Colin Carr of St Dominic's Priory, Newcastle in connection with annual Las Casas Lecture in Oxford (November 1994), at which Midgley's lecture was titled, “Human freedom: trials of an ethical primate”
1 file 
MID/A/38   [1995-1996]
Three drafts (corrected typescripts) for article “Practical Utopianism” (published in Catherine Thick (ed), The right to hope, global problems, global visions, 1995, and in Midgley, Utopias, Dolphins and Computers, 1996). One marked 'Manchester version' (apparently a conference paper), and another titled “The indispensability of Utopias” (corrected to “Ideals are practical”)
1 file 
MID/A/39-43   1995-1996
Drafts (all typescript or printed) with some notes for articles about the family, all co-authored with Judith Hughes, viz:“Trouble with families”, in Brenda Almond (ed), Introducing applied ethics (Oxford, 1995)
“The view from Britain: what is dissolving families?”, in American Philosophical Association Newsletters vol.96 no.1 (1996), as MID/C/74
“Are families out of date”, in Hilde Lindemann (ed), Feminism and families (London, 1997)

5 files 
MID/A/39   [1995]
Two drafts (one with extensive and one with minor corrections) of “Trouble with families”
MID/A/40   [1995 x 1996]
Draft of “The view from Britain...”
MID/A/41   1995-1996
Two drafts (dated) and page proofs for “Are families out of date”
MID/A/42   [? 1990s]
Drafts for two unidentified articles, viz “Reading guide on the family” (short article outlining the history of philosophers' attitudes to family, and bibliography), and “Families and freedom” (on patriarchal family tyranny and individual personal freedoms)
MID/A/43   [ca.1990s]
Collection of quotations about the family and photocopied notes on William Godwin, Enquiry concerning political justice and its influence on morals and happiness (1798)
MID/A/44   1981-1982
Drafts and notes for series of lectures given at the Philosophy department of Trent University [Peterborough, Ontario, Canada], as part of the Gilbert Ryle lecture series, on Wickedness. These formed the basis for chapters 1-4 of Mary Midgley's book, Wickedness: a philosophical essay (Routledge, 1984), and were previously stored with her correspondence file relating to publication of the same at MID/D/10.
1 file 
MID/A/45   2002
Drafts and notes for “Do we ever really act?”, in Dai Rees and Steven Rose (eds), The new brain sciences: perils and prospects (Cambridge, 2004) p.17-33.
Includes:
  • final drafts of text with diagrams and editorial comments
  • six drafts of shortened versions (under titles, “Do we ever act?”, “What does action mean?” and “The many maps model”)
  • two sets of notes and quotations relating to epiphenomenalism (“the steam-whistle theory of mind”): see also discussion in Midgley's Science and Poetry (2001) p.107-
  • two sheets of quotations (overhead transparencies), headed Souls, minds, bodies and planets
  • printed programme for The Engelsberg Seminar 2002: Consciousness, genetics and society (Avesta, Sweden, June 2002), at which Mary Midgley spoke under the title, “The many maps model”: see also MID/A/150 for administrative file relating to this conference.
  • emails concerning article for papers from same (published 2005 as “The many maps model: how scientific pluralism works”, see bibliography at start of this catalogue)

1 file 
MID/A/46   2007-2010
Corrected draft for article, “Cold wars and God-shaped holes” (on apparent conflict between science and religion), apparently written for the journal Philosophy in 2007 (though this draft dated 2008), but not published at that time.
With draft of re-worked article, “Purpose, meaning and Darwinism” (published as “Darwinism, purpose and meaning”, in Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement (vol.68, 2011) p.193-201) and email correspondence dated 2007 with Anthony O'Hear (Royal Institute of Philosophy).
Original file note titled “Cold Wars Article (R.I.P.)”, written on back of APIS (Applied Philosophy Ideas Section) programme for Spring 1999.
1 file 
MID/A/47   2007
Email correspondence (chiefly of David Midgley) concerning possible follow-up volume to Earthy realism: the meaning of Gaia (Exeter, 2007). Chiefly printed on back of paper previously used for other printing.
1 file 
MID/A/48   2008
Draft for Templeton Essay article by Mary Midgley, “Does science make belief in God obsolete?”, with email invitation
With copy of article as published, within collection of 13 responses to the question.
1 file 
MID/A/49   2008
Email correspondence and discussion with Mike Holderness concerning Mary Midgley's contribution to a New Scientist special issue concerning Reason (published as issue 2666, 26 July 2008, with strapline “What's wrong with reason?”), with draft of her article (“Reason's just another faith”). With notes and typescript articles under titles, “Cold war; scientism and anti-scientism”, “Is reason self-destructive?” and “Scepticism”.
1 file 
MID/A/50   2008-2010
Email invitations to contribute to Comment is Free: Belief section of Guardian website, with typescript drafts of articles contributed by Mary Midgley:
  • “Cold [wars] and God-shaped holes” (for first week of new section). Published as “Cold wars and grand conclusions”, 28 October 2008
  • “Down with anthropolatry!” (prompted by the question, What would you write to God). Published as “All too human”, 19 December 2008
  • “The limits of selectionism” (commemorating the bicentenary of Darwin's birth). Published as “Selectionism can only take us so far”, 9 February 2009
  • “Beliefs and bibles” (on attempts to give a scientific proof to an existing world view). Published as “The abuses of science”, 12 June 2010 (also in “Face to Faith” column of same date, as “Is the evolutionary argument against God's existence any stronger than Isaac Newton's in favour”)
  • “Omnicompetence” (on claims that physical science is omnicompetent). Published as “Metaphysics and the limits of science” online, and in “Face to Faith” column in print, 28 August 2010. With printed response from Nicholas Humphrey (whose book Soul searching Midgley had quoted from: see also MID/A/63 for her review of his Soul Dust)

1 file 
MID/A/51   2009
Typescript drafts and published copies of Mary Midgley's series on Hobbes, Leviathan, published in The Guardian, April-May 2009, viz:
part 1. “Strange selves”, 6 April
part 2. “Freedom and desolation”, 13 April
part 3. “What is selfishness?”, 20 April
part 4. “Selling total freedom”, 27 April
part 5. “The end of individualism”, 4 May
part 6. “Responses to readers”, 11 May
part 7. “His idea of war”, 18 May
part 8. “Can we ride the Leviathan?”, 25 May

With sheet of MS notes and newspaper cuttings on Ayn Rand. One draft of part 1 (marked 1A) is noted as “revised for book”: it was published in The solitary self: Darwin and the selfish gene (2010), p.117-120 (though not with the chapter number or title used in this draft).
1 file 
MID/A/52   undated [? 1980s]
Typescript drafts (most apparently incomplete) of article on self-deception or honesty
1 file 
MID/A/53   1990-2010 and undated
Drafts of and notes for miscellaneous articles (or lectures) by Mary Midgley as follows.
/1. “The use and uselessness of science”, undated [1980s/1990]. Heavily corrected typescript, 11 p., not as published in European journal of education (1990) as MID/C/103/3
/2. “The need for philosophical plumbing”, [ca.1996]. Uncorrected typescript, 12 p. References her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers as “my latest book” (p.10)
/3. “Introduction: the earth and us”, 26 June 2006. Corrected printout, 10 p. (printed on back of page proofs for The essential Mary Midgley). Published as “Introduction - the not-so-simple earth”, in Midgley (ed.), Earthy realism: the meaning of Gaia (2007).
/4. Notes for [seminar or article on] “Science and realism” (apparently incomplete, covering a range of theories relating to realism and anti-realism), undated

1 file 
MID/A/162   [2014]
Enquiry by Mary Midgley about the teaching of philosophy at UK and US universities, and its relationship with the 'history of philosophy'. Includes:
  • Email correspondence with Chris Bateman
  • Responses to email enquiry (forwarded via Ian Ground) from Tim Crane, Kathleen Stock and Paul Guyer
  • Handouts of quotations, headed “Why Philosophy” and “What's gone wrong with philosophy”
  • Draft for article, “Does philosophy get out of date?” (written on back of draft of same article). Apparently unpublished, but compare chapter 2 of her, What is Philosophy For? (2018)
  • Articles by other people, viz John Cottingham, “What is humane philosophy and why is it at risk?” (published in O'Hare (ed), Conceptions of Philosophy, 2009), Amy Ferrer, “Advocating for philosophy and its public perception” (from Leiter reports: a philosophy blog, 2012), and George MacDonald Ross, “Teaching v Research: a Humboldtian solution for the twenty-first century?” (published in Prospero, vol.20, no.1, May 2014)

1 file 
Themed files
Reference: MID/A/54-88
Dates of creation: 1977-2013
Extent: 3 boxes
Files on particular themes, created by Mary Midgley: her titles from original file covers are in bold within the list below. Typically include drafts or papers by herself and others (usually with some annotation or marking), conference programmes or notes, newspaper cuttings, correspondence and other materials. Many of the drafts and articles are printed single-sided on paper that has been previously used for other printing.

MID/A/54   1993-1994
Sustainability. Includes:
  • brief paper by Strachan Donnelley of The Hastings Center NY, “Agenda 21 and the eclipse of nature”
  • Discussion questions with background papers for Seas At Risk Discussion Group on Environmental Principles, August 1993
  • Invitation from International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Ethics Working Group, to take part in project and workshop to develop ethical principles for uses of wild species, with set of papers (including Midgley's “Who gets sustained”, August 1993, alongside papers by Foday Bojang, Arthur Lindley, Finn Lynge, Freya Mathews, Mari Thekaekara and Bryan Norton) and copy of Circular letter (journal) no.5, May 1993 to August 1994. Midgley's article is later reworked and published as “Sustainability and moral pluralism” in Ethics and the environment vol.1 no.1 (1996), as below.
  • Letters from University of Georgia (Environmental Ethics Certificate Program) concerning contribution for inaugural issue of journal with working title Lectures in Envirionmental Ethics (journal later published as Ethics and the environment), May-September 1994. See MID/C/72 for article as printed.

1 file 
MID/A/55   2010
Humanism. Includes drafts of Midgley's “Against humanism” (under working title “A different humanism”), published as below. Also email correspondence concerning public lecture at UEA, “What is humanism?”, 14 October 2010
With copy of New Humanist, vol.125 no.6 (Nov/Dec 2010), including published version of above article, and printout from website (with comments)
1 file 
MID/A/56   2007-2009
Atheism. Abstract and notes for Midgley's talk, “What's scientific about atheism?”, with selection of newspaper cuttings
1 file 
MID/A/57   2007-2008
Intelligent Design. Includes:
  • Website articles (from talkdesign.org)
  • notes and talk for launch of 'ID pamphlet' [Intelligent design theory and other ideological problems, as MID/C/108]
  • [final] draft of article “A plague on both their houses” [published in Philosophy Now 64 (2007) p.26-27]
  • request for contribution to Metanexus Institute online publication Global Spiral
  • correspondence, newspaper cuttings/printouts and notes from Michael Reiss for his and Midgley's session at the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science) Festival of Science in Liverpool, including text of her talk, “Should creationism be a part of the science curriculum?”. With her piece on Reiss' resignation from the Royal Society after his call for including discussion of creationism and intelligent design within science lessons
  • also copy of Science & Public Affairs (the BA, British association for the advancement of science. December 2008), with published copy of final piece noted above, under title, “Heresy at the Royal Society: Mary Midgley laments a Cold War”

1 file 
MID/A/58-61   1978-2010
A series of thematic files dealing with aspects of sociobiology and social Darwinism, and specifically with the work of Richard Dawkins. These files were created separately by Mary Midgley, but have been grouped together here for convenience and due to some overlapping content.
4 files 
MID/A/58   [2000s]
Sociobiology and Social Darwinism. Includes:
  • text of [talk to] World Council of Churches, “The persistent ghost of Social Darwinism”, [2009] (16 p., corrected typescript, apparently incomplete)
  • text of [talk at] Warwick, “Sociobiology and the paradox of egoism” (17 p., corrected typescript, apparently incomplete)
  • list of quotations, chiefly from Richard Dawkins and Edward O. Wilson, headed “The expansive claims of sociobiology” (3 p.)
  • other notes and quotations (12 p.)

1 file 
MID/A/59   1978-2007
Dawkins. Includes:
  • Annotated photocopy of Richard Dawkins, “Replicator selection and the extended phenotype”, in Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 47 (1978), p.61-76
  • Photocopy (with passages underlined) of Richard Dawkins, “Is God a computer virus”, in New Statesman and Society, 18 December 1992/1 January 1993, p.42-45
  • Photocopy (with passages underlined) of Mark Ridley, “Infected with science”, in New Scientist, 25 December 1993/1 January 1994, p.22-24 (apparently responding to an article by Richard Dawkins)
  • Newspaper articles about or by Richard Dawkins, viz “A scientist's case against God” (Independent, 20 April 1992), “Darwin's disciple” (Independent on Sunday, 2 January 1994), “God in a test tube” (Guardian, 8 August 1994) and “The gene machine” (Sunday Telegraph, 14 May 1995)
  • Printouts from Richard Dawkins' website and of his “In defence of selfish genes” (on The Royal Institute of Philosophy website), with text of letter from Mary Midgley to Dawkins objecting to his claim that she had not read The Selfish Gene before writing about it in Philosophy, 2007
  • Notes and quotations, chiefly from Dawkins and Darwin, variously headed, “Selfish genes”, “Dawkins vs Darwin”, “Quotes for talk on Darwinism and ethics” and “Darwin on the evoluation of the moral faculties”

1 file 
MID/A/60   1980-2010
'Selfish' and Selfish Genery (two original files, combined). Includes brief notes headed 'Spirit', 'Wonder' and '[Bishop] Butler' (2 p.), plus articles as follows:
  • Issue of Nature 284, 17 April 1980, including article by L.E. Orgel and F.H.C. Crick, “Selfish DNA: the ultimate parasite”
  • Peter B. Stacey and Walter D. Koenig, “Cooperative breeding in the Acorn Woodpecker”, in Scientific American, August 1984
  • Adrian Barnett, “Female fox squirrels remove their 'chastity belts'” (publication not stated), 24 October 1992
  • Sanjida O'Connell, “Meet my two husbands” (on polyandry in Tibet), from Guardian Tabloid, 4 March 1993
  • Laurence Frank, “When hyenas kill their own”, from New Scientist, 5 March 1994
  • Louise Barrett and Robin Dunbar, “Not now, dear, I'm busy” (on conflicts between parents and offspring), from New Scientist, 9 April 1994
  • Martin A. Nowak, “Five rules for the evolution of cooperation”, from Science vol.314, 8 December 2006 (printed on back of emails from Matthew Taylor of RSA concerning a talk and possible journal article by Mary Midgley, 2010)
  • David Sloan Wilson and Edward O. Wilson, “Survival of the selfless” (on sociobiology and group selection), in New Scientist, 3 November 2007 (with letter from Richard Dawkins published in same, 15 December 2007)
  • Issue of Nature for 26 August 2010 (sub-titled “Social services: How standard natural selection explains the evolution of eusociality”)
  • Denis Noble, “Neo-Darwinism and selfish genes: are they of use in physiology?”, in The Journal of Physiology (commissioned article not yet submitted, September 2010)
  • section of “In Brief” column on the trematode parasite in banded killifish (publication and date not stated)

1 file 
MID/A/61   1998-2000
Memes. Includes:
  • Letters from Mary Midgley, to Guardian 8 February 1999 (“Why you can't lose with Darwin”), New Scientist 27 March 1999 (“Me and my memes”), Journal of Consciousness Studies online forum 20 May 1999 (“Of memes and witchcraft”, short article replying to Chris Nunn) and New Scientist 25 September 1999 (“Just so stories”, pasted onto back of letter to Foreign Secretary concerning East Timor)
  • Draft (printed with MS corrections) of “Why Memes?”, dated 17 December 1998 [published in Alas, poor Darwin arguments against evolutionary psychology, ed. Hilary Rose and Steven Rose, 2000]
  • Quotations concerning memes, 2 p.
  • Email from Ian Ground with advertisement for Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission, vol.3, issue 2, [1999], as available online
  • Article by Jaron Lanier, submitted 4 January 1999 (Journal/website not stated), and debate on The Reality Club website (www.edge.org) between (chiefly) Mike Godwin and Jaron Lanier, December 1996-January 1997
  • Article by Susan Blackmore, “Meme, Myself, I”, in New Scientist, 13 March 1999, introducing her book, The meme machine
  • Review of The meme machine as above, by Martin Gardner, in Los Angeles Times, 5 March 2000 (“Kilroy was here”), with email to Mary Midgley from Paul Rowntree
  • Photocopy of excerpt from William Croft, Explaining language change: an evolutionary approach (2000), p.1-41, with letter from Ricardo Bermúdez-Otero of Newcastle University (referencing also a lecture and discussion by Mary Midgley)

1 file 
MID/A/62   [? 1980s]
Women. Typescript notes headed, “Philosophers on women: the record” (two copies, varying), a page of quotations and notes headed “Feminism and philosophy”
1 file 
MID/A/63   1996-2013
Illusory selves. Includes:
  • Printout of William James lecture, “The present dilemma in philosophy” (part of series Pragmatism, published 1907)
  • Newspaper cutting on defeat of Gary Kasparov by IBM Deep Blue chess computer, [February 1996]
  • Review by Mary Midgley of Nicholas Humphrey, Soul dust: the magic of consciousness [published in Guardian 5 February 2011 as “Mind and matter”], under title “The TV within” (? final draft)
  • The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness, July 2012 (on animal consciousness)
  • Issue of New Scientist, 23 February 2013, viz special issue on “The Self: the greatest trick your mind ever played”, with articles by Jan Westerhoff, Graham Lawton, Anil Ananthaswamy, Michael Bond and Richard Fisher
  • Page from the Guardian (Review section) 8 June 2013, including review by Marina Warner of The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit (under title, “Maps of the mind”)
  • Text for two undated talks by Mary Midgley under title “Illusory Selves: the irrepressible subject”, one marked “Hay” [Festival], the other marked “Souls” [? All Souls College, Oxford]. Latter is printed on back of another draft of same talk, and contains an apparent lacuna between p.5 and p.6.

See also file relating to publication of Midgley's Are you an illusion, at MID/D/28.
1 file 
MID/A/64-68   ca.1994-2005
Earth and Gaia. MID/A/64-65 originally filed together ( “Earth”), and MID/A/66-68 in single file “Gaia (mine)”.
See also correspondence from James Lovelock at MID/E/58.
5 files 
MID/A/64   [ca.2002-2005]
  • News cutting from [Guardian] 2 February 2005 on creation of artificial chromosomes for robots (“Sex and the single robot”)
  • Letters page from New Scientist 12 March 2005, highlighting letter from Alexander Grigorov on taking to space to eliminate the problem of limited resources (“Unlimited space”)
  • Introduction to James Lovelock written by Mary Midgley, written for New Statesman, with email from editor, June 2003 [published as “Great thinkers - James Lovelock”, 14 July 2003]
  • [Final] draft for Darwin Lecture, “Taking the earth seriously”
  • Notes or drafts for talks at Birkbeck 2002 (“Taking the earth seriously”), Glasgow (“Reason and imagination in visions of a harmonious world”, “Visions and values”, “Earth intro”, all undated), Oxford 2002 (“The importance of imagery”), and the Soil Association (“Earth is not just dirt”, with news cutting about organic growing in Havana, Cuba, 2002). With sheet of “quotes illustrating talk on changing visions of the earth”, undated

MID/A/65   [2000s]
Incomplete (33 p.), corrected draft for an [unpublished] book by Mary Midgley, Heaven and earth, an awkward history (contrast much shorter article of same name in Philosophy Now issue 34, 2001/2002)
MID/A/66   1994-[2000s]
  • Two reading lists and collections of quotations, most headed “Quotes for Gaia” (two annotated to suggest use in Schumacher talks)
  • Notes by Mary Midgley for talks and seminars on Gaia, annotated with references to APIS (Applied Philosophy Ideas Section, which met at her house in Newcastle ca.1990s-2000s), Hastings, King's College, Café Scientifique [Newcastle], Schumacher [College, apparently twice], Birkbeck and Hay Festival
  • Text for John Ziman's chapter, “The challenging, inspiring, irreducible pluralism of Gaia”, in Midgley (ed), Earthy realism: the meaning of Gaia [published 2007], dated 1 April 2004 (as MID/A/87)
  • Article by Fred Pearce, “Gaia, Gaia: don't go away”, in New Scientist, 28 May 1994
  • Photograph of delegates at Gaia and global change [conference], Dartington Hall [Schumacher College], June 2004

MID/A/67   [2000s]
Drafts and copy of articles or lectures by Mary Midgley, most undated, viz:
  • “Gaia, genes and the planetary perspective”: abstract, corrected draft and slides for overhead projector
  • “Who is the earth?”: marked 'for Open University'
  • Gaia?
  • Gaia: biochemical solutions to social and moral problems: corrected draft with notes
  • Gaia Circular, vol.2 issue 1, spring 1999: with article by Midgley, “Mind, matter and Gaia” (noted as taken from a lecture at Linnean Society, London, 1998)
  • “What Gaia means”: noted as published in Guardian, 2001
  • “The fear of Gaia”: marked 'speech at launch' [? of Gaia: the next big idea 2001, or of Earthy Realism 2007]
  • “The roots of Gaiaphobia”: two versions, noted as published in Guardian supplement (described as a 'virtual pamphlet' by editor), March 2010, with email from editor December 2009

