Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad (12 August 1891 - 9 April 1953) was an English philosopher and broadcasting personality. He appeared on The Brains Trust, a BBC Radio wartime discussion programme. He wa...visualizza altroCyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad (12 August 1891 - 9 April 1953) was an English philosopher and broadcasting personality. He appeared on The Brains Trust, a BBC Radio wartime discussion programme. He was one of the best known British intellectuals of his time and popularised philosophy, both in his books and by the spoken word.
Joad was born in Durham, the only son of Edwin and Mary Joad (née Smith). In 1892 his father became an Inspector of Schools and the family moved to Southampton, where he received a very strict Christian upbringing. He attended Balliol College, Oxford in 1910, where he developed his skills as a philosopher and debater. By 1912 he was a first class sportsman and Oxford Union debater. He also became a Syndicalist, a Guild Socialist and then a Fabian. In 1913 he heard about George Bernard Shaw through the newly founded magazine, the New Statesman, which developed his study of philosophy, one of the building blocks for his career as a teacher and broadcaster. After graduating first in Honour Moderations in Literae Humaniores (1912), first in Greats (a combination of philosophy and ancient history, 1914) and receiving a John Locke scholarship in mental philosophy (1914), Joad joined the civil service.
In 1930 became Head of the Department of Philosophy and Psychology at Birkbeck College, University of London. He popularised philosophy and, with his two books, Guide to Modern Thought (1933) and Guide to Philosophy (1935), he became a well-known figure in public society. In January 1940 Joad was selected for a BBC Home Service wartime discussion programme, The Brains Trust, which was an immediate success, attracting millions of listeners. He left the BBC in 1948 and returned to the Christianity of the Church of England, which he detailed in his book The Recovery of Belief, published in 1952
Joad died of cancer at his home in Hampstead, England in 1953, aged 61.visualizza meno