MID/A/68   [2000-2001]
Draft of “Individualism and Gaia” (published in revised forms by Demos as Gaia: the next big idea in 2001, also as “Individualism and the concept of Gaia” in Review of international studies, December 2000, as MID/C/87). Marked “Jim's copy”, and with annotations by [James Lovelock]
MID/A/69-75   1977-1995
Physics and religion. Box of articles by others, collected together by Mary Midgley, plus some correspondence with Paul Davies (file 73) and her own notes and article (file 69)
7 files 
MID/A/69   1990 (and undated notes)
Manuscript and typescript notes, chiefly quotations, with references to talks by Mary Midgley, “Evolution as a religion” and “Human immortality...?”. Notes headed variously “Pie in the sky”, “Dungeons and dragons” and “The supposedly lifeless, objective and value-free universe”
Notes on Peter Atkins, The creation (1981)
Copy of The month, November 1990, with her article “Fancies about human immortality”: see library catalogue entry
MID/A/70   1977-1983
Articles as follows:
  • Ian Breach, “Scientists who believe in God”, from New Scientist (26 May 1977) p.478-479
  • Freeman J. Dyson, “Time without end: physics and biology in an open universe”, from Reviews of modern physics, vol.51 no.3 (July 1979), p.447-460
  • Steven Frautschi, “Entropy in an expanding universe”, from Science, vol.217 no.4560 (13 August 1982) p.593-599
  • John Weightman, “Somone up there” (review of Fred Hoyle, The intelligent universe), from Observer (18 December 1983)

MID/A/71   1983
John Archibald Wheeler, “Law without law”, from J.A. Wheeler and W.H. Zurek, Quantum theory and measurement (1983), p.183-211
MID/A/72   1986
Draft of John Hartung, An argument in favor of eugenic engineering (not apparently published in this version, but see online CV for similar articles), with covering letter (mentioning meeting Midgley at Mallorca, perhaps a reference to Simposio Modelos Biologicos de la Accoin Humana at University de Palma de Mallorca, 1985, as in his CV)
MID/A/73   1984-1986
Articles by and correspondence with Professor Paul C. W. Davies (Theoretical Physics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne), including his article, “How the pioneers of the new physics have thrown more light on God” (newspaper or magazine not stated), and extracts from his Superforce: the search for a grand unified theory of nature (1984). Includes theatre programme for The Genius by Howard Brenton, performed at Newcastle Playhouse 1986 (with background article by Davies), letter concerning seminar hosted by the theatre company on the social and moral responsibilities of scientists (at which both Davies and Midgley spoke) and exchange of letters following the same
MID/A/74   1986-1990
Articles as follows:
  • Martin Gardner, “Wap, Sap, Pap & Fap” (review of Barrow and Tipler, The anthropic cosmological principle), from the New York Review (8 May 1986)
  • [Publisher's] blurb for George S. Robinson and Harold M. White, Envoys of mankind: a declaration of first principles for the governance of space societies (1986)
  • James P. Crutchfield and others, “Chaos”, from Scientific American vol. 255 (December 1986), p.38-49
  • Martin Rees, “The anthropic universe”, from New Scientist (6 August 1987), p.44-47
  • Donald M. Mackay, “In what sense can a computer 'understand'?”, from Science and Christian belief vol.1 no.1 (April 1989), p.27-39
  • Tim Radford, “A time warp of ignorance” (on public understanding of science), from Guardian (6 July 1989)
  • John C. Polkinghorne, “A scientist's view of religion”, from Science and Christian belief vol.2 no.2 (October 1990), p.83-94
  • Photocopied sheet of newspaper cuttings, including (asterisked), Edward Lucas, “Unwanted CFCs: the key to human life on Mars”, from Independent (18 December 1990)

MID/A/75   1991-1995
Articles as follows:
  • Quentin Smith, “Atheism, theism and big bang cosmology”, from Australasian Journal of Philosophy vol.69 no.1 (March 1991)
  • Tim Radford, The final theory (reporting on Steven Weinberg's support for the superconducting supercollider), from Guardian (7 January 1993)
  • Steve Nadis, “Mars the final frontier”, from New Scientist (5 February 1994)
  • John Gribbin, “Can of worms on the internet” (reporting Stephen Hawking's claim that computer viruses are a form of artificial life), from Guardian (5 August 1994)
  • Issue 26 of Science and Religion forum Reviews (February 1995), including reviews of Mary Midgley, Science as salvation (by Paul Avis) and of Frank J. Tipler, The physics of immortality: modern cosmology, God and the resurrection of the dead (by George Ellis)

MID/A/76-79   [1970s]-1993
Reductionism. A series of files relating to reductionism and to Mary Midgley's work on this topic, brought together here for convenience
4 files 
MID/A/76   [1970s-1980s]
File marked “Beasts - Reduction”. Miscellaneous notes on reductionism, including references to Nietsche, Hobbes and Hume, and more extensive notes on Freud (especially concerning instincts). Perhaps in connection with series of lectures preceding Midgley's Beast and Man, see also MID/A/1-10. Includes typescript draft (numbered p.50-67) on instincts, sex and power, with particular reference to Freud and Hobbes, for which a published version has not been identified
MID/A/77   September 1982
Papers for Higher Education Foundation consultation on Reductionism in Academic Disciplines (with special reference to biology, psychology and medicine) (conference held at St Anne's College, Oxford), including programme and abstracts of papers by Steven Rose (OU), Eileen Barker (LSE), D.A.J. Tyrrell (text of paper “Reductionism in Medicine”), Richard Gregory (Bristol), Donald MacKay (Keele), Cicely Saunders (London) and Gordon Wright (Cambridge). Mary Midgley is listed as a speaker (on biology and reductionism), but there is no abstract or notes for her paper. See COPAC catalogue entry for the papers of this conference, edited by Arthur Peacocke (Cambridge).
MID/A/78   [1992]
Notes, lists of quotations and drafts for lectures by Mary Midgley on reductionism, including “Reductivism in modern science and its consequences” (at ICA) and “Reductionist [or Reductive] Megalomania” (at Science and Human Dimension symposium, Jesus College, Cambridge, September 1992).
With page proofs for her chapter “Reductive Megalomania” in John Cornwell (ed.), Nature's Imagination... (1995) p.133-147 (marked up in a similar way to other articles selected for reprinting at MID/C/103).
MID/A/79   1992
Printed items on consciousness research (originally from above file MID/A/78), viz:
  • letter from Brian Josephson, Beverly Rubik, David Fontana and David Lorimer in Nature 358,618 (1992), under title “Defining consciousness”
  • typescript [draft] of article by Brian Josephson and Beverly Rubik, “The challenge of consciousness research”, in Frontier Perspectives vol.3 no.1 (September 1992)

MID/A/80   [1980s]
Brain hemispheres etc. Includes:
  • Text of radio talk by Robin Hodgkin for BBC [Radio] 3, February 1982, “Two sides to my head”, and letter from same dated 4 October 1982, referencing radio talks by Colin Blakemore, Springer and Deutsch, Left brain, right brain (1981) and work of F[ernando] Nottebohm
  • Manuscript notes by Mary Midgley on works by Freud, Russell, Fromm, Norman Brown, H[annah] Arendt, [Ledyard] Stebbins and [Francisco] Ayala
  • Typescript page headed, “The wilder shores of biological possibility” (on Dr Clark and 'supermantises', with reference to human morality and intelligence)

1 file 
MID/A/81   1990
Pluralism. Includes:
  • Letter dated 5 November 1990 from J. Baird Callicott to Mary Midgley, enclosing his “Genesis and John Muir” (from ? Covenant for a new creation: ethics, religion, and public policy, ed. Carol S. Robb and Carl J. Casebolt, 1991) and “The case against moral pluralism” (from Environmental ethics, vol.12, summer 1990)
  • Page proofs of Elizabeth Wolgast, “Moral pluralism”, from Journal of Social Philosophy, vol.21 (fall/winter 1990)

1 file 
MID/A/82-83   2003-2007
Behaviourists. Originally from same folder, viz:
/82. Page proofs of Bernard J. Baars, “The double life of B.F. Skinner: inner conflict, dissociation and the scientific taboo against consciousness”, from Journal of Consciousness Studies, vol.10 no.1 (2003)
/83. Issue of Journal of Consciousness Studies, vol.14 no.11 (2007), with annotations [by Mary Midgley] on article by David Berman and William Lyons, “The first modern battle for consciousness: J.B. Watson's rejection of mental images”

1 file + 1 volume (boxed) 
MID/A/84   1994-2004
Philosophy for Children. Includes:
  • 'Mock-up' of The idea of restimulating education: a first report by members of the PER group (London, 1994), being the first yearbook of the Philosophical and Educational Renewal Group (of which Mary Midgley was an Hon. Vice President). Includes article by Midgley, “Can education be moral?”, later published in Prospero (1995), as MID/C/70
  • Issue of The SAPERE Newsletter (Society for Advancing Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education, April 2002), including report of northern conference in Sunderland at which Midgley spoke
  • Email correspondence between Midgley and SAPERE about holding a possible course in the region (to be funded by the Geoffrey Midgley Memorial Fund), March 2004

1 file 
MID/A/85A-B   2000-2002
Two files relating to animal experimentation, originally separate but brought together here for cataloguing purposes.
/85A. File titled “Drs Greek”. Overview (25 p.) and text of chapter 5 ( “Cancer, our modern day plague”, 35 p.) of C. Ray Greek and Jean Swingle Greek, Sacred cows and golden geese [published 2000], with covering letters from the authors and copy of article by same, “Searching for alternatives”, from Nature Biotechnology, vol.20 no.5 (May 2002)
/85B. Items originally filed with editors' and publishers' administrative correspondence at MID/D/29, being draft and cutting of article by Mary Midgley (draft titled “Why Huntingdon?”, published as “At war over animals”), in The Tablet (17 Feb 2001), annotated by [an officer of] RSPCA. Also articles apparently sent to Midgley by Tjard de Cock Buning (Department of Lab Animal Issues, Utrecht University), relating to animal ethics

2 files 
MID/A/86   [1999-2000]
Utopias. Includes:
  • Letter from University of Durham Department of Psychology (Centre for the History of the Human Sciences), inviting Mary Midgley to give a public lecture on utopian thinking as part of their Utopia Now series, January 1999
  • Corrected and annotated typescript for [lecture], “Utopias and science fiction”, marked 'Durham'
  • Final draft of article, “Utopias, dystopias and science fiction”, marked 'as sent 14/11/00' (publication not traced, but perhaps reworked from preceding lecture)

1 file 
MID/A/87   1995-2005
Ziman. Includes:
  • John Ziman, “Science in at least three dimensions”, from his Of one mind: the collectivization of science (1995) p.65-82 (annotated with reference to its publication in de Mey (ed), Theory of knowledge and science policy (University of Ghent, 1979))
  • Mary Midgley, “No need for omnicompetence?” (draft for article); ? unpublished, possibly for proposed festschrift volume 1999/2000, though refers to “another seventy years of [Ziman]” (so ca.1995)
  • Letter from Joan Solomon with outline and request for contribution for volume edited by her (apparently never published), working title Science is social, in part a festschrift for John Ziman, [1999]
  • Emailed letter from Mary Midgley and John Ziman, inviting scholars to take part in a “peacemaking initiative” under the heading “Pluralism in science”, with draft statement on the subject and lists of scholars who have joined or been invited to join. With published version of statement from Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 2001
  • John Ziman, “Emerging out of nature into history: the plurality of the sciences”, from Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London no.361 (2003) p.1617-1633
  • Text for John Ziman's chapter, “The challenging, inspiring, irreducible pluralism of Gaia”, in Midgley (ed), Earthy realism: the meaning of Gaia [published 2007), dated 1 April 2004 (as MID/A/66)
  • “Science in the world”, introductory comment [by Mary Midgley] about John Ziman's vision for science within wider culture; perhaps intended or published as a Foreward or short newspaper/magazine article
  • Text for obituary, apparently written by Midgley but ? not published, [2005]
  • Obituary from [Guardian], by Jerry Ravetz, “Physicist who was concerned with the social significance of science”, 2 February 2005

1 file 
Index terms
Ziman, J. M. (John M.), 1925-2005, author
MID/A/88   1983-2006
Deterrence. Includes a sheet of notes and the following articles by Mary Midgley:
  • “Deterrence, provocation and the Martian temperament” (photocopy), from N. Blake and K. Pole (eds), Dangers of deterrence: philosophers on nuclear strategy (1983)
  • “Introduction: fatalism, fantasy and fear” (photocopy from unknown publication, after 1983)
  • “What kind of war?” (publication unknown, printout, 3 p.)
  • “What do we mean by security?” (publication unknown, corrected printout, 11 p.)
  • “Deterrence and provocation” (printout, 2 p., apparently incomplete)
  • “Fear, threat and provocation” (publication unknown, printout dated 2004, 2 p.)
  • “Provocation and the language of weaponry” (publication unknown, printout dated 2004, 2 p.)

Also newspaper cutting of Guardian article by Richard Norton-Taylor and Rosemary Collins, “Civil defence guide ignores nuclear winter”, 8 June 1985
Also printout of the following articles from Ken Booth and Frank Barnaby (eds), The Future of Britain's Nuclear Weapons: Experts Reframe the Debate (Oxford Research Group, 2006), as online, printed on the back of 'scrap' paper (chiefly page proofs for Midgley's Owl of Minerva):
  • Ken Booth, “Debating the future of Trident: Who are the real realists?” (Conclusion)
  • Frank Barnaby, “What is "Trident"? The facts and figures of Britain's nuclear forces” (under draft title, “Some characteristics of the British nuclear force”, Introduction)
  • Mary Midgley, “Can the retention of British nuclear weapons be justified ethically in today's world?” (Debate 5) - two copies, one from online copy of publication and the other with revisions marked

1 file 
Articles by other people
Reference: MID/A/89-114
Dates of creation: 1949-2010
Extent: ½ box
Miscellaneous journal, book or newspaper articles, most collected together by Mary Midgley within a single sequence but not within the topical themed files at MID/A/54-88. The articles at MID/A/89-109 are mostly annotated by Midgley with the author's name and have been sorted into alphabetical order by author for convenience. The newspaper cuttings at MID/A/110-113 have been roughly sorted by topic, with miscellaneous newspaper cuttings in MID/A/114.

MID/A/89   January 1958
G. E. M. Anscombe, “On brute facts”, in Analysis, vol.18, no.3, p.69-72. Photocopy, annotated “Copy III. Phil[osophy] Dep[artment, Newcastle University]. Please return.”
MID/A/90A   January 1985
Issue no.1 of Theistic Evolutionist's Forum [newsletter, “the only national periodical focusing on both fundamentalist and atheist distortions of science and faith, while providing a hearing for apologists of either side”], ed. E[dward] T. Babinski of Greenville, South Carolina
Index terms
Babinski, Edward T.
MID/A/90B   1994
Clare Campbell, “Greek plays and Gallup polls”, in Philosophy vol.69, p.102-105
MID/A/91   2008
William Charlton, “The doctrine of creation”, in The Heythrop Journal vol.49, p.620-631
MID/A/92   2 June 2005
Review by James Davidson of Alan Bray, The Friend (2003), published under title “Mr and Mr and Mrs and Mrs”, in London Review of Books
MID/A/93   June 2006
Temple Grandin, “Animal welfare audits for cattle, pigs and chickens that use the HACCP principles of critical control points”, printed from personal website
MID/A/94   1982
Evelyn Fox Keller, “Feminism and science”, from Keohane, Rosaldo and Gelpi (eds), Feminist Theory: [a critque of ideology], p.113-126
MID/A/95   1989
M. Kiley-Worthington, “Ecological, ethological and ethically sound environments for animals: toward symbiosis”, from Journal of Agricultural Ethics, vol.2, p.323-347
MID/A/96   1996
M. Kiley-Worthington and S.E.G. Lea, “Can animals think?”, from V. Bruce (ed), Unsolved mysteries of the mind: tutorial essays in cognition
MID/A/97   [ca.2008]
M. Kiley-Worthington, Equine and elephant cognition, ontology and consciousness (corrected draft: apparently published as Equine & Elephant Cognition, Subjectivity & Consciousness, from Centre d'Eco-Etho Recherche et Education website)
MID/A/98   [1949]
C. S. Lewis, “The humanitarian theory of punishment” (? originally published in The Twentieth Century: An Australian Quarterly Review, vol.3, p.5-12), with articles in response by Norval Morris and Donald Buckle (“A reply to C.S. Lewis”), J.J.C. Smart (“Comment”) and C.S. Lewis (“On punishment: a reply”)
MID/A/99   July 1981
Sheridan Gilley and Ann Loades, “Thomas Henry Huxley: the war between science and religion”, in The Journal of Religion, vol.61, p.285-308
MID/A/100   [2000s]
Martin Lockley, “Red herrings and red heresies: is the 'Intelligent Design' debate intelligent? Implications for discussions of evolution, science and spirituality” (publication unknown, printed draft, on 'scrap' paper previously used for an article about the Oxford University Socratic Club and email correspondence with Horatio Murpurgo)
MID/A/101   1979
J.R. Lucas, “Wilberforce and Huxley: a legendary encounter”, from The Historical Journal, vol.22, p.313-330
MID/A/102   [undated]
Donald M. MacKay, “Neural basis of cognitive experience” (publication unknown)
MID/A/103   25 February 1982
D.M. MacKay and Valerie MacKay, “Explicit dialogue between left and right half-systems of split brains”, from Nature, vol.295, p.690-691
MID/A/104   May-June 2001
Anne Primavesi, “The Christian Gene”, from The Fourth R (Westar Institute, Minnesota), vol.14, no.3
MID/A/105   2002
Anne Primavesi, “Introduction” (draft printout), apparently from Gaia's gift: earth, ourselves, and God after Copernicus (2003)
MID/A/106   2008
Anne Primavesi, “What's in a name? Gaia and the reality of being alive in a relational world” (publication unknown, printout apparently dated March 2008)
MID/A/107   29 May 2009
Review by Timothy B. Leduc of Anne Primavesi, 2009, Gaia and climate change: a theology of gift events, published in Climatic Change, Vol.95, p.289-295 (printout noted as published online)
MID/A/108   1953
[Percy Bysshe] Shelley, “A defence of poetry” (published 1840), photocopy from R.J. White (ed), Political tracts of Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley (1953), p.199-206
MID/A/109   2002
Joan Solomon, “The evolution of education: change and reform”, from Wheeler, Ziman and Boden (eds), The evolution of cultural entities (Proceedings of the British Academy, vol.112), p.183-200
MID/A/110   1986
Newspaper articles on NASA mistakes and disasters
MID/A/111A   1988-1989
Newspaper articles on the teaching of science and of the humanities, from the Independent and Times Higher Education Supplement (4 photocopies)
MID/A/111B   1989
Newspaper ( Guardian) articles about opposition from some Muslims to the publication of Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses, including extract of message from Ayatollah Khomeini, article by Shabbir Akhtar and “Face to Faith” column by Haider Reeve
Index terms
Khomeini, Ruhollah.
Akhtar, Shabbir.
Rushdie, Salman.
MID/A/112   1997
Newspaper articles about cloning (including Dolly the sheep)
MID/A/113   2003-2004
Newspaper articles on artificial limbs and brain implants, brain scans and controls on their use by insurance companies, computers that can think for themselves and brain damage from nanoparticles, all from the Guardian (6 cuttings)
MID/A/114   [1986]-2010
Miscellaneous newspaper cuttings retained by Mary Midgley, most from the Guardian. Includes cutting headed “Guru's catechism” for assessing safety of gurus (ca.1986), an article about the abolition of the verdict of suicide by the High Court in Dublin (annotated 'blame' by Midgley), a letter about Blake and the universities (1990), Ben Rogers on contemporary philosophy and the public (ca.1995), a story about a flying pig (2001), Michael Meacher on the 'war on terrorism' (2003), Tim Radford on the make-up of the universe, dark matter and dark energy (2004), John Gray on belief in human supremacy over other animals (2004), Ben Goldacre on bad science (2005), Paul Davies on colonising Mars (2009, with letter in response), John Gribbin on the Large Hadron Collider and multiverse theory (2009), and obituaries of Philippa Foot and Eva Ibbotson (2010)
Index terms
Foot, Philippa.
Ibbotson, Eva.
Notes and drafts for talks
Reference: MID/A/115-136
Dates of creation: [1980s-2000s]
Extent: ½ box
See also files listed above at MID/A/54-88 for additional drafts of talks on specific themes.

MID/A/115   [2001-2010]
Notes and lists of quotations apparently in connection with talks about Midgley's own books (specifically, Science and poetry and Solitary self)
MID/A/116   
Lists of quotations under the following headings:
/1. “Duties? The snags of social contract thought” (with additional list of groups/categories headed “Have we duties to:”)
/2. “Being scientific about our selves. Quotes”
/3. “Quotes for discussion of an apparent cold war” and “Is religion compatible with science?”
/4. “Quotes about evolutionary function etc” (with sheet of additional manuscript notes, referring to 'APIS' (Applied Philosophy Ideas Section: informal meetings of philosophers at Mary Midgley's home after closure of the Newcastle University Philosophy Department)

MID/A/117   [ca.1992]
Text of [talk], “Strange contest”. Typescript headed Sci[ence] & Rel[igion], with passages highlighted, 10 p. Not as published in Montefiore (ed.), The gospel and contemporary culture (1992) p.40-57, and reference to “this time of day” (p.4) suggests use for a talk rather than published article.
MID/A/118   25 May 1992
Text of [talk], “Scientism hurts science”. Typescript with minor corrections and annotated with date, 11 p. Compare “Can science save its soul?” (New Scientist, 1992), as MID/C/59. References to discussions “in my book” (p.11) and “in my recent book” (p.8) perhaps suggest use for a talk.
MID/A/119   April 1990
Text of [talk], “What about the biosphere?”, apparently from a lecture in Cardiff (also annotated Sophia). Uncorrected typescript, 8 p. Compare “Is the Biosphere a Luxury?” (Hastings Center Report, 1992), as MID/C/63 (and online via jstor).
MID/A/120   undated
Text headed, “Why literature matters”. Printout with (mainly) minor corrections, 22 p. + reading list, perhaps written for a lecture or (series of) seminar(s)
MID/A/121   
Notes headed, “On deceiving experimental subjects”, 3 p. A duplicate copy (destroyed) was annotated, “Unpublished - needs writing out”.
MID/A/122   
Notes headed, “What is a person?”, 3 p.
MID/A/123   March 1985
[Abstract of talk apparently delivered at Smithsonian] titled, “Position paper: the fear of human nature”, 2 p.
MID/A/124   
Text of talk on “Determinism”, apparently delivered at Cawdor, 3 p.
MID/A/125   
Notes for talk, “Animals in captivity”, apparently delivered at Glasgow, 3 typescript and 4 manuscript p.
MID/A/126   
Notes (chiefly manuscript) for [talk], “What is leisure?”, 6 p.
MID/A/127   
Manuscript notes (fair copy) for [seminar] (or perhaps series of classes), “Darwinism and decency”, 9 p.
MID/A/128   [? 2005]
Manuscript notes and printed draft for talk (perhaps to Jesmond Senior Men's Club in 2005 as programme online), “Agism and other Isms”
MID/A/129   
ID (Intelligent Design): quotations and notes for [discussions] at APIS (as MID/A/116) and Nott[ingham]
MID/A/130   2005
Talk to Sea of Faith [Network], [2005 UK Conference], “What, if anything, is moral relativism?”: typescript lists of quotations, notes and annotated copy of talk (prepared for publication as below). See also version online at www.sofn.org.uk.
With copy of sof (the magazine of the Sea of Faith Network, later Sofia), no.73, September 2005, with copy of published article at p.8-11.
MID/A/131   [2000s]
Annotated printout of Heaven and earth, an awkward history (as published in Philosophy Now, issue 34, 2001/2002), with set of overhead transparencies and postcard of The Sleeping Lady (from Malta)
MID/A/132   [2000s]
Text for “Talk on science and poetry”, annotated “Hybrid” (apparently referring to an organisation of that name), with reference to her book, Science and Poetry (2001) and including a transcript of a question and answer session, involving 'MM' (Mary Midgley), 'SE' (?) and 'SM' (Sian). 10 p. (typescript)
MID/A/133   [ca.2013]
Text for talk, “Great minds: Bishop Butler” (3 p.). Written on back of scrap paper, including email correspondence dated 2013 with Ian James Kidd concerning festschrift volume (Science and the Self, 2016) and definition of scientism.
MID/A/134   [2000s]
Abstract, manuscript notes, annotated handouts and printout of overhead projector slides (acetate slides not retained) for talk, “Is there cultural evolution?”
MID/A/135   [? 2009]
Notes for a lecture or seminar (or perhaps a foreward or introduction for a festschrift or similar), in honour of Stephen Clark, headed “Clarkfest”. Suggested by Clark that this may relate to a conference on his leaving employment with Liverpool University, [2009, according to his CV online].
MID/A/136   17 May 1985
Notes on cultural relativism and moral judgments, apparently for [lecture at] Anthr[opology] Inst[itute], headed “Further thoughts on Trying out one's new sword”
Overseas conferences
Reference: MID/A/137-151
Dates of creation: [1980s]-2009
Extent: 3 files
Correspondence, programmes and some other papers in relation to conferences in which Mary Midgley took part, all outwith the UK
Originially stored within a single Conferences file by Mary MIdgley (excluding last two items), but sorted by date of conference within list below.

MID/A/137   undated [early/mid 1980s]
Invitation to present a paper at University of Wisconsin-Madison, sponsored by their Institute for Environmental Studies (chair Jon Moline, [1974-1986])
MID/A/138/1-4   November 1981
Symposium at Smithsonian Institute, Washington, How humans adapt: a biocultural Odyssey. Letters (January-May 1980) and printed program (including Mary Midgley, “Toward a new understanding of human nature”). See also MID/C/45 for reprint from published papers.
MID/A/139   21-26 September 1985
Letter relating to unspecified talk for University of Georgia (Department of Philosophy)
MID/A/140/1-2   26-28 September 1985
Letter and typescript program for series of lectures at University of Chicago, Assessments of James M. Gustafson's Ethics from a theocentric perspective, including Mary Midgley, “The paradox of humanism”
MID/A/141/1-2   6-9 May 1986
Special Smithsonian Symposium, Man and Beast Revisited. List of participants and printed program, including Mary Midgley on “Interaction between humans and other animals” (discussion group), and “The fear of human nature” (panel discussion). See also published papers under same title.
MID/A/142   13 May 1986
Lecture on Evolution as a religion: strange hopes and stranger fears, at San Diego State University (Department of Biology). Poster and letters
MID/A/143   [early 1987]
Invitation letter to be Visiting Lecturer at University of Saskatchewan (Department of Philosophy)
MID/A/144/1-3   25 June - 2 July 1988
World Council of Churches consultation on God, people and nature - one community, at Sao Paulo, Brazil. Letters concerning arrangements and enclosing outline schedule.
See MID/C/192 for published article by Midgley arising from conference.
MID/A/145/1-4   19-23 June 1989
Letters from Mary Clark (professor of biology) with draft outline and printed program for conference on integrated interdisciplinary education at San Diego State University (College of Extended Studies), Rethinking the curriculum. Includes session by Mary Midgley, “Why smartness is not enough!”
With issue of Current Issues in Higher Education: Writing across the curriculum (American Association for Higher Education, no.3, 1983-84)
Conference reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol.35 no.43, 5 July 1989, p.A11-12 (available from ProQuest as in catalogue entry)
MID/A/146/1-6   March-April 1990
Conference at San Francisco State University, Animal rights and our human relationship to the biosphere, including addresses/sessions by Mary Midgley, “The vulnerable world and its claims on us”, “Animals and why they matter”, and “Women, animals and other awkward cases”. Letters, program and newspaper reports
MID/A/147/1-5   8-12 July 1991
Conference on Global History at Bellagio (Italy), organised by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Letter, outline program and venue information, with typescript of paper by Mary Midgley, “Response to Neva Goodwin's paper, 'The rounding of the earth: ecology and global history'”
MID/A/148   2-3 March 1992
Workshop, Philosophy of nature/animal biotechnology, at Amsterdam, organised by The Hastings Centre. List of participants
MID/A/149/1-6   12-13 November 1992
Environmental Ethics meeting in Brno, Czechoslovakia, organised by The Hastings Center. Letter, synopsis for case studies, list of participants and papers relating to the Nové Mlýny dam conflict
MID/A/150   14-16 June 2002
Invitation letter with outline of programme, list of invitees and outline notes, for Engelsberg Seminar, Consciousness, genetics and society, held in Avesta, Sweden by the Ax:son Johnson Foundation. See MID/A/45 for further items from this seminar.
MID/A/151   26-28 May 2009
Email concerning arrangements for conference by European Commission Research Directorate, Sustainable development: a challenge for European research, at Brussels
UK talks and lectures (admin)
Reference: MID/A/152-159
Dates of creation: 1980-2012
Extent: ½ box
Correspondence, emails and other administrative paperwork for talks and lectures given by Mary Midgley within the UK. See MID/A/115-136 for copies of and drafts for talks.

MID/A/152   1980, 1987, 1991 and 2001
For talks to 1662 Society (London), Philosophy of Education Society (London), International Bioethics Institute (at Cambridge) and University of Glasgow (Department of Adult and Continuing Education)
MID/A/153   2002
For talks for BBC Radio (Science Unit), Soil Association, University of Hull Philosophy Society, Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls, Templeton Foundation (at University of Kent), Oxford University ( Anglo-American Humans and Nature Forum) and ? Gresham College (Science and Human Agency: genes, drugs and behaviour conference)
MID/A/154   2003
For talks at Liverpool John Moores University ( Gaia debate), University of Cambridge (Who twists the helix? conference), King Alfred's College Winchester (Mystics and scientists conference), BBC Radio 4 (Women's Hour and A Good Read) and National Institute for Medical Research (Colston Lecture, “Taking the planet seriously”)
MID/A/155   2005
Talks for Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship (at Said Business School, Oxford), and launch of Gifford Lectures Online (at Edinburgh Book Festival). From www.giffordlectures.org, Mary Midgley gave the 1989/90 lecture at Edinburgh University, on “Science and salvation”.
MID/A/156   2006
Talks for Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Newcastle University (on Nussbaum, Hiding from Humanity), Serpentine Galleries (as MID/E/21), Food Animal Initiative, a conference at St Deiniol's and Edinburgh University Philosophy Society
MID/A/157   2007
Talks for Institute of Psychoanalysis, Durham University (Institute of Advanced Study, on Race, religion and inheritance), Science and religion forum (conference Theology, evolution and the mind), Science Café at Hay Festival, the BBC (on the Wilberforce/Huxley encounter and who said what to who about Iraq) and Newcastle Philosophy Society (on “Are we social animals?”). Last three undated but probably mid/late 2000s.
MID/A/158   2010
Talks for University of Liverpool ( Other ways of seeing, in honour of Stephen R.L. Clark, as MID/A/135), BBC Radio 4 (Start the week) and the RSA (with Matthew Taylor)
MID/A/159   2012
Programmes for APIS (spring 2012, with William Charlton, Claire Lamont and Ian Ground), and How the Light Gets In (philosophy festival at Hay). Correspondence for talks to International Society for Anthrozoology (Cambridge), International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry (Nottingham) and Ponteland Senior Gentlemen's Club
Lists of talks available
Reference: MID/A/160
Dates of creation: 1985-1987 and 1995
Extent: 1 file
Lists of talks offered by Mary Midgley, the 1980s lists including a brief note for each title

Letters to the press
Reference: MID/A/161
Dates of creation: 1978-2014
Extent: 1 file
Letters written to the Guardian and New Scientist, either the text as submitted by Mary Midgley (or in one case her son), or a copy/cutting of the letter as printed.
This file includes only a small proportion of Midgley's letters. They have been listed within this section rather than within the publications at MID/C, as they are more akin to interventions within a debate or discussion (philosophy in progress) than to final published outputs. Some are however included within the bibliography by Ian Kidd within Science and the Self (2016) or online
  • “Why Darwin's theory is the fittest to survive”, in Guardian, 8 December 1978 (on earlier anti-evolutionary letters): extract from newspaper
  • “Heat of animal passions”, in [Guardian], 29 March 1996 (on Charity Commission ruling concerning RSPCA campaigns): cutting (extract from related news article on reverse), with earlier letter from Chief Charity Commissioner
  • “Good god guide”, in New Scientist, 25 March 2006 (on Daniel Dennett and mimetics): text as submitted and photocopy as published
  • Reply to letter from Daniel Dennett in New Scientist, 29 April 2006 (“Misrepresenting memes”), apparently unpublished: text as submitted
  • “It's no miracle”, in New Scientist, 15 July 2006 (in response to review by Chris Nunn of Nicholas Humphrey, Seeing red: a study in consciousness): text as submitted
  • “Moral brains”, in New Scientist, 27 November 2010 (on rivalry between science and philosophy/religion, specifically Patricia Churchland on neurobiological explanations): text as submitted
  • “He holds us with his glittering eye”, in Guardian, 16 April 2011 (on memorising poems): cutting as published
  • “Existential issues”, in New Scientist, 10 September 2011 (with Peter Hacker, Jane Heal and Anthony O'Hear, on scientists and predictions of the future): text as submitted and cutting as published
  • Letter from Martin Midgley [son] to New Scientist (on use of statistics to predict human survival), submitted 5 March 2012 [? not published]
  • “Mystery of the mind”, in Guardian, 9 March 2012 (on consciousness studies and brain science, answering a comment piece by Barry Smith): text as submitted and cutting as published, with cutting of original comment piece
  • “Dresden, drones and victims of war”, in Guardian, 25 June 2012 (on use of drones in Pakistan): text as submitted
  • “Going Erewhon fast”, in Guardian, 30 August 2012 (on exam results and teaching to the test): cutting as published
  • “Choose free will”, in New Scientist, 1 September 2012 (on brain experiments by Benjamin Libet and consciousness): text as submitted
  • “The golden age of female philosophy”, in Guardian, 29 November 2013 (answering an article by Jonathan Wolff, “How can we end the male domination of philosophy?”, with cuttings of article, Midgley's letter as published, and a further letter from Joanna Hodge)
  • “Mind and body”, in New Scientist, 11 January 2014 (on consciousness and in response to Patricia Churchland): text as submitted
  • “Trade off”, in New Scientist, 22 February 2014 (on differences between humans and other animals): text as submitted
  • “Infinitely confusing”, in New Scientist, 22 March 2014 (on the theory of infinitely many universes): text as submitted
  • “False logic of those opposing assisted dying”, in Guardian, 21 July 2014: text as submitted and cutting as published

For some other letters, see: MID/A/23 ( New Scientist, 1987), MID/A/61 (Guardian and New Scientist, 1999)

MID/A/162
Additional philosphy file as listed in previous section.
Newcastle University Philosophy Department
Reference: MID/B
Dates of creation: 1977-2001
Extent: ¼ metre
Files relating to the work of the Philosophy Department at Newcastle University, or accrued while Mary Midgley worked there (1964-1980)

MID/B/1   1979-1980
Three letters from former students
MID/B/2   1978-1979 and 1984
Correspondence with Gerhard D[ietrich] Wasserman, particularly in relation to his interventions at, and request to address, the Royal Institute of Philosophy local branch. With 1984 letter to Jenny Teichman of New Hall, Cambridge. Original file cover marked (by Midgley), 'Paranoia corner'
MID/B/3   1978
Script for departmental pantomime, Cinderella: a philosophical pantomime, by Simon Thirsk (with corrections and note of cast)
MID/B/4   [early 1980s]
Script for departmental pantomime, Aladdin: a metapanto, by John Davison and Ian Ground [philosophy lecturer at Newcastle, 1980-1994]
MID/B/5   [1970s/1980s]
Script for 'competition', viz parody of a multi-choice examination paper on a range of philosophical subjects (“...the right answers to the following questions have been determined on a basis of pure chance”)
MID/B/6   1977-2001
Miscellaneous items apparently sent to Mary Midgley at the Newcastle University Philosophy department. Most were kept in a box (since destroyed) marked 'exhibits'.
/1. Parody of revised Church of England communion service headed Series 4½, by Nicholas Hodgson, undated (presumably between publication of Series 3 in 1973 and Alternative Service Book in 1980)
/2. Advertising sheet for The Cosmoton by Dr Hubert Palm (“a cosmobiological therapeutic apparatus, a universal protector, a pendant”), undated
/3-5. Invitation to participate in the World assembly on law, justice and rehabilitation to be hosted by the World Government of the Age of Enlightenment in Seelisberg, Switzerland, with envelope and programme for Inauguration of a global initiative for invincibility to every nation, 1977-1978
/6. Booklet, Zero times infinity, 1977 (see library catalogue entry)
/7. Pamphlet, Why are there 'gays' at all?, 1978 (see library catalogue entry)
/8. Letter from James R. Spink formerly of Bigfoot Research Society, on reading Midgley's Beast and Man, suggesting that she read books dictated by Jane Roberts for an incarnate spirit called Seth, annotated on back with names [of departmental staff members]
/9-14. Invitation with outline programmes and agenda for 11th International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences to be held at Philadelphia (under title, The search for absolute values and the creation of the new world), from International Cultural Foundation Inc (founder Sun Myung Moon), 1982. Annotated with [tongue-in-cheek] proposal to send [a colleague]
/15. Newsletter of International Cultural Foundation, ICF Report, vol.1 no.1, April 1983
/16. Typescript for Anders Henriksson, “Life reeked with joy”, as published in The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Spring, 1983), p.168-171, see http://www.jstor.org/stable/40256491
/17. Copy of poems from the New Scientist, “The philosopher” by M. Hammerton and “The psychologist” by John R. Morss (both based on W.S. Gilbert's I am the very model...), 1983
/18. Library appeal letter from Selly Oak Colleges, addressed to Geoffrey and Mary [Midgley], undated [1979 x 1989, based on obituary of Library Appeal Director in Birmingham Post 19 Dec 2008]
/19. Alleged text of a rejection slip from a Chinese economic journal, undated
/20. Postcard to Mary Midgley advertising 'noetic art' by Maryann Shores, forwarded on by department, 2001

Index terms
Roberts, Jane, 1929-1984
Sun Myung Moon, 1920-2012
MID/B/7   1985-1988
File “Defending philosophy 1986”, concerning the campaign to retain a Philosophy Department at Newcastle University. Includes Mary Midgley's circular letter to fellow philosophers (June 1986, “we ought to do some public philosophizing”), with reply from Peter Strawson (photocopy and transcript). Also articles:
  • Two articles by Midgley for the Guardian (Body and Soul column), “Do not rip out essential plumbing” (19 June 1985) and “Thinking about it” (25 February 1987)
  • Letters to editors from Midgley, George MacDonald Ross (National Committee for Philosophy), Tony McWalter, Robin Attfield, Tony Allwright and others
  • Articles on the closure by Newcastle University of its philosophy department, from the Newcastle Evening Chronicle
  • Newspaper and journal articles by Lachlan Chipman (Canberra Times), R.M. Hare (Guardian), Michael Dummett (“Universities at risk”, The Tablet, 30 May 1987), Simon Thirsk (Newcastle Journal) and Independent (leader article)

Includes note on origins and activities of the National Committee for Philosophy (by George MacDonald Ross, 1988), two typescript letters by Midgley on other matters (studying philosophy at Oxford during wartime and philosophy discussions at Nottingham University) and Philosophy graduates and jobs: a report prepared for the Royal Institute of Philosophy by Peter Ratcliffe and Martin Warner (Royal Institute of Philosophy and University of Warwick, 1986).
MID/B/8   2001
Notes, prospectus, correspondence and course outlines in connection with Philosophical Studies programme, led by Professor Milan Jaros within Centre for Research in Knowledge Science and Society at Newcastle University
MID/B/9   23 October 2007
Inaugural address of Chris Brink as Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University, 3 p. Sentence relating to the civic university and knowledge economy highlighted
Published and broadcast outputs
Reference: MID/C
Dates of creation: 1942-2012
Extent: 1 metre
The earlier items from 1940s-1960s (MID/C/1-24) were written or broadcast under Mary's birth name (Scrutton). From the 1970s (and for her philosophical work), articles and reviews are all published under her married name (Midgley). This series includes some unpublished fiction, poetry and plays as well as her published articles and reviews.
See also bibliography at start of this catalogue and online.
For recorded or published interviews with Mary Midgley, see section MID/E/14-33. Drafts of articles (if retained) will generally be found within MID/A, along with copies of talks and lectures, and letters to the press are at MID/A/161.
See the following files for additional offprints or as-published copies of articles: MID/A/36 ( Philosophy, 1974 and 1978), MID/A/67 (Gaia Circular, 1999), MID/A/69 (The Month, 1999), MID/A/85B (The Tablet, 2001), MID/A/88 (Dangers of Deterrence, 1983), MID/A/131 (Philosophy Now, 2001/2002)
For files relating to publication of her books (with some readers' reports and published reviews), see section MID/D.

early reviews
Reference: MID/C/1
Dates of creation: 1951-1963
Extent: 1 folder
News cuttings and galley proofs for reviews (chiefly of novels), all from New Statesman and Nation (from 1957/8 New Statesman). Published under the name Mary Scrutton (or variant spellings as stated). See MID/C/109-189 for later reviews.

MID/C/1/1   [ca.1956]
Review, under the title “The push-me pull-you women”, apparently from New Statesman and Nation (incomplete fragment, similar printing to MID/C/1/2), of Alva Myrdal and Viola Klein, Women's two roles (Routledge, [1956])

1f 
Index terms
Myrdal, Alva, 1902-1986., author
Klein, Viola., author
MID/C/1/2   [ca.1957]
Reviews of following novels, under the title “New Novels”, from New Statesman and Nation ('rough proof', undated):A.A. Murray, The blanket (Deutsch, [1957])
Chang Hsin-Hai, The fabulous concubine (Cape, [1957])
Henry Treece, The golden strangers (Bodley Head, [1956])
Martyn Goff, The plaster fabric (Putnam, [1957])

1f 
Index terms
Chang, Hsin-hai, 1900-1972., author
Treece, Henry, 1911-1966., author
Goff, Martyn., author
MID/C/1/3   28 July 1951
Reviews of following works, under the title “Reason, intelligence and frenzy”, from New Statesman and Nation:John Holloway, Language and intelligence (Macmillan)
D.J. McCracken, Thinking and valuing (Macmillan)
H.J. Paton, In defence of reason (Hutchinson)
H.D. Lewis, Morals and revelation (Allen & Unwin)

2f 
Index terms
Lewis, Hywel David., author
Paton, H. J. (Herbert James), 1887-, author
Holloway, John, 1920-1999., author
MID/C/1/4   30 October 1954
Reviews of following novels, under the title “New Novels”, from New Statesman and Nation:Kate Christie, Smith (Collins)
Dorothy Charques, The valley (Murray)
Antonia White, Beyond the glass (Eyre & Spottiswoode)
Margaret Lane, A crown of convolvulus (Heinemann)

2f 
Index terms
Lane, Margaret, 1907-, author
White, Antonia, 1899-1980., author
Charques, Dorothy., author
Christie, Kate., author
MID/C/1/5   28 April 1956
Reviews of following novels, under the title “New Novels”, from New Statesman and Nation:Honor Tracy, The straight and narrow path (Methuen)
Mary McCarthy, A charmed life (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Patrick White, The tree of man (Eyre & Spottiswoode)
Stella Zilliacus, Six people in love (Putnam)

1f 
Index terms
Zilliacus, Stella., author
White, Patrick, 1912-1990., author
McCarthy, Mary, 1912-1989., author
Tracy, Honor., author
MID/C/1/6   26 May 1956
Reviews of following novels, under the title “New Novels”, from New Statesman and Nation:Vilhelm Moberg, The emigrants (Reinhardt)
Ruskin Bond, The room on the roof (Deutsch)
Wolf Mankowitz, My old man's a dustman (Deutsch)

1f 
Index terms
Mankowitz, Wolf., author
Bond, Ruskin., author
Moberg, Vilhelm, 1898-1973., author
MID/C/1/7   16 June 1956
Review, under the title “Outsiderismus”, from New Statesman and Nation, of Colin Wilson, The outsider (Gollancz)

2f 
Index terms
Wilson, Colin, 1931-2013., author
MID/C/1/8   [ca.1958]
Reviews of following works, from [New Statesman and Nation] (galley proof, with minor corrections):Egon Larsen, Men who fought for freedom (Phoenix, [1958])
Aubrey de Selincourt, Six great thinkers (Hamish Hamilton, [1958])
Francis Noel-Baker, Fridtjof Nansen; Jo Manton, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson; James A. Williamson, George and Robert Stephenson (“Lives to Remember” series, A. & C. Black, [1958])
Josceline Finberg, Exploring villages (Routledge & Kegan Paul, [1958])
R.R. Sellman, Prehistoric Britain (Methuen's Outlines, [1958])

1f 
Index terms
Sellman, R. R. (Roger Raymond), 1915-, author
Finberg, Joscelyne, 1910-1995., author
Williamson, James Alexander, 1886-, author
Manton, Jo, 1919-, author
Noel-Baker, Francis Edward, 1920-2009., author
De Sélincourt, Aubrey, 1894-1962., author
Larsen, Egon, 1904-1990., author
MID/C/1/9   18 February [1957]
Reviews of following novels, under the title “New Novels”, from [New Statesman and Nation] (galley proof, uncorrected):Margaret Kennedy, The heroes of clone (Macmillan, [1957])
Muriel Spark, The comforters (Macmillan, [1957])
Derek Barton, Good relations (Michael Joseph, [1957])
Charles Morgan, Challenge to Venus (Macmillan, [1957])

1f 
Index terms
Morgan, Charles, 1894-1958., author
Spark, Muriel., author
Kennedy, Margaret, 1896-1967., author
MID/C/1/10   19 November [1956]
Reviews of following novels, under the title “New Novels”, from [New Statesman and Nation] (galley proof, uncorrected):Roy Fuller, Image of a society (Deutsch, [1956])
Pamela Hansford Johnson, The last resort (Macmillan, [1956])
James Kinross, The pike in the reeds (Murray, [1956])
Juan Ramon Jimenez, Platero and I (Rolphin Books, [1956])

1f 
Index terms
Jiménez, Juan Ramón, 1881-1958., author
Kinross, James., author
Johnson, Pamela Hansford, 1912-1981., author
Fuller, Roy, 1912-1991., author
MID/C/1/11   16 July [1957]
Reviews of following novels, under the title “New Novels”, from [New Statesman and Nation] (galley proof, surname corrected from 'Sculton' but other errors not corrected):Walter Macken, Sullivan (Macmillan, [1957])
Renee Massip (transl. Cecily Mackworth), The schoolmistress (Chatto & Windus, [1957])
Stephen Longstreet, The promoters ([Weidenfeld] & Nicolson, [1957])
Edward Abbey, The brave cowboy (Eyre & Spottiswoode, [1957])

1f 
Index terms
Abbey, Edward, 1927-1989., author
Longstreet, Stephen, 1907-2002., author
Massip, Renée., author
Macken, Walter, 1915-1967., author
MID/C/1/12   11 November [1957]
Reviews of following works, under the title “Lives of great men all remind us”, from [New] Statesman (galley proof, uncorrected, name written as Mary Sutton):Nesta Pain, Louis Pasteur (Black, [1957])
Laurence Meynell, Thomas Telford (Bodley Head, [1957])
J.W. and Anne Tibble, Helen Keller (Black, [1957])
Audrey Cammiade, Napoleon (Methuen, [1957])
I.O. Evans, The story of our world (Hutchinson, [1957])
Kathleen Savage, The story of the Second World War (Oxford, [1957])
Elizabeth Ripley, Goya (Oxford, [1956])

1f 
Index terms
Ripley, Elizabeth., author
Evans, I.O. (Idrisyn Oliver), 1894-1977., author
Cammiade, Audrey., author
Tibble, Anne Northgrave., author
Tibble, J. W. (John William), 1901-, author
Meynell, Laurence, 1899-1989., author
Pain, Nesta, 1905-1995., author
MID/C/1/13   [ca.1957]
Review, apparently under title “Mrs Dale, B.A.”, from [New Statesman] (galley proof, uncorrected, name written as May Soulton), of [Judith Hubback], Wives who went to College ([Heinemann, 1957])

1f 
Index terms
Hubback, Judith., author
MID/C/1/14   25 March [1957]
Reviews of following novels, under the title “New Novels”, from [New Statesman] (galley proof, uncorrected):David Stacton, Remember me (Faber, [1957])
Francis King, The widow (Longman's, [1957])
Elizabeth Coxhead, The friend in need (Collins, [1957])
Mungo M. MacCallum, A voyage in love (Deutsch, [1957])
Jean Cocteau, The imposter (Peter Owen, [1957])

1f 
Index terms
Cocteau, Jean, 1889-1963., author
Coxhead, Elizabeth, 1909-, author
King, Francis, 1923-2011., author
Stacton, David, 1925-1968., author
MID/C/1/15   [ca.1963]
Reviews of following works, under the title “New England Shinto”, from New Statesman (galley proof, with minor corrections):Evelyn Ames, Daughter of the house (Hutchinson, [1963])
May Sarton, I knew a phoenix (Owen, [1963])

1f 
Index terms
Sarton, May, 1912-1995., author
Ames, Evelyn, 1908-1990., author
radio scripts
Reference: MID/C/2-17
Dates of creation: 1949-[1990s] (chiefly before 1957)
Extent: ½ box
All scripts are typescripts, usually with minor corrections, and are either presumed or stated to be for the BBC Third Programme, except as noted. Broadcast under name 'Mary Scrutton', except as stated.
See also scripts published in The Listener, at MID/C/26. Her Owl of Minerva (p.180-181) includes references to appearing on BBC Radio programmes Woman's Hour (summer 1953) and A Word in Edgeways (? 1950s).
The British Library Sound Archive includes the following recordings featuring Mary Midgley:“Human & Animal Rights”, recorded at ICA, with Pat Caplin, Tim Ingold and Jean La Fontaine (10 November 1988), British Library refs C95/415 and F613
“Planet of the apes”, broadcast on BBC Two as “The Exploratory”, with Roy Porter and others (22 February 1994), British Library ref V2870/02
“The solitary self”, recorded at RSA, London, with Matthew Taylor (20 September 2010), British Library ref C494/1719
“The self is not an illusion”, recorded at RSA, London, with Rob Newman (22 May 2014), British Library ref C494/2150


MID/C/2   undated [1950s]
Script for review of Mrs Henry Wood, East Lynne [1861], under title “Free Fall”
9f 
MID/C/3   undated [1950s]
Script for talk “Rings & Books”, looking at the numbers of unmarried philosophers. According to The Owl of Minerva, this script was rejected by the Third Programme producer, Aniouta Kallin (p.181), and never broadcast.
9f 
MID/C/4   undated [1950s]
Two versions of scripts for “Spook Pictures” or “The Ghostly Gallery”, recounting a dream about an art gallery populated with exhibits by characters in fiction. Undated but references Dr Verwoerd [Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa 1958-1966 but politically active from 1948].
7f + 10f 
MID/C/5   [ca.1949]
Script for review of Whately Carington, Mind, matter and meaning [1949], under title “What are we made of? or Don't shoot the psychical researcher”
10f 
MID/C/6   [ca.1950]
Script for review of Cecil Woodham Smith, Florence Nightingale [1950]
8f 
MID/C/7   [1952]
Script for “Letter to posterity”, “to give ... the Woman's Point of View”, and referencing birth of her son Thomas [born December 1950]
See MID/C/26 for copy of this talk as published in The Listener, 27 March 1952
10f 
MID/C/8   [ca.1952]
Script for review of Angus Wilson, Hemlock and after [1952], under title “The price of hemlock” (producer Anna Kallin)
6f 
MID/C/9   5 July 1952 (broadcast date)
Script for review of [Margaret Cole, ed.], Beatrice Webb's diaries 1912-1924, for Third Programme (producer Anna Kallin)
6f 
MID/C/10   18 August 1952
Two versions of scripts (both heavily corrected) for “Narcissus on Helicon”, or “The pursuit of one's own image in prophecy and history”, one dated by Mary
11f + 6f 
MID/C/11   8 January 1953 (broadcast date)
Script for review of (probably) E.R. Dodds, The Greeks and the irrational [1951], under title “Haunted Hellas” (producer Anna Kallin)
7f 
MID/C/12   [? late 1950s]
Script for review of Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim. Apparently written some time after its first publication in 1954.
5f (plus correction slip) 
MID/C/13   9 August 1956
Script for “On being reformed” (part of a series, “Some horrors of childhood”), as published in The Listener. Noted as broadcast on Home Service. See also copy within MID/C/26.
2f 
MID/C/14   6 October 1956 (transmission date)
Script for review of Alan Pryce-Jones (ed), The new outline of modern knowledge (1956), for Third Programme (producer D.S. Carne-Ross)
9f 
MID/C/15   21 November 1962 (transmission date)
Script for review of Samuel Richardson, Pamela, or virtue rewarded, for Network Three (series “Unread classics”, producer Arthur Langford)
19f 
MID/C/16   July 1979
Script for “Sounding off” (on 'stiffle' at parties), heavily corrected, under name Mary Midgley
4f 
MID/C/17A   13 April 1981 (? recording date, noted as [broadcast] 5 May)
Script for review of Samuel Richardson, Clarissa, under name Mary Midgley (series “What books I please”)
16f 
MID/C/17B   24 January 2001
Printed draft for contribution to [BBC Radio 4], The Moral Maze, under title, “Has science done more harm or good?”, under name Mary Midgley. Undated, but date confirmed by BBC Moral Maze programme team.
poetry and plays
Reference: MID/C/18-21
Dates of creation: [? chiefly 1942]
Extent: ¼ box
Unpublished poetry and scripts for plays, perhaps all written for Downe House school ca.1942

MID/C/18   [? 1942]
Two versions of “Fragment from a Clichiad, in at least 25 books” (mock epic poem), apparently written for the “Remove and Fourth forms”
2f 
MID/C/19   [? 1942]
Script for play, “Workers' playtime”, featuring a teacher and pupil from Downe House school stranded at a secret wartime factory
9f 
MID/C/20   [? 1942]
Script for play, “Gone away: a comedy of the Regency”, featuring characters Charles James Fox, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Edmund Burke and others
9f plus covers 
MID/C/21   [? 1942]
Script for play, “Olympian prejudice” (at least three copies, apparently partly disordered)
84f 
novels and short stories
Reference: MID/C/22-24, 225
Dates of creation: [late 1950s to 1970s]
Extent: small box + 2 files
Unpublished novel (as Owl of Minerva p.182-183) and two short stories (with rejection letters)

MID/C/22   [late 1950s]
Typescript of Wintersault: a novel, with rejection letter from Russell & Volkening (literary agents, New York) dated 23 June 1980. Noted as written in the late 1950s in The Owl of Minerva p.182
209f (at least one page noted as lost) + title page, covered ring binder and letter 1f 
MID/C/23   November-December 1962 (date of letters)
Typescripts for short story The Hobby (two copies, one heavily corrected), with letters of rejection from Woman's Journal and Woman's Realm (both objecting to the theme of tattooing within the story). One copy of the story is superscribed Mary Scrutton, letters are written to her as Mrs Midgley.
19f + 20f + 2f 
MID/C/24   9 January 1963 (date of letter)
Typescripts for short story The official world (three copies, one with corrections and one dated 23 February 1963), with letter of rejection (as “not suitable”) from Woman's Journal. Typescripts are superscribed Mary Scrutton, letters are written to her as Mrs Midgley.
19f + 19f + 19f + 1f 
MID/C/225   [? early 1970s]
Typescript drafts and manuscript notes for second novel, working title U.P.A.C. or Universal Provident Assurance Company, and apparently abandoned when Mary began work on Beast and Man
/1. Manuscript plot summary/notes. Novel set in period 1908-1927 and relates to a [life] insurance company established by the inheritor (by a fraudulent will) of "Castle Doyne" (described as early Vanbrugh), for “helping fraudulent tycoons to vanish and escape arrest”. Action relates to Ireland, St Alban's, Ealing and South America (including a “ruined convent full of mysterious recluses run by Aztec priest”)
/2-7. Corrected typescript drafts for chapters 1-6 (pages numbered 1-86)
/8. Corrected manuscript draft for chapter 6 as above, but extending well beyond the text within the typescript in file /7
/9. Notebook containing manuscript draft (with further notes at back of notebook), apparently covering chapters 1-5 as files /2-6 above
/10. Notebook with further manuscript drafts (working from both front and back of notebook), apparently originally used for a story by D.J. Midgley

8 folders and 2 notebooks (one small box) 
journal articles 1950s
Reference: MID/C/25-33
Dates of creation: 1950-1959
Extent: ¼ box
All published under the name Mary Scrutton, chiefly in The Twentieth Century
Listed within the library printed catalogue, where they can be found by doing a shelfmark search.

journal articles from 1972
Reference: MID/C/34-102, 195-208, 211-224
Dates of creation: 1972-2014
Extent: 2 boxes

Listed within the library printed catalogue, where they can be found by doing a shelfmark search.

Articles marked up for reprinting
Reference: MID/C/103
Dates of creation: [ca.1996]
Extent: 1 folder
Set of articles marked up by Mary Midgley for reprinting. All but the last appeared as chapters within her Utopias, Dolphins and Computers (Routledge, 1996), as noted below, but in some cases were originally marked up with slightly different chapter numbers as noted. Whether this collection represents an earlier selection of articles for reprinting in Utopias..., or for another work (not published), is unknown. A set of page proofs for her “Reductive Megalomania” (published 1996 in John Cornwell (ed.), Nature's imagination...) can be found in file MID/A/78, and is marked in a similar way with the number 10 (though not included within Utopias...).
/1. “Homunculus Trouble”, originally published 1990 (Utopias... chapter 3): corrected photocopy
/2. “Myths of intellectual isolation”, originally published 1988-89 (Utopias... chapter 4): offprint, not corrected
/3. “The use and uselessness of learning”, originally published 1990 (Utopias... chapter 5, originally marked 7): offprint, not corrected. See also MID/A/53/1.
/4. “Sex and personal identity”, originally published 1984 (Utopias... chapter 6, originally marked 5): photocopy, with minor annotations
/5. “Freedom, feminsm and war”, originally published 1987 (Utopias... chapter 7, originally marked 6): extract, not corrected
/6. “Beasts versus the biosphere?”, originally published 1992 (not reprinted, originally marked 9a): photocopy

Bibliographic details for the above articles can be found within the library printed catalogue, using a shelfmark search.

Monographs (pamphlets)
Reference: MID/C/104-108, 209-210
Dates of creation: 1984-2001
Extent: 1 folder

Listed within the library printed catalogue, where they can be found by doing a shelfmark search.
These and other monographs (books) by Mary Midgley are listed within the library catalogue: see links from the bibliography at start of this catalogue.

reviews by Mary Midgley
Reference: MID/C/109-189
Dates of creation: 1974-2012
Extent: ½ box
For earlier reviews (published under the name 'Mary Scrutton'), see MID/C/1. For reviews by other people of Mary's books, see section MID/D.
Additional reviews by Mary Midgley which are not represented within her papers include the following (this is not a comprehensive list):of Roderick Frazier Nash, The Rights of Nature, published under title “What Rights Does a Seagull Have?” in Commonweal (16 June 1989), p.376
of Hugo Anthony Meynell, Freud, Marx, and Morals, of Francis Jeanson, Sartre and the Problem of Morality, of Ronald W. Clark, Freud: The Man and the Cause, of John Cohen, The Lineaments of Mind, of John Thorp, A Defence Against Neurophysiological Determinism, of Walter J. Ong, Fighting for Life and of Lawrence A. Blum, Friendship, Altruism and Morality, published under title “On Facts & Values: How to deal with dragons” in Encounter (October 1981) p.50-55
of Donald R. Griffin, Animal Thinking and L. Weiskrantz, Animal Intelligence, published under title “Embarrassing Relatives: Humans & other intelligent animals” in Encounter (March 1986), p.40-42


MID/C/109   [1974]
Review by Mary Midgley of John Passmore, Man's responsibility for nature (1974), published under title “New books” (journal unknown), photocopy
MID/C/110   [1979]
Review by Mary Midgley of Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt (transl. Eric Mosbacher), The biology of peace and war: men, animals and aggression (1979), [published under title “Heart of darkness” in Inquiry (24 December 1979), p.27], corrected typescript draft, apparently incomplete (typed onto scrap paper)
MID/C/111   Spring 1981
Review by Mary Midgley of Ben-Ami Scharfstein, The philosophers, published under title “The mighty dead philosophers” in [New Universities Quarterly], cutting
MID/C/112   Summer 1981
Reviews by Mary Midgley of Martha Vicinus (ed), Suffer and be still: women in the Victorian Age and A widening sphere: changing roles of Victorian women, and of Janet Radcliffe Richards, The sceptical feminist, a philosophical enquiry, published under title “Feminism without fantasy” in [New Universities Quarterly], cutting
MID/C/113   19 November 1981
Review by Mary Midgley of Douglas R. Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett (eds), The mind's I: fantasies and reflections on self and soul, published under title “Lasers through the looking-glass” in New Society, photocopy
MID/C/114   January 1982
Review by Mary Midgley of Uffe J. Jenson and Rom Harré (eds), The philosophy of evolution (1981), published under title “Non-genetic mutations” in [Times Literary Supplement], typescript draft with (mostly) minor corrections
MID/C/115   [1982]
Review by Mary Midgley of Anne Coote and Beatrix Campbell, Sweet freedom: the struggle for women's liberation, published under title “Which way is left?” in New Society, galley proof
MID/C/116   12 March 1983
Review by Mary Midgley of Melvin Konner, The tangled wing: biological constraints on the human spirit, published under title “Readmitting the dark” in The Tablet, photocopy
MID/C/117   [December] 1983
Review by Mary Midgley of Roger Trigg, The shaping of man: philosophical aspects of sociobiology, published in Religious Studies, page proofs
MID/C/118   10 September 1983
Review by Mary Midgley of Bruno Bettelheim, Freud and man's soul, published under title “Putting us right about Freud” in The Tablet, cutting
MID/C/119   7 April 1984
Review by Mary Midgley of Colin Turnbull, The human cycle, published under title “Cultures in contrast” in The Tablet, cutting
Also review by Judith Hughes of Tom Regan, The case for animal rights, from same
MID/C/120   May-June 1984
Review by Mary Midgley of Tom Regan, The case for animal rights, published under title “Moral map” in Resurgence, cutting
MID/C/121   28 September 1984
Reviews by Mary Midgley of David Boucher, The feminist challenge, Hester Eisenstein, Contemporary feminist thought, and Juliet Mitchell, Women: the longest revolution, published under title “Crisis in the movement” in Times Literary Supplement, cutting
MID/C/122   18-31 October 1984
Reviews by Mary Midgley of Barbara Harford and Sarah Hopkins (eds), Greenham Common: women at the wire, and of Freeman Dyson, Weapons and hope, published under title “Shouting across the gulf” in London Review of Books, extract
MID/C/124   [April 1984]
Review by Mary Midgley of Sissela Bok, Secrets: on the ethics of concealment and revelation, published under title “Veils and violations” in [Times Literary Supplement], photocopy
MID/C/125   [December] 1985
Review by Mary Midgley of Robert Boakes, From Darwin to Behaviourism: psychology and the minds of animals, published in The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, proof copy
MID/C/123 and 126   autumn 1986
Review by Mary Midgley of Nicholas Maxwell, From knowledge to wisdom: a revolution in the aims and methods of science, published under title “Is wisdom forgotten?” in Universities Quarterly: culture, education and society vol.40, no.4 (typescript draft with minor corrections plus issue of journal)
MID/C/127   5 February 1987
Review by Mary Midgley of Vicki Hearne, Adam's task: calling animals by name, published under title “Who did you say was dumb?” in London Review of Books, photocopy
MID/C/128   10 July 1987
Reviews by Mary Midgley of Hugh Miall, Nuclear weapons, who's in charge?, of Roman Kolkowicz (ed), Dilemmas of nuclear strategy and of Robert Macnamara, Blundering into disaster: surviving the first century of the nuclear age, published under title “To what end?” in Guardian, cutting and corrected typescript draft (latter also covering Ann Pettit, D.I.Y. Detente: a guide to meeting people in the Soviet Union)
MID/C/129   [1987]
Review by Mary Midgley of Nicholas A. Rupke (ed), Vivisection in historical perspective (1987), publication date/source unknown, typescript draft
MID/C/130   29 September 1988
Review by Mary Midgley of Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer (eds), Bioethics (journal, Blackwell, 1987-), published under title “On life and death” in Nature vol.335, p.476 (photocopy)
MID/C/131   25 June 1989
Review by Mary Midgley of Yi-Fu Tuan, Morality and imagination: Paradoxes of progress, published under title “How I ought vs how I do” in The New York Times Book Review, extract
MID/C/132   18 May 1990
Review by Mary Midgley of Ivan Tolstoy, The knowledge and the power: reflections on the history of science, published under title “From chaos to ... chaos” in New Statesman and Society, proof copy
MID/C/133   [1990]
Reviews by Mary Midgley of Gordon E. Michalson, Jr, Fallen freedom: Kant on radical evil and moral regeneration (1990), and of John Kekes, Facing evil (1990), publication date/journal unknown, photocopy
MID/C/134   [1991]
Reviews by Mary Midgley of Rom Harré, Physical being (1991), and of Roy Bhaskar (ed), Harré and his critics (1990), under title “People and their bodies” (publication unknown), corrected typescript
MID/C/135   13 April 1992
Review by Mary Midgley of Bryan Appleyard, Understanding the present: science and the soul of modern man, published under title “Free from the monster of science” in Life and Times [part of The Times newspaper], photocopy
MID/C/136   21 November 1992
Review by Mary Midgley of Lewis Wolpert, The unnatural nature of science, published under title “Humanity under the white coat” in Times, cutting
MID/C/137   [1992]
Reviews by Mary Midgley of Peter Danielson, Artificial morality: virtuous robots for virtual games (1992), and of Barrie Sherman and Phil Judkins, Glimpses of heaven, visions of hell: virtual reality and its implications, under title “Virtual problems” (publication unknown), typescript
MID/C/138   18 June 1993
Reviews by Mary Midgley of Terrance McConnell, Gratitude, of George P. Fletcher, Loyalty, and of J.R. Lucas, Responsibility, published under title “Virtuous circles: gratitude, loyalty, responsibility and the solitary chooser” in Philosophy, cutting
MID/C/139   April 1993
Review by Mary Midgley of Mary Warnock, The uses of philosophy, published in Philosophical Investigations, vol.16 no.2 (whole issue of journal)
MID/C/140   October 1993
Review ('Critical Notice') by Mary Midgley of Iris Murdoch, Metaphysics as a guide to morals, published in Philosophical Investigations, vol.16 no.4 (whole issue of journal, plus typescript draft)
MID/C/141   24 March 1994
Review by Mary Midgley of Richard Sorabji, Animal minds and human morals: the origins of the Western Debate (1993), published under title “Beastly beliefs” in Nature
MID/C/142   [1994]
Review by Mary Midgley of Marshall T. Savage, The millennial project: colonizing the galaxy in eight easy steps (1992-1994), draft printout with title “Hypermillennial” noted as published in Times Higher Education Supplement
MID/C/143   26 May 1995
Review by Mary Midgley of Janet Browne, Charles Darwin. Vol.1, Voyaging, published under title “Darwin's central problems” in Science, vol.268, p.1196-1197
MID/C/144   4 April 1996
Review by Mary Midgley of Paul Shepard, The others: how animals made us human, published under title “Acknowledging our relatives” in Nature, vol.380, p.401
MID/C/145   1 June 1996
Review by Mary Midgley of Evelyn Fox-Keller, Refiguring life: metaphors of twentieth-century biology (1995), published under title “Just words? Scientific language and the direction of research” in [Minerva, vol.34], p.204-209
MID/C/146   25 October 1996
Review by Mary Midgley of Keith Ward, God, chance and necessity, corrected draft under title “Bizarre imperialism”, noted as published in Tablet
MID/C/147   [1996]
Review by Mary Midgley of Paola Cavalieri and Peter Singer (eds), The great ape project: equality beyond humanity (1996), draft printout under title “Who are they?” (publication unknown)
MID/C/148   1997
Review by Mary Midgley of Howard Kahane, Contract ethics: evolutionary biology and the natural sentiments (1995), draft printout, [published in Philosophy, vol.72, p.418-471]
MID/C/149   [1997]
Review by Mary Midgley of John R. Searle, The construction of social reality (1995), draft printout under title “Skimpole unmasked”, [published in History of the Human Sciences, vol.10, p.92-96]
MID/C/150   [1997]
Review by Mary Midgley of Anthony O'Hear, Beyond evolution: human nature and the limits of evolutionary explanation (1997), draft printout (publication unknown)
MID/C/151   17 July 1998
Review by Mary Midgley of Edward O. Wilson, Consilience: the unity of knowledge, published under title “A well-meaning cannibal” in Commonweal (cutting)
MID/C/152   31 October 1998
Review by Mary Midgley of Jeremy Rifkin, The biotech century, published under title “Life in our hands” in New Scientist (cutting from publication plus longer draft version with title, “After alchemy”)
MID/C/153   21 May 1999
Review by Mary Midgley of Susan Haack, Manifesto of a passionate moderate, published under title “Truth and consequences” in Commonweal (cutting)
MID/C/154   24 May 1999
Review by Mary Midgley of Marian Stamp Dawkins, Through our eyes only? The search for animal consciousness, published under title “Descartes' prisoners” in New Statesman (cutting)
MID/C/155   10 June 1999
Review by Mary Midgley of Michael Nichols and Jane Goodall, Brutal kinship, published under title “Apes and their place in our world” in Nature, vol.399, p.537 (photocopy)
MID/C/156   [? 4 July] 1999
Review by Mary Midgley of Leslie Stevenson and David L. Haberman, Ten theories of human nature (1998, 3rd ed.), published under title “On your Marx for a philosophical race through human nature” in Times Higher Education Supplement (photocopy)
MID/C/157   6 September 1999
Review by Mary Midgley of Steve Jones, Almost like a whale: the origin of species updated, published under title “Monkey business” in New Statesman (cutting)
MID/C/158   13 March 2000
Review by Mary Midgley of Christopher Boehm, Hierarchy in the forst: the evolution of egalitarian behavior, published under title “Both nice and nasty” in New Statesman (cutting)
MID/C/159   March-April 2000
Review by Mary Midgley of Marcha C. Nussbaum and Cass R. Sunstein (eds), Clones and clones: facts and fantasies about human cloning (1998), Michael Reiss and Roger Straughan, Improving nature? The science and ethics of genetic engineering (1996), and Jeremy Rifkin, The biotech century: harnessing the gene and remaking the world (1998), published under title “Alchemy revived” in Hastings Center Report (extract as published and corrected draft)
MID/C/160   6 October 2000
Review by Mary Midgley of Raymond Tallis, On the edge of certainty, published under title “The correct change for life's bus” in Times Higher Education Supplement (cutting)
MID/C/161   October 2000
Review by Mary Midgley of Kenan Malik, Man, beast and zombie: what science can and cannot tell us about human nature, draft printout, noted as published in Evening Standard
MID/C/162   [2000]
Review by Mary Midgley of [John Ziman], Real science: what it is and what it means (2000), publication not traced (draft printout, 8 p.)
MID/C/163   6 January 2001
Review by Mary Midgley of Mary Warnock, A memoir: people and places, published under title “Society's moral philosopher” in The Tablet (cutting)
MID/C/164   10 February 2001
Review by Mary Midgley of Anne Primavesi, Sacred Gaia: holistic theology and earth system science, published under title “Taking the earth seriously” in The Tablet (cutting)
MID/C/165   [February 2001]
Review by Mary Midgley of James Lovelock, Homage to Gaia: the life of an independent scientist, published in Environmental Values, vol.10, no.1, p.141-142 (draft printout as published plus shorter version with title “Standing up for the earth”)
MID/C/166   14 September 2001
Review by Mary Midgley of Philippa Foot, Natural goodness, and of Simon Blackburn, Being good: a short introduction to ethics, published under title “Reflecting in the house of moral mirrors” in The Times Higher (cutting)
MID/C/167   12 April 2002
Review by Mary Midgley of Robert Nozick, Invariances: the structure of the objective world, published under title “ETs and a search for wobbly truths” in The Times Higher (cutting)
MID/C/168   21 June 2002
Review by Mary Midgley of Steven L. Winter, A clearing in the forest: law, life and mind, published under title “The thickets of legal precedent” in The Times Literary Supplement (extract)
MID/C/169   21 September 2002
Review by Mary Midgley of Steven Pinker, The blank slate: the modern denial of human nature, published under title “It's all in the mind” in Guardian (cutting, with corrected draft printout under title, “Right diagnosis, wrong prescription”, and printed text for a different review headed “Psychology?”, publication unknown)
MID/C/170   8 August 2003
Review by Mary Midgley of John Habgood, The concept of nature, published under title “So what exactly is natural?” in Times Higher Education Supplement (cutting and draft printout as sent October 2002)
MID/C/171   1 March 2003
Review by Mary Midgley of Daniel C. Dennett, Freedom evolves, published under title “Fate by fluke” in Guardian (cutting)
MID/C/172   27 September 2003
Review by Mary Midgley of Charles Pasternak, Quest: the essence of humanity, published under title “Curiouser and curiouser” in Guardian, cutting
MID/C/173   [2003]
Review by Mary Midgley of John Dupré, Darwin's legacy: what evolution means today (2003), publication unknown (printout, 2 p.)
MID/C/174   January 2004
Review by Mary Midgley of Evelyn Fox Keller, Making sense of life: explaining biological development with models (2002), published in Philosophical Investigations, vol.27, p.105-109 (draft printout)
MID/C/175   13 February 2004
Review by Mary Midgley of David Lorimer, Radical prince: the practical vision of the Prince of Wales, published in Times Literary Supplement (draft printout)
MID/C/176   [14 April 2004]
Review by Mary Midgley of Clive D.L. Wynne, Do animals think?, and of Jeffrey Masson, The pig who sang to the moon, published under title “Us and them” in [New Statseman] (cutting, undated, plus draft printout annotated with publication details)
MID/C/177   5 June 2004
Review by Mary Midgley of Judith Butler, Precarious life: the powers of mourning and violence, published under title “Counting the cost of revenge” in Guardian (printout with publication details)
MID/C/178   September 2005
Review by Mary Midgley of David Albert Jones, The soul of the embryo: an enquiry into the status of the human embryo in the Christian tradition (2004), published in New Blackfriars, vol.86, no.1005, p.560-562 (page proofs)
MID/C/179   27 January 2006
Review by Mary Midgley of Chris Nunn, De La Mettrie's ghost: the story of decisions, published under title “How to attain a free spirit” in Times Higher Education Supplement (cutting, annotated 'much altered', plus draft printout as sent)
MID/C/180   1 May 2006
Review by Mary Midgley of Fons Elders (ed), Visions of nature: studies on the theory of Gaia and culture in ancient and modern times (2004), published in Environmental Values, vol.15, p.253-255 (draft printout)
MID/C/181   2006
Review by Mary Midgley of Niles Eldredge, Why we do it: rethinking sex and the selfish gene, published under title “Sex, speciation and selfishness” (though published version seems to swap Midgley's and Eldredge's titles) in Heredity, vol.96, p.271-272 (extract and draft printout as sent)
MID/C/182   1 September 2006
Review by Mary Midgley of Jonathan Balcombe, Pleasurable kingdom: animals and the nature of feeling good, published under title “Why shouldn't we expect the cat that got the cream to purr like a kitten? It feels, too” in Times Higher Education Supplement (cutting and draft printout)
MID/C/183   7 October 2006
Review by Mary Midgley of Richard Dawkins, The God delusion, published under title “Imagine there's no heaven” in New Scientist (cutting and draft printout)
MID/C/184   September/October 2009
Review by Mary Midgley of David Brazier, Love and its disappointment, published in Philosophy Now, p.38 (proof copy)
MID/C/185   [2009]
Review by Mary Midgley of Iain McGilchrist, The master and his emissary: the divided brian and the making of the Western world, publication not traced (typescript, 2 p.)
MID/C/186   6 February 2010
Review by Mary Midgley of Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piattelli Palmarini, What Darwin got wrong, published in Guardian (draft printout)
MID/C/187   5 February 2011
Review by Mary Midgley of Nicholas Humphrey, Soul dust: the magic of consciousness, published under title “Mind and matter” in Guardian (extract)
MID/C/188   28 January 2012
Review by Mary Midgley of Rupert Sheldrake, The science of delusion: freeing the spirit of enquiry, published under title “With eyes wide open: we must find a new way of understanding human beings” in Guardian (cutting and printed draft)
MID/C/189   [2012]
Review by Mary Midgley of Raymond Tallis, Aping mankind, neuromania, Darwinitis and the misrepresentation of humanity (2011), publication not traced (printed draft, marked 'Sent 14 Dec', written on back of scrap paper containing an earlier draft of same review
Newspaper articles
Reference: MID/C/190-194
Dates of creation: 1982-2011
Extent: ½ box
Shorter articles (excluding book reviews, for which see MID/C/109-189), chiefly from the Guardian and some other newspapers or magazines. This series is far from a complete record of Midgley's newspaper articles: some others are listed within Ian Kidd's published and online bibliography.
For contributions to Comment is Free: Belief section of Guardian website (and some Face to Faith columns in print version of same newspaper), 2008-2010, see file MID/A/50. For series of articles on Hobbes, Leviathan, published in the Guardian, 2009, see file MID/A/51.

MID/C/190   1984-1988
Published articles from the “Body and Soul” column within the Guardian. Includes mix of cuttings (most mounted on scrap paper by Mary Midgley) and photocopies, in date order. A few include earlier articles which have inspired comment or response by Midgley. Included with her article “Creature Comfort” (14 May 1986) is a response from Nicholas Humphrey and a further letter in reply from Midgley
Includes letters from the editor inviting Midgley to contribute to “Body and Soul”, 1984
MID/C/191   1984-2005
Other published articles from the Guardian (cuttings and photocopies, almost certainly an incomplete set), as follows:
  • “Why the feminists cannot succeed if they try to go it alone”, 4 Jan 1984
  • “A theory of economic gravity” [on 'trickle-down' theory], 27 July 1988
  • “Competitive folk in procurement” [on nuclear weapons decision makers], 25 Nov 1988
  • “The Peckham pioneers” [on the Peckham Pioneer Health Centre, with draft], 1 Dec 1989
  • “Try learning from Benjamin Franklin” [on John Patten's proposals for moral education], 23 Mar 1993
  • “Rights and wrongs” [on teaching of morals in schools], 16 Jan 1996
  • “To do the decent thing” [on hypocrisy, with letters to Editor in response], 2 Feb 1996
  • “Away with superstition” [on kinship with the rest of nature], 21 Mar 1996
  • “Double Trouble” [on cloning], 25 Feb 1997
  • “The hunt faces death”, 10 Apr 1997
  • “Drumcree and freedom” [on Orange Order marches], 10 July 1998
  • “The bankers' vision is limited” [on free trade], 24 Aug 2001
  • “Enough is never enough” [on energy consumption], 28 Nov 2002
  • “Proud not to be a doctor” [on PhD training], 3 Oct 2005

MID/C/192   1982-2011
Published articles from other newspapers or magazines (excluding Guardian, for which see MID/C/191), viz:
  • “Viewpoint: selves and shadows”, in Times Literary Supplement, 30 July 1982
  • “Logic of disaster: the case for Philosophy”, in Times Higher Education Supplement, 8 July 1988
  • “A report of the Church & Society meeting in Brazil”, in World Council of Churches Church and Society Newsletter, [1988] (see also MID/A/144)
  • “The morality of creature comfort”, in Times Higher Education Supplement, 11 July 1997 (draft, titled Blowing up agribusiness)
  • “Defend which freedom”, in LM [Living Marxism] no.115, November 1998
  • “Being objective”, in Nature, vol.410, 12 April 2001
  • “Why Clones?”, in Network [i.e. Network Review, journal of The Scientific and Medical Network] (Spring 2004)
  • “On the origin of creationism”, in New Scientist, no.2479, 25 December 2004 (with draft, titled Design Problems)
  • “Visions and Values”, in Resurgence, no.228, January/February 2005
  • “The mistake about Darwin”, in Varsity, 2 October 2009
  • “The selfish metaphor”, in New Scientist, no.2797, 29 January 2011

MID/C/193   [1980s-1990s]
Drafts of articles, mostly undated but many (all?) published in the Guardian as files MID/C/190 and MID/C/191 (original file titled “Guardian Articles”)
MID/C/194   [1990s-2000s]
A few short articles, for which original publication details have not been traced, all as printed drafts except:
  • cutting of “Letter to a Young Philosopher” (with “Letter to a Young Poet”, by Etel Adnan)
  • photocopy of an article about shock and astonishment (title cut away, ca.1985)

MID/C/195-225
Additional journal articles, monographs and novel. Published items listed within the library printed catalogue and locatable using a shelfmark search, novel at MID/C/225.
Additional articles and broadcasts
Reference: MID/C/
Dates of creation:
Extent: [none yet available]
Printed or digital copies of Mary Midgley's articles and broadcasts which are not included within her donated papers (within the preceding sections under MID/C), collated from e-journals or provided by publishers. This series is still being collated and not yet listed or available for research. Copies will be made available only in accordance with publishers' licence conditions and re-copying may not be allowed.

Publications: administration and reviews
Reference: MID/D
Dates of creation: 1975-2014
Extent: ½ metre
Mary Midgley's publication files generally consisted of two sub-files: one containing administrative correspondence with publishers in relation to the original publication or reprints, and the other containing reviews of the work. These parts have been listed separately below, in order of publication of her books. More general administrative files relating to publications are listed at the end of this series.
See start of this catalogue for a full list of the monographs, and for links to an online bibliography of articles, with addenda.

MID/D/1   1975-1994
Correspondence file relating to original publication by Cornell University Press (USA) and The Harvester Press Ltd (UK) of Beast and Man, earlier correspondence using the provisional title Beastliness. Original file marked, “Publishing... B. & M.”. Includes readers' reviews and copies of publisher's advertisements from Cornell. Additional items relate to paperback edition by New American Library (1980), edition published by The University of Queensland Press (UQP, dust jacket only, 1979), a possible Chinese translation by Jiang Xing-Hong (1988-1989), Spanish-language edition (1990) and revised edition published by Routledge (1995, with draft for new introduction by Midgley)
See files at MID/A/1-10 for drafts and notes relating to this book.
MID/D/2   1978-1980
Letters received from readers by Mary Midgley, after publication of Beast and Man. Includes (inter alia) substantial letters from Norman Richardson (Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania), Nick Dent (University of York), Rebecca West (Dame Cicely Isabel Fairfield, Lotndon SW7), Michael Brown of University of Sussex, Harold Himsworth (London NW8), Charles Harrison (Oxford), Peggy Lejeune (Surrey), Ashley Montagu (Princeton University), Konrad Lorenz (Austrian Academy of Sciences), Marjorie Grene (Tulane University), Graham Richards (North East London Polytechnic), Albert Van Eyken (Wells, Somerset), Dennis Fox (Trent Polytechnic), Börje Markman (Stockholm, Sweden), Dora Russell (Porthcurno, Cornwall)
See MID/E/46-67 for other correspondence with readers and philosophers.
Index terms
West, Rebecca, 1892-1983.
Himsworth, Harold, 1905-1993.
Montagu, Ashley, 1905-1999.
Lorenz, Konrad, 1903-1989.
Grene, Marjorie Glicksman, 1910-
Russell, Dora, 1894-1986.
MID/D/3   1978-1981 and 1995-1997
Published reviews of Beast and Man (offprints, cuttings and photocopies from newspapers and journals, see also next file). Includes review notes from Observer and New Scientist for revised edition in paperback (1995 and 1997). Substantial reviews include:
  • by William McPherson in The Washington Post: Book World (8 and 15 October 1978), under title “Between beast and angel” (also reviewing E.O. Wilson, On human nature, and Arthur L. Caplan (ed), The sociobiology debate)
  • by Drew Christiansen in Theological Studies (Georgetown University, June 1979)
  • by Phillip Johnson in Williamette Valley Observer (29 June 1979), under title “Debating the nature of human nature” (also reviewing E.O. Wilson, On human nature)
  • by Marx W. Wartofsky (journal unknown)
  • in Universities Quarterly (rough proof stamped 17 Jan 1980, publication date and author unknown), under title “Culture-building animal”
  • by Ian Vine in Journal of Moral Education (vol.9 no.2)
  • by Wallace I. Matson in Reason (December 1979), under title “Undercutting egalitarianism” (also reviewing Antony Flew, A rational animal and other philosophical essays on the nature of man)
  • by George Graham in Human Ecology (vol.8 no.1, March 1980)
  • by John Benson in The Listener (2 August 1979), under title “On being a good animal”. With letter in response from Mary Midgley
  • by Stuart Sutherland in Nature (vol.279, 28 June 1979), under title “Basis for an ethical system”
  • by Milton M. Gordon in Contemporary sociology (marked 'received December 8, 1980'), under title “A philosopher enters the sociobiology debate”
  • by Rebecca West in The Sunday Telegraph (date unknown), under title “Learning from the wolves”
  • by Jan Wind in Journal of Human Evolution (vol.10, 1981), under title “Review of some books on human sociobiology” (also reviewing 14 other books)
  • by R.J. Doyle in Perspectives in Biology and Medicine (Autumn 1980)
  • by F. John Clendinnen in Australasian Journal of Philosophy (vol.58, no.2, June 1980)
  • by Vernon Pratt in Philosophical Books (as MID/D/4/3): typescript draft with galley proofs of Midgley's reply, and covering letters

MID/D/4   1979-1980
Published reviews of Beast and Man (whole journal issues, see also previous file), as follows:
/1. The London Review of Books, 25 October 1979. Includes review by Stuart Hampshire at p.12-13 and 16 (“Human Nature”)
/2. Books & Issues, vol.1 no.2, 1979. Includes review by William McPherson at p.6-7 and 26-27 (“Between Beast and Angel”)
/3. Philosophical Books, vol.21 no.1, January 1980. Includes review by Vernon Pratt (with reply from Mary Midgley) at p.1-9 (“Creatures Great & Small”)

MID/D/5   1978-1979
Correspondence file relating to possible publication of a collection of essays by Cornell University Press, Chatto and Windus or others (subsequently published by Harvester Press as Heart and Mind, 1981). These were removed from file MID/D/1 and include some comments on the publication of Beast and Man.
MID/D/6   1981-1982
Published reviews of Heart and Mind (cuttings from newspapers and journals), with one accompanying letter from Harvester Press. Originally removed from file of Beast and Man reviews at MID/D/3.
Reviews are by Anthony Kenny (in an unnamed Sunday newspaper), David-Hillel Ruben (in Times Higher Education Supplement), R.S. Downie (in British Book News), Don Locke (in Times Literary Supplement), Mary Warnock (in New Society)
MID/D/7   1980-1999
Correspondence file relating to publication by Penguin of Animals and why they matter in 1983, including letters from Ted Honderich of University College London. Also letters relating to publication of American edition by The University of Georgia Press in 1984, distribution of the American paperback edition within the UK from 1987, and use by the Open University in 1999
See files at MID/A/12-16 for drafts, correspondence and notes relating to this book.
Index terms
Honderich, Ted.
MID/D/8   1983-1987
Published reviews of Animals and why they matter, chiefly cuttings from newspapers and journals. Longer reviews include:
  • by J. Baird Callicott in Canadian Philosophical Reviews (vol.5 no.10)
  • by Hugh Lehman in Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review (vol.35 no.3, autumn 1986)
  • by Charles M. Swezey in The Journal of Religion (January 1987)
  • by Peter Singer in The New York Review of Books (17 Jan 1985), under title “Ten years of animal liberation” (also reviewing other books)
  • by Jay Mechling in Chronicles of Culture (August 1985), under title “Animals and 'other awkward cases'” (also reviewing Rollin, Animal rights and human morality)
  • by Judith Hampson in New Scientist (5 Jan 1984), under title “Conduct unbecoming”
  • by S.G. Kiriakoff in an unamed journal (in Dutch)
  • by Priscilla Cohn in Journal of Social Philosophy (vol.18 no.3, fall 1987)
  • by George Macpherson, transcript of book talk for BBC [Radio], August 1983, apparently sent to Mary Midgley by John King

MID/D/9   1982-1995
Correspondence file relating to publication by Weidenfeld and Nicolson of Women's choices: philosophical problems facing feminism in 1983. Includes notes on possible titles by Mary Midgley, request by Princeton University Press to co-publish this and Animals and why they matter in the US [American editions in fact published by St Martin's Press and University of Georgia Press respectively], editorial report by Wayland Young [Lord Kennet, then Chief Whip for Social Democratic Party within House of Lords], and copy of dust jacket.
With reviews by Mary Warnock in Blackwell's Book Review, [end 1983/early 1984], under title “A witty and valuable book”, and by Brenda Jones in Cosmopolitan (September 1983), under title “Launch into the new female logic” (apparently incomplete)
Index terms
Kennet, Wayland, 1923-2009.
MID/D/10   1982-2001
Correspondence file relating to publication by Routledge & Kegan Paul of Wickedness: a philosophical essay in 1984 (memorandum of agreement and letters from third parties only). Also includes:
  • letter from Routledge & Kegan Paul's Boston, MA office discussing Wickedness, but also changes within Routledge that caused Midgley to publish [Evolution as a religion] with Methuen
  • two letters from readers, including James Hemming (discussing [Alfred] Adler and mentioning his own Instead of God?), 1985
  • letter concerning Routledge Classics edition (published 2001) with text for new preface by Mary Midgley
  • request to republish extracts within Charles Taliaferro [and Paul J. Griffiths] eds, Philosophy of religion: an anthology (Blackwell, Oxford, 2003)

For file on Gilbert Ryle lectures that formed the basis of part of this book, see MID/A/44.
Index terms
Hemming, James, 1909-2007.
MID/D/11   1984-1986
Published reviews of Wickedness: a philosophical essay, chiefly cuttings from newspapers and journals. Longer reviews include:
  • by Paul Seabright in London Review of Books (15 Nov - 6 Dec 1984), under title “Why are we bad?”
  • by Philip P. Hallie in Hastings Center Report (Dec 1985), under title, The evil that men think - and do (also reviewing books by Judith Shklar and Ronald Milo)
  • by Benjamin Gibbs in Philosophy (vol.61, 1986), under title “New books” (also reviewing Ronald Milo, Immorality)

MID/D/12   1984-1993 and 2002
Correspondence file relating to publication by Methuen of Evolution as a religion: strange hopes and stranger fears in 1985 (earlier working title, Evolutionary melodramas). Includes correspondence with Routledge & Kegan Paul prior to the move to Methuen, a short reader's report, notes by Mary Midgley in response to copy-editor's queries and on indexing shortcomings, and brief comments from (named) lecturers to whom free desk copies were sent.
Also letters from Robert J. McShea of Boston University concerning work on his book [published as Morality and human nature: a new route to ethical theory in 1990] (1986), a reprint by Methuen for the US market (1986), a professor of Medical Genetics commenting on the book (1988), and concerning the Routledge Classics edition (2002)
Index terms
McShea, Robert J.
MID/D/13   1986
Published reviews of Evolution as a religion: strange hopes and stranger fears, chiefly cuttings from newspapers and journals. Longer reviews include:
  • by Antony Grey in The Freethinker: secular humanist monthly (vol.106, no.8, August 1986: whole issue)
  • by Pietro Corsi in Times Literary Supplement (14 March 1986), under title, “Rat race and superman”
  • by Harry Stopes-Roe in New Humanist (undated photocopy), under title, “Evolution and religion”
  • by Robert M. Young, under title “Science and selfishness” (title and date of newspaper unknown)
  • 3-page typescript review, no name or publication details

MID/D/14   1987-1991
Correspondence file relating to publication by Routledge of Wisdom, information, and wonder: what is knowledge for? in 1989 (working title, The fate of facts). Includes proof for dust jacket with additional illustrations (from Dante, The Divine Comedy, illust. Gustave Doré)
Includes draft of parts, under title Science, Specialization and the Soul, with editorial notes and annotations by a reader. See files at MID/A/17-22 for the lectures that formed the basis of this book.
MID/D/15   1989-1991
Published reviews of Wisdom, information, and wonder: what is knowledge for?, chiefly cuttings from newspapers and journals. Longer reviews include:
  • by Lawrence Osborn in Science & Christian Belief (vol.3 no.1)
  • by Patrick Mackenzie (date and journal not stated)
  • by Josephine Newman in Philosophical Studies (vol.33, 1991-92)
  • by Lucy Frith in Explorations in Knowledge (vol.8 no.2, 1991)
  • by John Loudon in Parabola: the magazine of myth and tradition (date not stated)
  • by David E. Cooper in Times Literary Supplement (11-17 August 1989), under title, “The need for better thought” (with corrected draft)
  • by Edmund L. Pincoffs in The Social Science Quarterly (date not stated: printed draft)
  • printed draft, under title, “Philosophy for a post-modern academy” (date, author and journal not stated)

MID/D/16   1989-1993 and 2003
Correspondence file relating to publication by Bristol Classical Press of Can't we make moral judgements? in 1991. Includes letters relating to acquisition of Bristol Classical Press by Duckworth in 1991, and to Duckworth's administration in 2003
With reviews by Francis Kane in New York Times Book Review (4 Aug 1991) and by Strachan Donnelley (printed draft, date and publication not stated)
MID/D/17   1990-1994
Correspondence file relating to publication by Routledge of Science as salvation: a modern myth and its meaning in 1992, with letter relating to proposed Italian publication in 1994. See also file for the Gifford Lectures which formed the basis of this publication, at MID/A/25.
MID/D/18   1992-1995
Published reviews of Science as salvation: a modern myth and its meaning, chiefly cuttings from newspapers and journals. Longer reviews include:
  • by W. Jones in International Studies in the Philosophy of Science (vol.9 no.2, 1995)
  • by Frank Palmer in The Philosophical Quarterly (draft printout, due for publication 1993/1994)
  • by Don Cupitt in New Statesman and Society (8 May 1992), under title “The dogma of reason” (also reviewing Bryan Appleyard, Understandintg the present)
  • by Steve Connor in The Independent on Sunday (31 May 1992), under title “Tunnel vision and the big picture”
  • by Garth Barber in Theology (May/June 1993, also reviewing Bryan Appleyard as above)
  • by Paul Helm in Times Higher Education Supplement (5 June 1992), under title “Transcending religion”
  • by Stuart Sutherland in Nature (vol.357, 18 June 1992), under title “Getting an ought from an is?”
  • by Andrew Clifford in New Scientist (30 May 1992), under title “The meaning of life”
  • by Edward L. Schoen in Philosophy of Religion (vol.34, 1993)
  • by Noel Malcolm in Sunday Telegraph (19 April 1992), under title “Why physics and metaphysics don't mix”
  • by Jackie Leach Scully in Feminist Theology (no.4, September 1993)
  • by Steven Rose in Times Literary Supplement (4 December 1992), under title “Murdering to dissect” (also reviewing Lewis Wolpert, The unnatural nature of science, and Joseph Schwartz, The creative moment)
  • by Bryan Appleyard in Times (16 April 1992), under title “Boffins blinded by science”

For review by Paul Avis in Science and Religion forum Reviews (1995), see MID/A/75.
MID/D/19   1992-1995
File relating to publication by Routledge of The ethical primate: humans, freedom and morality in 1994 (agreement, notes by Mary Midgley and copy of dust jacket, with very little correspondence)
Also includes the following reviews:
  • by Peter Aspden in Financial Times (22 Oct 1994), under title “False prophets confounded”
  • by Stephen Clark in New Scientist (24/31 Dec 1994), under title “A modern Stoic takes on the reductionists”
  • by Adam Zeman in The Times (8 Dec 1994), under title “Moral biology”
  • by Margaret Atkins in The Tablet (29 Apr 1995), under title “Grace through nature”
  • by J.M. Kerr in Times Higher Education Supplement (10 Feb 1995), under title “Are we computerised meat?”
  • by Piers H.G. Stephens in Exploration in Knowledge (printout, due for vol.12 no.2)

MID/D/20   1995-2002
Correspondence file relating to publication by Routledge of Utopias, dolphins and computers: problems of philosophical plumbing in 1996 (working titles including Philosophical plumbing and other curious practices), including Spanish edition in 2002 (proposed title, Dolphins, gender and computers: twelve essays to bring philosophy to the streets)
Also review by Ray Monk in The Sunday Telegraph (27 Oct 1996), under title “The practical philosopher”
MID/D/21   1999-2000
Correspondence file relating to publication by Routledge of Science and poetry in 2001
MID/D/22   2000-2001
Published reviews of Science and poetry, chiefly cuttings from newspapers and journals. Longer reviews include:
  • by Janet Martin Soskice in The Tablet (31 Mar 2001), under title “A feisty David takes aim against science's Goliaths”
  • by Kenan Malik in Times Literary Supplement (2 Mar 2001), under title “Minding about things” (with letter to editor from Patrick Curry in response)
  • by Philip Clayton in Nature (vol.409, 22 Feb 2001), under title “In search of unity”
  • by Bryan Appleyard in Sunday Times (10 Dec 2000), under title “Life beyond Darwinism”
  • by A.C. Grayling in Literary Review (Dec 2000/Jan 2001), under title “A vital debate”
  • by John Peck in Third Way (April 2001), under title “Rhyme and reason”
  • by Raymond Tallis in Times Higher Education Supplement (6 Apr 2001), under title “Life is too big for atomic minds”
  • by Colby Dickinson in [Research News: Bookends] (June 2001), with review by Shaun C. Henson of Science and salvation (“A retrospective loko at Midgley's Gifford lectures”), and article by Mary Midgley (“Science as salvation? Mary Midgley calls for recovery of the spiritual”)

See also interview by Andrew Brown, at MID/E/15.
MID/D/23   2002-2003 and 2010
Correspondence file relating to publication by Routledge of The myths we live by in 2003, with draft of revised introduction for [Routledge Classics] edition, 2010
Includes the following reviews:
  • by Jon Turney in The Guardian (16 Aug 2003), under title “Against simplicity”
  • by Edward Skidelsky in New Statesman (7 July 2003), under title “The quiet sceptic”
  • by Christopher Howse in The Tablet (27 Sep 2003), under title “Down with science fiction”

MID/D/24   2001-2005
Correspondence file relating to publication by Routledge of The owl of Minerva: a memoir in 2005. With mention of a proposed [abandoned] book, Does the earth concern us, and an author profile and proposed celebration for the Routledge Classics series
With letters following publication from Colin Strang, Jane [Heal], Peter Strawson, John [?]
Includes reviews, the most substantial ones being:
  • by John Haldane in The Scotsman (24 Sep 2005), under title Consolation of philosophy (also reviewing Roger Scruton, Gentle regrets)
  • by Raymond Tallis in Times Literary Supplement (28 Apr 2006), under title “Early in her thinking”
  • by Simon Blackburn in New Scientist (26 Nov 2005), under title “When the girls ruled philosophy”
  • by William Charlton in The Tablet (5 Nov 2005), under title “Mellow wisdom”
  • by David Lorimer (publication not stated: emailed text from author, 2005)

MID/D/25   2003-2005
Correspondence file relating to publication by Routledge of The essential Mary Midgley (ed. David Midgley, with foreword by James Lovelock) in 2005. Includes Mary Midgley's outline of her thought (Map of Midgleyana) and David Midgley's draft proposal, also drafts for the latter's “Introduction” and contents pages (longer than as finally published).
MID/D/26   2006-2007
File relating to publication by Imprint Academic of Earthy realism: the meaning of Gaia in 2007: contracts only from publisher, with email correspondence with Horatio Morpurgo concerning his review in Resurgence (published in issue 245, Nov/Dec 2007, under title “Whole planet re-think”), and between contributors and David Midgley on a possible follow-up volume
MID/D/27   2009-2011
Correspondence file relating to publication by Acumen of The solitary self: Darwin and the selfish gene in 2010 (working title, Darwin, Hobbes and the Solitary Self, as the first title in Acumen's Heretic series), with draft outline by Midgley
Includes reviews as follows:
  • by Andrew Davison in Church Times (4 Mar 2011), under title “No salvation in Darwin misused” (also reviewing Nelson Rivera, The earth is our home)
  • by Edward James in Network Review (journal of The Scientific and Medical Network, online at www.scimednet.org, Spring 2011), under title “The Gene Delusion” (also reviewing Fodor and Piatelli-Palmarini, What Darwin got wrong): printout of review, as available online
  • by Anthony Kenny in The Tablet (15 Jan 2011), under title “On the origins of a theory”
  • by Alexander Barker in The Oxonian Review (issue 15.1, 17 Jan 2011), under title “The congenial self”: printout of online review
  • by Sameer Rahim in [The Telegraph] (19 Nov 2010 on website), under title “How selfish are selfish genes?”
  • by Willem B. Drees in Times Higher Education (10 Dec 2010): printout from review online

MID/D/28   2013-2014
Correspondence file relating to publication by Routledge of Are you an illusion? in 2014 (working title, The illusory self), with outline by Midgley under title, “Has science proved the self is an illusion?”
Includes reviews as follows:
  • by Jane O'Grady in Standpoint (May 2014), under title “Don't blame the neurons” (available online)
  • by Stephen Cave in Financial Times (21 Mar 2014), under title “Me, myself and I”
  • by Paul Kieniewicz in Network Review (journal of The Scientific and Medical Network, Spring 2014), under title “Hollow materialism”

See also file of notes titled “Illusory selves”, at MID/A/63.
MID/D/29   1979-2007
Correspondence with publishers relating to articles, chapters and reviews written by Mary Midgley (file originally titled “Writing, small jobs”), as recorded within the online bibliography, addenda at start of this catalogue or reviews at MID/C/109-189, plus untraced articles and additional work as follows:
  • “Price of Knowledge” (possibly on animal experimentation/research), supplied in 1980 for possible publication within Hastings Center Report (apparently unpublished)
  • paper given to the Science and Religion Forum for possible publication within Zygon (in US) and Epworth Review (in UK), 1980 (? never published)
  • “Towards a humane view of the beasts”, due for publication by Smithsonian Institution within [Michael H. Robinson and Lionel Tiger (eds)], Man and Beast: Revisited, [not included within final publication], [1986-1991]. See also file relating to conference of same name, with link to published papers, at MID/A/141.
  • “Little Review” (?), in a [ca.1998] issue of Common Knowledge (University of Texas at Dallas)
  • letter from Greg Mulhauser, apparently written to those who had contributed articles for his, Evolving Consciousness [not published, except perhaps as Mind out of matter: topics in the physical foundations of evolving consciousness, Kluwer Academic], 1998
  • 20 minute audio cassette programme on environmental ethics for Open University course, Philosophy and the human situation, 1998
  • letter from Scientific and Medical Network concerning possible publication of a shortened form of Midgley's, “Being scientific about our selves” [not apparently published by the Network], 1999
  • review of Steven Rose, Lifelines, for Behavioral and Brain Sciences (vol.22 no.5, Oct 1999)
  • participation in round table discussion “Science versus philosophy”, with David Papineau, Raymond Tallis and Lewis Wolpert, hosted by Philosophy Now, March 2000
  • invitation to write commentary on lead article in journal Neuro-Psychoanalysis: An Interdisciplinary Journal for Psychoanalysis and the Neurosciences, issue on the 'Self' [vol.4 no.1, 2002: article by David Milrod, “The Concept of the Self and the Self Representation”, as published online without a response by Midgley]
  • extract from interview with Rebecca Flietstra, edited by Karl Giberson for publication in Research News (Templeton [Foundation]), 2001 (with text of extract)
  • refusal by Midgley to review George Steiner, Grammars of creation (2001), for Times Literary Supplement

Includes letters from Ashley Montagu and Michael Kammen relating to publication of Midgley's article, “Rival fatalisms” (first given at a conference of The Society for the Humanities 1979, but published in Montagu (ed), Sociobiology examined 1980, along with a reprint of Midgley's “Gene-juggling”)
Also text of “Foreword: can peace be declared?”, to Alex Bentley (ed), The Edge of Reason? Science and Religion in Modern Society [London: Continuum, 2008; re-copied as original printed on scrap paper containing personal information]
Index terms
Kammen, Michael G.
Montagu, Ashley, 1905-1999.
MID/D/30   1988-2005
Requests for permission to reprint articles, addressed to publishers and/or Mary MIdgley as author, with some associated correspondence. Reprints identified within this file are all recorded within the bibliography at start of this catalogue.
MID/D/31   1981-2003
File relating to finance and in particular royalties from publishers. Some similar material is included within book-specific files within series MID/D. With publishers' letters relating to publication of some of Mary Midgley's works as ebooks.
Personal (academic and autobiographical)
Reference: MID/E
Dates of creation: 1947-2017
Extent: ½ metre
Correspondence with other philosophers and academics, autobiographical material and miscellaneous personal awards

Awards and honours
Reference: MID/E/1-10
Dates of creation: 1985-2011
Extent: 1 small box


MID/E/1-2   1985-1986
Gambrinus-Mazzotti Prize for Literature dedicated to mountaineering, exploration and ecology (3rd edition), awarded jointly to Mary Midgley (for her Animals and why they matter, translated as Perché gli animali) and Konrad Lorenz (for his Der Abbau des Menschlichen, translated as Il declino dell'Uomo).
/1. Letters to Midgley (who could not collect the prize in person), with biographical notes and awards booklet
/2. Ceremony for same prize in November 1986, awarded to Paul Guichonnet (which Mary and Geoff Midgley attended): letter, invitation, awards booklet, biographies and brochers for hotel and restaurant in Conegliano and Treviso

2 files 
MID/E/3-4   13 May 1995
University of Durham honorary degree (Doctor of Letters), awarded to Mary Midgley at a Special Congregation marking the centenary of the charter allowing the university to award degrees to women.
/3. Brochure for Congregation, with cutting from [Durham First, issue 2], biographies of honorary graduands, orator's address for Mary Midgley and four photographs
/4. Degree certificate in presentation folder

file + presentation folder 
MID/E/5-6   2006-2008
Terracotta sculpture of Mary Midgley's head and neck by Jon Edgar, as part of The Environment Triptych (2008, with Richard Mabey and James Lovelock.
/5. Letters relating to sitting for sculpture, November 2006, with 'in progress' images, views of Jim Lovelock's terracotta and images of sculptures by Ronald Rae. Also postcards of Jon Edgar's work including the Environment Triptych, and CD with images of same
/6. Edgar's Responses: carvings and claywork. Jon Edgar: scultpure 2003-2008 (Hesworth Press, 2008), including Midgley sculpture at p.24

1 file plus 1 book 
MID/E/7-8   11 April 2008
University of Newcastle upon Tyne honorary degree (Doctor of Civil Law), awarded to Mary Midgley:
/7. Degree certificate and photograph with covering letter
/8. Bound copy of orator's speeches (for all honorary graduands)

1 file plus 1 book 
MID/E/9   August-September 2011
Email correspondence with Ian Kidd concerning his proposed Festschrift in honour of Mary MIdgley and possible contributors ( Science and the self, ed. Ian James Kidd and Liz McKinnell, 2016)
1 file 
MID/E/10A   May 2004
Letters concerning an honour, apparently refused by Mary
2 f. 
MID/E/10B   10 March 2006
Letter from Somerville College Oxford, inviting Mary to accept an Honorary Fellowship (apparently accepted, see list online (archived by the Wayback Machine)
1 f. 
MID/E/10C   6 June 1996
Letter from University of Manchester, informing Mary of her appointment as Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Philosophy and the Environment in the Department of Philosophy, for 1996-1999
1 f. 
Correspondence with organisations
Reference: MID/E/11-13
Dates of creation: 1989-2003
Extent: 3 files


MID/E/11   January 1989
File and agenda papers for Directors' Meeting of Nuclear Weapons FREEZE, Bristol. See also her file on deterrence at MID/A/88 and Midgley's Freeze Matters at MID/C/105.
1 file 
MID/E/12   18 June 1996
Letters (without additional papers) from the following organisations:
  • Institute for Cultural Research (advertising lecture tour by Dr Robert Ornstein, 1985)
  • Centre for Applied Ethics, University of Wales College of Cardiff (proposed Routledge Journal of Feminist Philosophy, [1987x1993]
  • Universities Federation for Animal Welfare (invitation card for reception and lecture, 1996)
  • Downe House school, Berkshire (request to name Mary Midgeley [sic] Prize for Philosophy and Theology, 2011)

1 file 
MID/E/13   2001-2003
National Committee for Philosophy: meeting papers and issue of The Gadfly (newsletter), vol.2, no.3, December 2001, specifically with reference to establishment of British Philosophical Assocation. These papers were previously filed by Mary Midgley with papers relating to the campaign to prevent the closure of Newcastle University's Philosophy Department, at MID/B/7.
1 file 
Interviews
Reference: MID/E/14-33
Dates of creation: 1984-2014
Extent: ¼ box
Published and recorded interviews with Mary Midgley. See also email correspondence with Luke Allan at MID/E/46.

MID/E/14   1984
Article arising from conversation between Mary Midgley and Ann Shearer, “To sin is human”, from The Guardian (“Society Tomorrow” section), 12 September 1984
MID/E/15   1995
Introduction to Mary Midgley, The ethical primate by, and interview with, Anthony Freeman, published in Journal of Consciousness Studies, vol.2, no.1, p.67-75 (offprint)
MID/E/16A   13 January 2001
Profile piece by Andrew Brown for Guardian, under title “Mary, Mary, quite contrary” (cutting)
MID/E/16B   3 November 2001
Interview with Liz Else, published under title “Mary, Mary quite contrary”, in New Scientist (photocopy)
MID/E/17   2005
Short biography by and interview with Thomas Ryan, published under title “Interview with Mary Midgeley” [sic], in Animals Today (Australian and New Zealand Federation of Animal Societies), vol.13, no.2, p.23 (cutting)
MID/E/18   20 September 2005
Interview with John Crace, published in Guardian under title, “Moral missionary”
MID/E/19   30 October 2005
Article by Geraldine Bedell, “The third-agers”, published in The Observer, featuring a short commentary on aging by Mary MIdgley inter alia
MID/E/20   [20 November 2005]
List of pieces of music selected for [BBC Radio 4], Desert Island Discs, as broadcast available online
MID/E/21   28-29 July 2006
Transcript (printed onto scrap paper) of interview by [Hans Ulrich Obrist] as part of Serpentine Galleries 'Interview Marathon' event. See Serpentine Galleries website for event details, and youtube for video recording of interview.
MID/E/22   [26 October] 2010
Emailed questions and typescript of answers for online interview by Chris Bateman for his blog site onlyagame.typepad.com, as available online under title “Midgley on Philosophy”
MID/E/23   16 June 2012
Short interview about aging by Liz Else, published under title, “One minute with ... Mary Midgley. Why would anyone want to live forever, asks the nonagenarian philosopher”, in New Scientist (cutting)
MID/E/24   23 March 2014
Interview by Andrew Anthony for Observer, under title, “Late stand for a thinker with soul” (available online as, “Mary Midgley: a late stand for a philosopher with soul”)
MID/E/25   3 April 2014
Interview tih Matthew Reisz in Times Higher Education, published as “I am more than the sum of my parts”
MID/E/26   22 May 2014
Conversation with Rob Newman at The RSA, under title “The self is not an illusion”, as detailed on RSA event page online, and available as both online video and podcast (audio): email correspondence (including with a friend [in Durham] with extracts from Rob Newman and RSA websites
MID/E/27   4 July 2014
Interview by Andrew Brown in Church Times, under title, “A mind over matter” (website printout)
MID/E/28   [2014]
Response to questions asked by Dr Gregg Caruso for Science and religion: 5 questions (Copenhagen, 2014): email request and text of Midgley responses
MID/E/29   [2014]
Transcripts of first two (out of three) interviews with Tom Wakeford [Coventry University Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR)], in each case with corrections. Podcasts (audio) are available online for all three interviews, under titles “Science and the imagination”, “Selfish genes and other myths” and “Gaia - thinking about the whole”.
MID/E/30-33   [early 2000s]
Three cassette tapes recording interview between Mary Midgley and David Midgley (son), under title “MBM Reminiscences”. Undated but perhaps pre-dating publication of Owl of Minerva (2005). Re-mastered onto CD using Audacity, 2017.
3 cassettes and 1 CD 
MID/E/33A-B   April 2013
Copy of Third Way: Christian comment on culture (vol. 36 no. 3), including interview by Simon Jenkins with Mary Midgley at p.14-19, under title “Crosscurrent”.
With proof copy of the article, titled “Quite contrary”. (In the published journal, this is used as a page title for a review of letters from Mary Whitehouse.)
1 folder 
MID/E/33C   July/August 2001
Audio interview published within volumn 51 of the Mars Hill Audio Journal: a bimonthly audio magazine of contemporary culture and Christian conviction, under strapline, “on the ways science explains reality”
2 CDs 
Autobiographical materials
Reference: MID/E/34-38
Dates of creation: 1947-2017
Extent: ¼ box
Notes for bibliographies, personal website, CV, autobiography and similar items

MID/E/34   ca.1983-2001
Folder of draft CVs and brief biographies, all apparently written by Mary Midgley
MID/E/35   ca.1997-2007
Folder of bibliographies, chiefly apparently compiled by Mary Midgley. Includes email to Google Books, ca.2005
For more comprehensive lists, see bibliography by Ian Kidd within Science and the Self (2016) and additions as noted within bibliography at start of this catalogue, or list online at Women in Parenthesis website.
MID/E/36   [1947]-2004
File collated by Mary Midgley and marked 'autobiog materials', containing:
  • Postcard from Dean of Somerville College, Oxford (Vera Farnell) concerning appropriate dress for women, [1947-1948]
  • Poems written by Mary Scrutton/Midgley, viz Rhapsody on Isaiah 58:11 (“I dwelt in a lodge in a garden of cucumbers...”) and Stone Arthur (“On a hill above Grasmere, Arthur lies...”)
  • Letters from Mary Midgley to [fellow academics] and from A.J. Ayer to [Times], concerning threats to university philosophy departments, 1986 (see also file on campaign to save Philosophy at Newcastle University, MID/B/7)
  • Letter from Mary Midgley (1998, apparently photocopied 2004 from original in Iris Murdoch archives) and extract from Mary Warnock: a memoir [2000], concerning [Edouard] Fraenkel, with reminiscences about the latter's tutorials, specifically with Iris Murdoch and Frank Thompson

Index terms
Fraenkel, Eduard, 1888-1970.
Murdoch, Iris.
MID/E/37   ca.1998-2006
File collated by Mary Midgley and marked 'website', containing printouts of three websites, viz:
  • Nick Matzke's webpage on Midgley, ca.1998
  • An expanded version of the same website (“The increasingly official Mary Midgley webpage”), 2001, including email correspondence between Nick and Mary
  • Wikipedia entry, 2006

MID/E/38   1966-2017
Miscellaneous items, chiefly collected together by Mary alongside the above files, viz:
  • Article on Gilbert Murray by Honor Balfour, published under title “A great man”, in Leader Magazine, 7 December 1966 (see Midgley's account of her work for Gilbert Murray in Owl of Minerva, p.XXX)
  • Article on Mary Midgley by Roger Scruton as published in Standpoint (under column “Underrated Thinkers”, January 2009), and email correspondence with Ian Christie (The OWL Enterprise for Sustainability, inter alia), March 2009
  • Printout of verse titled Late Returns (“Colossal upheavals at eighty plus...”), initials of lines highlighted (spelling Carpe Diem)
  • Printed business card for Mary Midgley ('Free-lance philosopher')

Academic references
Reference: MID/E/39-45
Dates of creation: 1986-2006
Extent: ¼ box
References written by Mary Midgley in support of other philosophers, researchers or practitioners. Stored within a single file by Mary, sorted here into A-Z order by name.
In each instance, supporting CVs and application forms completed by the applicant and supplied in confidence by the awarding institution concerned have been destroyed, with only covering letters and Mary's reference retained.

MID/E/39   2001-2002
Reference written by Mary Midgley for Professor Robin Attfield, in connection with award of title Distinguished Research Professor by Cardiff University
MID/E/40   2000
Reference written by Mary Midgley for Professor Stephen Clark, in connection with Chair of Rhetoric at Gresham College, London
MID/E/41   2000-2003
References written by Mary Midgley for Marthe Kiley-Worthington, in connection with her M.Phil thesis ( Right in front of our minds; equine and elephant epistemology) [Lancaster University, 2000], Research Fellowship at Clare Hall, Cambridge (2001) and Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship (2003), the latter two with letters from MKW to MM. Also email correspondence with literary agents concerning publication of her thesis and incomplete reference (possibly a Foreward for a book or similar), both undated
MID/E/42   1986-2006
Article and reviews in connection with nomination of Nicholas Maxwell (see profile at philpapers.org, or From Knowledge to Wisdom website) for an unspecified award. Mary's involvement with this nomination is uncertain, but she had collected the following papers within her file of academic references:
  • her review of Nicholas Maxwell, From Knowledge to Wisdom: a revolution in the aims and methods of science, as at MID/C/126 (1986)
  • article by Nicholas Maxwell, “Two great problems of learning”, in Teaching in Higher Education, vol.8, no.1, 2003
  • publisher's notice for Nicholas Maxwell, Is science neurotic, with reviews by Mathew Iredale (“Our neurotic friend”, in The Philosopher's Magazine, 2005), Margret Grebowicz (“Where have the philosophers been all this time? Reading Maxwell's revolution”, in Metascience, 2006) and Sarah Smellie (“Crossing philosophy's divide”, Canadian Undergraduate Physics Journal, 2006)

MID/E/43   2005
Reference written by Mary Midgley for Dr Anne Primavesi, in connection with her work for the Lokahi Foundation
MID/E/44   1997
Reference written by Mary Midgley for Dr Kate Rawles, in connection with a Leverhulme Research Fellowship or Grant
MID/E/45   2001
Reference written by Mary Midgley for Professor Graham Douglas Richards, in connection with a Leverhulme Research Fellowship or Grant
Academic correspondence
Reference: MID/E/46-67
Dates of creation: 1979-2015
Extent: 1 box
The first three files include single letters from (or a single exchange of correspondence with) individuals sorted alphabetically. Remaining files are for more extensive correspondence with the individuals named.
For a file of letters received in response to Midgley's first book, Beast and Man (1978), see MID/D/2.

MID/E/46   1979-2012
Letters from correspondents A-E:
  • Ethan Akin of City University of New York, 1987 (after reading Evolution as a religion, discussing the relationship of people with machines/artificial intelligence and that of people with animals)
  • Luke Allan, 2012 (email exchanges with Mary Midgley, conducting an interview as published in Luke Allan (ed), Conversations with Philosophers (Newcastle Philosophy Society, 2014), p.53-65, as “On Inmmortalism”)
  • Ove Arup of Highgate, London, 1987 (after reading Midgley's “The flight from blame”, as MID/C/54, with an account of his own philosophical reflections and a Christmas card)
  • Michael Asher of Nairobi, 2008 (welcoming Midgley's membership of the Royal Society of Literature, commenting on her books, desert nomads within the Sudan, Gaia theory and Dawkins)
  • Patrick Bateson of University of Cambridge, 1980 (on scientism, genetics and Dawkins)
  • Nicholas Beale of Sciteb Ltd, 2010 (recommending papers by Martin Nowak and Denis Noble on kin selection and the 'selfish gene')
  • Donald Bligh of Dundee, 1987 (on the RSA and rights to information)
  • Sissela Bok of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1984 (after reading Animals and why they matter and recommending an article by Madame d'Epinay)
  • Robert Boylan of Wigan, undated [?1980s/90s] (thanking Mary for her teaching and with personal news)
  • Michael Britter of London, 1982 (after reading “Moral Melodrama”, in Times Higher Education Supplement [16 April 1982], commenting on Hull University Philosophy department where Mary spoke to the Philosophical Society, and on his own poetry)
  • Karl Britton of Northumberland [formerly Newcastle University], 1979 (after reading Beast and man and referring to his own teaching and his own article in Philosophy [? “Symbolic Actions and Objects”, in vol.54, p.281-291])
  • Alan Broad of Headington, Oxford, 2011 and 2013 (2 letters with extract from unpublished book, Too long in the business, requesting permission to use Midgley/Scrutton poem, “I dwelt in a lodge in a garden of cucumbers...”, with reminiscences of [learning] Classics at Bedford school)
  • Lynne Broughton of Cambridge (later Lincoln Theological College, later Ely Diocese), undated [ca.1988-1989] (comments on Beast and man and recommending Peter Brown, The body and society)
  • Berenice Carrington of Department of Environment and Climate Change, Australia, 2008 (on a moral dimension in government, referring to the Australian parliament's apology to the Aboriginal peoples)
  • Ian Christie of Surrey County Council and University of Surrey, 2004 (recommending John Carroll, The wreck of western culture, and Ben Rogers, ed, Is nothing sacred)
  • Scott Cohen of New York, undated [ca.2001-2002] (proposing a collaboration on a theater/theatre project, alongside Helen Epstein and U.G. Krishnamurti)
  • David Cooper of University of Durham, Department of Philosophy, undated [ca.1990-1992] (refers to his review of her book for Times Literary Supplement [? unpublished], and work on [Cooper and Palmer (eds), The environment in question, 1992])
  • Cid Corman of Kyoto, Japan, 1984 (after reading Beast and man, commenting on ethologists and anthropomorphism and referring to his own poetry)
  • Christopher Cornford of Cambridge, 1989 (referring to forthcoming book by John Francis Phipps, [published as The politics of inner experience, 1990])
  • Patrick Curry of London, 2008 (with copy of his article “Nature post-nature”, from [New Formations, Vol.64, p.51-64])
  • Ellen Dissanayake of Papua New Guinea university, department of dentistry, 1983 (with news cutting on her lectureship at the New School in New York)
  • Terry Eagleton of Bellarena, Ireland, [ca.2010] (after receiving The solitary self, commenting on St Paul's views about body and soul)
  • Michael Edwards of London, 1988 (commenting on C.S. Lewis' Out of the silent planet, and referring to his article “Biting the hand?”, with a summary of his own CV)
  • Dorothy Mary Emmet of Cambridge (formerly of Newcastle University, lecturer in philosophy), 1989 (on a forthcoming departmental party)

Single letters only except as noted: see later files within this series for letters from John Cozens-Hardy
Index terms
Arup, O. N. (Ove Nyquist), 1895-1988.
Asher, Michael, 1953-
Bateson, P. P. G. (Paul Patrick Gordon), 1938-
Bligh, Donald, 1936-
Britter, Michael.
Britton, Karl, 1909-
Broughton, Lynne.
Corman, Cid.
Curry, Patrick, 1951-
Emmet, Dorothy M.
MID/E/47   1979-2015
Letters from correspondents G-O:
  • Robert Gibson of Centralia College, Washington state, 1988 (after reading Beast and Man, on ethnolinguistics and language as symbolic)
  • Jay Gold of Medical College of Wisconsin, 1990 (after reading Wisdom, Information and Wonder and debates on euthanasia and abortion)
  • Trudy Govier of The Netherlands, 1988 (after Dubrovnik conference, possible visit to UK)
  • Sonia Gregor of Crewe, 2010 (her essays on Ernst Cassirer and symbols, and a U3A course Selves and Species)
  • Don [Griffin?] of Rockefeller University, New York, 1987 (Midgley's review of book by Vicki Hearne [? as MID/C/127] and meeting of American Animal Behavior Society)
  • Armin Haas of Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, 2010 (2 emails, after reading Owl of Minerva, with extensive comments on it)
  • Andrew Harrison of GFA Consulting and Learning Studio, Birmingham, 2011 (email exchange, after Midgley's talk at Hay, with her comments on articles by [Wilfred] Bion and Gregory Bateson)
  • Michael Jawer, 2012 (email exchange, on his The spiritual anatomy of emotion [2009], with Midgley's comments)
  • [Andrew Johnson] of Scarista House, Harris, [ca.1999] (after reading James Gleick, [Chaos: making a new science])
  • Mary Kelly (and Linda Holler) of San Diego State University, Department of Women's Studies, 1989 (after reading Midgley's “Paradox of Humanism” [as MID/A/140])
  • Marian Kester of Washington, 1986 (on a review by Midgley of Animal intelligence, a gift copy of Envoys of mankind and her own article on animal experimentation)
  • Ian James Kidd of Durham University, Department of Philosophy, 2011 (email exchange, on Oswald Spengler, Man and technics, and Midgley's lecture for [local branch of] Royal Institute of Philosophy)
  • John Lloyd of University of Keele, Department of Biological Sciences, 1987 (Midgley articles and Donald MacKay)
  • Don Locke of Wellington, New Zealand, 2008 (after reading Owl of Minerva, with comments on Newcastle University Philosophy department, and on philosophy in general)
  • Konrad Lorenz of Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1979 (after reading “Gene Juggling”, with comments on Dawkins: see also letter in response to Beast and Man at MID/D/2)
  • Mike McNamee of Leeds University, Physical Education department, 1989 (on his PhD research in philosophy of education and approach of Julius Kovesi)
  • Donald McNeile of Oxford, 2001 [or 2007] (fan mail)
  • James Moore of The Open University, 1986 (referencing his review of Ruse)
  • David Murphy of Kirksville, Missouri, 1990 (Midgley's Gifford lecture and invitation to speak at Northeast Missouri State University)
  • Anthony O'Hear of Royal Institute of Philosophy, 2007 (after seeing [Intelligent design theory and other ideological problems] and recommending Christian de Duve, Vital dust)
  • Robert Ombres of Blackfriars, Oxford, 1992 (fan mail, and referring to Aquinas Day lecture by Mary Midgley)
  • Lavinia Orde of Northumberland, 1990 (on animal experimentation and the Charltons [of Lee Hall], and referencing an article by Mary Midgley in the [Newcastle] Journal)
  • Sidney Orlov of Ornex, France, ca.1988 (wedding to Yuri Orlov and arrival at CERN, Switzerland)

Single letters only except as noted: see later files within this series for letters from Carole George, Iris Gillespie, Jane Goodall, Sarah Greenleaf, Marthe Kiley-Worthington, Brian Klug, Ephrem Lash, Benjamin Lipscomb, James Lovelock, Nicholas Maxwell and Iris Murdoch
Index terms
Govier, Trudy.
Griffin, Donald R. (Donald Redfield), 1915-2003.
Lorenz, Konrad, 1903-1989.
O'Hear, Anthony.
Orlov, Yuri, 1924-
MID/E/48   1981-2014
Letters from correspondents P-Z:
  • Salamah Pope of Universitas Nasional, Jakarta (Center for Futures Studies), 1989 (invitation to stay during International Philosophical Congress in Indonesia)
  • Anne Primavesi, 2012 (part of email from Mary Midgley, with her comments on enclosed extracts of Primavesi, Exploring earthiness)
  • Rivera Nelson, 2005 (email exchange, asking for Mary's views on her own books and discussing reductionism)
  • Dorothy Rowe of North Lincolnshire Health Authority, 1985 (after reading Midgley's review of Rowe's Living with the bomb, published under title, “Blame it on fate / Reaction to article by Dorothy Rowe on the psychological causes of 'nuclear depression'”, in The Guardian, 14 August 1985)
  • Sue Rutter (?) of Stockport, 1988 (thanking Mary for comments on thesis, with comments on [Royal Institute of Philosophy] Council meeting)
  • Ben-Ami Scharfstein of Tel-Aviv University, Faculty of Humanities, 1981 (commenting on Beast and Man, inviting comment on a chapter of his 'art book' [? published as Of birds, beasts, and other artists: an essay on the universality of art, 1988] and requesting advice on reviewers for his, The Philosophers)
  • Vic Seidler of University of London, Goldsmith's College, Sociology Department, 1986 (recalling Midgley's talk at Goldsmith's and after publication of Seidler, Kant, respect and injustice)
  • Becky Sigmon of University of Toronto, Department of Anthropology, 1989 (after reading Toward a new understanding of human nature as MID/C/45, invitation to attend symposia in Prague and Canada or USA, “Foundations for different approaches to the study of human evolution”)
  • Peter Singer of Monash University, Australia, 1984 (evidence to Australian National Farmers' Federation on factory farming and animal experimentation)
  • [Suzanne Sklar], [ca.2011] (proposal for second book, provisionally Naked Beauty: William Blake's Culture of Peace)
  • Jeff Stebbins of Omaha, Nebraska, 1989 (after reading Evolution as a religion, on C.S. Lewis and christianity)
  • Anthony Stevens of Devon, 1986 (turning down invitation to science and religion conference at Winchester, refers to Midgley's review of his [Archetype: A Natural History of the Self ] in London Review of Books [vol.4 no.7, 16 September 1982, p.18-19, under title “Updating Freud”])
  • Jim Stockton of Boise State University, Idaho, Department of Philosophy, 2012 (letter with email reply from Midgley, on the Oxford Socratic Club, including papers by Geoff Midgley to it and memories of Stella Aldwinkle)
  • Judith Suissa of Institute of Education, London, 2005 (email exchange, after reading The Ethical Primate, with comments on current academic 'research')
  • Ivan Tolstoy of Castle Douglas, 2014 (while reading Are you an illusion, with comments on dualism and mathematics)
  • Frederick Tomlin of London, 1984 (thanking Midgley for her foreward to his [Psyche, culture and the new science: the role of PN])
  • Maurice Wilkins of King's College London, 1987 (on value of science and value-laden science, originally with enclosures)
  • Geoffrey Wilkinson of Ceredigion, 2014 (refers to his essay, “The Narrow Road to the Western Isles - If Keats had Journeyed with Bashō”, [published in Keats-Shelley Review, Vol.28, p.49-57])
  • Patricia Williams of University of Guelph, Ontario, Department of Philosophy, 1988 (summarising her dissertation on determinism)
  • Heathcote Williams of Saltash, Cornwall, 1989 (requesting permission to quote from Beast and Man in his forthcoming book Sacred Elephant)
  • Elizabeth Wolgast of Berkeley, California, 1985 (personal news and her writing plans)

Single letters only except as noted: see later files within this series for letters from David Pocock, Dora Russell and Kate Tait, Blanca and Thomas Ryan, Brenda Shrensky, Alison Stallibrass and Paul Winstanley
Index terms
Primavesi, Anne.
Scharfstein, Ben-Ami, 1919-
Seidler, Victor J., 1945-
Singer, Peter, 1946-
Stevens, Anthony.
Oxford University Socratic Club
MID/E/49   2009 and 2012
Letter from and two email exchanges with John Cozens-Hardy of Benissa, Spain, with discussion by both him and Midgley on forthcoming second edition of Robert Hinde, Why gods persist. Also comments by Midgley on articles in The Tablet, 14 and 21 January 2012, by Jack Mahoney (on Dawkins, altruism, original sin et al) and reviewing Krauss, A universe from nothing (on the multiverse)
12 f. 
MID/E/50   2009-2012
Three letters from Carole George of Le Berceau, Orange, Virginia. Enclose sermons by David Brown of St Andrew's University [formerly Durham Cathedral], comments on her own work [ Layers of concord and The Lambs]
10 f. 
Index terms
George, Carole Shelbourn.
MID/E/51   1988-1989
Three letters from Iris (I.S.) Gillespie of Alston referring to her research and publishing articles, especially those in Encounter [“Mishima and the green snake: archaism vs the 'economic miracle'” (May 1989), “A suitable case for treatment: Wagnerphobia” (December 1989) and “No need for tigritude: the holy anger of Wole Soyinka” (March 1990)]
3 f. 
MID/E/52   1986-1989
Three letters from Jane Goodall of Tanzania (Gombe Stream Research Centre), on fundraising in USA, laboratory animals, mysterious death of a chimpanzee at Gombe, speaking to group of AIDS researchers, chimpanzees rescued in Spain by [Simon and Peggy] Templar
4 f. 
Index terms
Goodall, Jane, 1934-
Gombe Stream National Park (Tanzania)
MID/E/53   February-August 1989
Three letters and postcard from Sarah Greenleaf of Lafayette, Colorado. Discussing treatment of evolution and nature within children's literature, including her paper on the portrayal of wolves within children's books
15 f. 
MID/E/54   [1980s]-2011
Postcard, three letters and two emails from Marthe Kiley-Worthington of Devon and France (Eco Etho Research & Education Centre at La Combe). News from [Mull?], Devon, France and South Africa
6 f. 
Index terms
Kiley-Worthington, M.
MID/E/55   January-August 1987
Three letters from Brian Klug of The University of Chicago, Committee on Social Thought. Comments on Midgley's and his papers, especially in relation to animal welfare and applied philosophy
4 f. 
Index terms
Klug, Brian.
MID/E/56   [1979-1984]
Memo and letter from Symeon [Lash, later Ephrem Lash], discussing creation, time and [divine] waters, and quoting Aquinas and Origen. With copy of obituary from Telegraph website.
3 + 3 f. 
Index terms
Lash, Ephrem, 1930-2016.
MID/E/57    2009-2014
Letter from and email exchanges with Benjamin Lipscomb of Houghton College, New York State. Writing a group biography of Mary Midgley, Iris Murdoch, Philippa Foot and Elizabeth Anscombe. With drafts from the book. Email from Lipscomb of 31 January 2011 has been printed on paper also used for email from New Scientist with a response to Midgley's article “The selfish metaphor: Conceits of evolution”, in issue 2797 (29 January 2011)
38 f. 
Index terms
Lipscomb, Benjamin J. Bruxvoort.
MID/E/58   1996-2005
Correspondence with James Lovelock, from original file marked 'Lovelock - Gaia - Correspondence' and kept with file 'Gaia - mine' now at MID/A/66-68. Includes:
  • letters on Gaia theory and the wider scientific community, and from Philip George of Gaia: The society for research and education in earth system science in relation to its events, 1996-1999
  • Letter concerning article written [by Mary Midgley and Anne ?Primavesi] for The Tablet (not traced), with comments on biologists, geologists and the USA, September 2003
  • Exchange of letters about complexity theory, October 2004
  • Correspondence (including Anne Primavesi) concerning nuclear energy (Lovelock's support and Midgley's opposition), 2004-2005. Includes drafts for some letters and copy of paper by Susan Canney [? for Gaia Network]

40 f. 
Index terms
Primavesi, Anne.
Lovelock, James, 1919-
MID/E/59   1988 and 2011
Letter from and email exchange with Nicholas (Nick) Maxwell of University College London (see also From Knowledge to Wisdom and Friends of Wisdom websites). 2011 exchange discusses his draft autobiography
6 f. 
Index terms
Maxwell, Nicholas, 1937-
MID/E/60   [ca.1940-1990s]
10 letters and card from Iris Murdoch, almost all undated. Letters are written from:
Somerville College, Oxford [1938 x 1942, includes comments on Kant and Communist Party]
[Waller Avenue], Blackpool [?1941x1945, 3 letters]
Steeple Aston [ca.1954-1980s, 3 letters, includes comments on Ireland and Ian Paisley, and on (?) Beast and Man with comments as sent to the publishers]
Charlbury Road, Oxford [1989-1999, 3 letters, includes comments on Can't we make moral judgements?]
unaddressed (1 card)

10 f. 
Index terms
Murdoch, Iris.
MID/E/61   [ca.1985]-1989 and 2006
Correspondence with David Pocock of University of Sussex. Three earlier letters are from Mary Midgley and include discussion of her Heart and Mind, remarks on Homer, moral philosophy and Pocock's “Unruly evil” [published in David Parkin, The Anthropology of evil, 1985]. Two 1989 letters are from Pocock and include discussion about anthropologists (especially [Edmund] Leach and [Claude] Levi-Strauss). 2006 letter from Pocock congratulates Midgley on her discussion with Susan Blackmore on [BBC Radio 4] Today programme, Monday [13] February 2006, apparently concerning Cartesian dualism.
7 f. 
Index terms
Pocock, David Francis, 1928-
MID/E/62   1986-1988
Letter from Dora Russell after reading Evolution as a religion and comments on America and western capitalism, January 1986. Two letters from Kate Tait (née Russell), following her brother's (John's) death and commenting on guilt, 1988. See also MID/D/2 for letter from Dora Russell on reading Beast and Man.
4 f. 
Index terms
Russell, Dora, 1894-1986.
Tait, Katharine, 1923-
MID/E/63   1999-2011
Four letters and emails from Blanca and Thomas Ryan of Tasmania, Australia. Fan letter and discussion about behaviourism and animal ethics. Includes press release for Thomas Ryan, Animals and social work: a moral introduction (2011), and copy of article by Robyn Davidson, “Toots's Kismet: How do creatures think?”, from The Monthly (December 2007-January 2008)
7 f. 
Index terms
Davidson, Robyn, 1950-
MID/E/64A   1988-[1997]
Four letters from Brenda Shrensky of Canberra, Australia [formerly apparently of Newcastle University]. News of her and her husband's work in philosophy and communications research and of the Australian National University
11 f. 
MID/E/64B   1997
Three letters and a card from Arend Smilde of Utrecht, Netherlands. Midgley's views on C.S. Lewis and Smilde's translation of The ethical primate into Dutch [published as Mens, moraal en vrijheid: over goed en kwaad bij een denkende primaat, 1998]
With copy of further correspondence between Smilde and Midgley relating to C.S. Lewis, as published at lewisiana.nl/marymidgley/
5 f. 
Index terms
Smilde, Arend.
MID/E/65   1989-1990
Two letters from Alison Stallibrass of Petersfield, Hampshire, requesting (and thanking) Mary Midgley for review of her Being me and also us: lessons from the Peckham Experiment, with draft prologue from book
11 f. 
Index terms
Stallibrass, Alison.
MID/E/66   1991 and 1997
Letter and postcard from Paul [Winstanley] of Limerick and New Zealand, with personal news and comments after reading The ethical primate
3 f. 
MID/E/67   
Two unidentified letters (one from a teacher at Winchester College school, 1988, and about the Charity Commission's suppression of the RSPCA's booklet on animal-human relationships, undated)
2f. 
Plotinus (PhD thesis)
Reference: MID/E/68-71
Dates of creation:
Extent: [to be added]
Typescript essays (with manuscript corrections), in relation to Mary Midgley's (then Mary Scrutton's) work on Plotinus (for an unfinished D.Phil thesis, as Owl of Minerva, p.157-158)

MID/E/68   1 December 1948
Self and not-self in Plotinus: suggested scheme and outline essay for thesis. Includes outline for thesis and draft for “General preface: notion of microcosm and macrocosm”
36f. 
MID/E/69   [1948 x 1949]
Untitled paper on theories about perception in the philosophy of Plotinus
26f. 
MID/E/70   4 May 1949
“Consciousness & Personality in Plotinus”
33f. 
MID/E/71   [1948 x 1949]
“Individuation in Plotinus”
57f. (numbered to page 61 but numbers 8, 38, 49, 53 not used) 
Personal (family and friends)
Reference: MID/F
Dates of creation:
Extent: ½ metre
These papers have not been listed and are not yet available for research. In outline, they include the following groups:


Ancestors (family records)
Reference: MID/G
Dates of creation:
Extent: ¾ metre
These papers have not all been numbered or fully listed. Other than the main series of loose photographs and Mary's great aunt's education certificates, a summary of the family members and groups of papers only is available here. They can be made available with sufficient prior arrangement. See chapter 2 ( “Ancestors”) of Mary Midgley, The Owl of Minerva (2005) for background information.

MID/G/1-49   
Photographs and portraits as follows
1 box + loose items 
MID/G/1   [19th century]
Scrutton family portrait photographs (small album with clasp). Includes portraits of family members down to Fred Scrutton [brother of Thomas Edward Scrutton and Mary's great uncle, see Owl of Minerva p.45]. Most are captioned with names, possibly by Mary's Aunt Jane (Owl of Minerva p.28-29)
MID/G/2-3   [ca.1867-1880]
Thomas Edward Scrutton with Fred [his brother], one as young boys (? taken at home) and the other in their [20s] (taken in studio)
2 photographs, 10 x 6 cm and 10 x 7 cm 
MID/G/4   ca.1904
Thomas Edward Scrutton, in wig and gown
1 pen and ink portrait, 16 x 10 cm 
MID/G/5   1915
Thomas Edward Scrutton, in top hat, walking to Old Bailey (annotated with reference to brides in the bath trial of George Joseph Smith)
1 postcard, 8 x 14 cm 
MID/G/6-9   [early 20th century]
Thomas Edward Scrutton, studio photographs in suit and tie (two are duplicates)
4 mounted photographs, from 15 x 10 cm to 20 x 15 cm (mounts up to 39 x 28 cm) 
MID/G/10-15   [early 20th century]
Thomas Edward Scrutton in judicial attire. /10-12 show him walking with a [clerk?] holding the tail of his gown (two duplicates), /13 walking with his son as marshal (Tom Burton Scrutton, Mary's father), /14 in procession with other judges (with marshals etc), and /15 standing with marshals, heralds and carriage at the assize at [? Liverpool]. /13 has a photograph of two rowing eights on the back
6 photographs, from 20 x 15 cm to 24 x 29 cm (two mounted, mounts up to 27 x 38 cm) 
MID/G/16   
Portrait in monochrome of Thomas Edward Scrutton by Charles Ambrose, shown with golf club
1 portraits 
MID/G/17-18   
Portraits in colour of Thomas Edward Scrutton by 'Ape Junior' for Vanity Fair, one signed by T.E. Scrutton, in short wig and gown
2 portraits (duplicates), both mounted, 33 x 20 cm (one with full page from Vanity Fair, 40 x 26 cm) 
MID/G/19   [mid 19th century]
Portrait of Thomas Scrutton, grandfather of Thomas Edward Scrutton
1 mounted portrait, 28 x 23 cm 
MID/G/20-23   [mid 19th century]
Portraits of William and Sarah Spelman (parents of Ann Smith) and of Samuel and Mary Burton (parents of 'S.C.') [? parents of Mary Burton Scrutton, Mary Midgley's grandmother]
4 printed portraits, all mounted, 21 x 16 cm (mounts 36 x 26 cm) 
MID/G/24-25   [early 20th century]
Photographs of Mary Burton Scrutton (wife of Thomas Edward Scrutton), in each shown reading
2 photographs, 15 x 10 cm, both mounted (mounts 20 x 15 cm and 25 x 19cm) 
MID/G/26   ca.1920
Photograph of Mary Burton Scrutton and Jane Scrutton (her daughter, Mary Midgley's aunt) and [?Lady] Salter
1 photograph, 17 x 22 cm 
MID/G/27-29   [early 20th century]
Photographs of Hay family members, viz David Hay and [Beatrice McCallum], parents of Mary Midgley's mother Lesley, and Maud Hay, Lesley's sister (see Owl of Minerva p.32-36)
3 photographs, one 20 x 16 cm, others oval 15 x 10 cm on mounts 23 x 18 cm 
MID/G/30   [early 20th century]
Postcard of Flimwell Grange, home to the Hay family ( Owl of Minerva p.29-32)
1 postcard, 9 x 14 cm 
MID/G/31-36   [early and mid 20th century]
Photographs of Evelyn Lesley (Lesley) Scrutton (née Hay), Mary Midgley's mother: as a baby, ca.1911, in garden (with dog), handing out prize cups (2 copies, one mutilated) and a studio photo
6 photographs (2 mounted), from 6 x 9 cm to 15 x 20 cm 
MID/G/37-45   [1960s-1972]
Photographs of Mary Midgley's parents, Tom and Lesley Scrutton. /37 Lesley in armchair, /38-39 with family in garden (in colour), /40 in doorway (in colour), /41 Tom at Tower Hill (preaching, as Christmas card), /42-43 their house in Liverpool, /44-45 Tom with Margaret in 1972 [second wife, as Owl of Minerva p.195]
9 photographs, from 9 x 9 cm to 18 x 13 cm 
MID/G/46-48   [1961]
Studio photographs of Mary Midgley's parents, Tom Scrutton and Lesley Scrutton (latter in duplicate)
3 mounted photographs, 20 x 15 cm (mounts 31 x 23 cm) 
MID/G/50-54   1882-1891
Education certificates of Georgina Miller Hay (Mary MIdgley's 'great aunt Jeanie', as Owl of Minerva p.32-33), viz:
/50 from University of Cambridge, examination for junior students, 1882 (aged 15)
/51 from HM Privy Council on Education (Science and Art department, South Kensington), elementary stage of Theoretical Mechanics, 1884
/52 from University of London, matriculation examination, 1885
/53 from University of Cambridge, teaching examination, 1887
/54 from University of London, intermediate examination for BA, 1891

1 roll (boxed with above photographs) 
MID/G/   [late 19th/early 20th century]
Thomas Edward (Ted) Scrutton (1856-1934, from 1910 Lord Justice Scrutton, Mary Midgley's grandfather):
  • Volume of lecture notes, 1880s
  • Typescript (with photographs of Henry B. Anderson, Jr, Some aspects of the influence of Thomas Edward Scutton on Anglo-American law (unpublished MA thesis, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut)
  • Envelope of letters sent to T.E. Scrutton (plus three written by him to his parents, 1860s)
  • Smaller envelopes of press cuttings (chiefly relating to his campaign as a Liberal candidate in Tower Hamlets, and after his death), book reviews and some other items
  • Travel journal for Grand Tour 1875-76, with some transcriptions and notes [in preparation for possible publication] (4 folders)
  • Copy will, legal tributes and record of admission to Privy Council
  • Correspondence and lists relating to loan of items for copying or display in new Rolls Building, 2001-2012

1 box 
Advance notice required to locate these items
MID/G/   1970-1971
Evelyn Lesley Scrutton (née Hay, Mary Midgley's mother): letters and tribute book after her death
1 envelope 
Advance notice required to locate these items
MID/G/   
Tom Burton Scrutton (father): miscellaneous photographs (some as a young man), copy of Challenge (Anglican Pacifist Fellowship newsletter) with obituary, family photographs (including his sister Janet and brother Hugh), papers relating to his service as an army chaplain in WW1 (with some letters following his death and other papers, collected by his son Hugh)
3 envelopes 
Advance notice required to locate these items
MID/G/   1914-1916
Hugh Urquhart Scrutton (Mary Midgley's uncle): chiefly letters from WW1 (he was killed in action 1916)
1 envelope 
Advance notice required to locate these items
MID/G/   
Hugh Scrutton (recte Thomas Hugh Scrutton), Mary Midgley's brother: letters sent to him by Mary and by her father, miscellaneous photographs (including some other family members), diary for 1933, photograph album 1930s ("Hugh's Photos - 30s")
2 envelopes and 2 volumes (boxed) 
Advance notice required to locate these items
MID/G/   
Published accounts of the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson (founded by Basil Mott and David Hay, the latter Mary Midgley's grandfather), and of the building of the Mersey Tunnel
2 volumes (boxed) 
Advance notice required to locate these items
MID/G/   
Family history research notes and papers compiled by Janet Scrutton (Mary Midgley's aunt, apparently called Jane Scrutton in Owl of Minerva)
1 envelope 
Advance notice required to locate these items
Additional items and accruals
Reference: MID/H
Dates of creation:
Extent:
Items acquired from family and friends of Geoff and Mary Midgley, relating chiefly to Mary's life and work.

MID/H/1   2 November 2018
Order of service for funeral, at King's Hall, University of Newcastle
MID/H/2   October 2018 - March 2019
Programme card for the Royal Institute of Philosophy London Lecture 2018/19, under title A centenary celebration: Anscombe, Foot, Midgley and Murdoch
MID/H/3   [1990s]
Two colour photographs, showing Geoff Midgley and Mary Midgley [within their kitchen]. Printed from originals loaned by Judith Hughes
MID/H/4   September 1984
Final draft for article by Mary Midgley and Judith Hughes, Who pays for the children? (publication not traced), 8 f.
See MID/A/39-43 for other articles co-authored by Mary and Judith.
MID/H/5   2019
Issue of Oxford Philosophy 2018-19 (University of Oxford, [2019]), including obituary of Mary Midgley by Sasha Lawson-Frost and Otto Räsänen at p.26-27
MID/H/6   2020
Reprint of Mary Midgley, Gaia. The next big idea (as MID/C/106), with new preface by Verity Birt and artwork by Tom Sewell, produced by BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art in connection with a series of artist-led study sessions.
Geoff Midgley
Reference: MID/J-L
Dates of creation:
Extent: 2 metres (plus 1 metre scanned copies)
Papers of philosopher Geoffrey Midgley, not yet listed and not currently available for consultation.
Also volume of essays edited by David Midgley, [February 2018], with introduction
An obituary of Geoff Midgley is held within the records of New College, Oxford, under reference JCR/R/Midgley.