Alice Ambrose facts for kids

Alice Ambrose Lazerowitz (born November 25, 1906 – died January 25, 2001) was an American philosopher, a person who studies big questions about life and knowledge. She was also a logician, meaning she studied how we think and reason correctly. Alice Ambrose was also a writer.

Her Early Life and Studies

Alice Loman Ambrose was born in Lexington, Illinois. She became an orphan when she was 13 years old, meaning both her parents had passed away.

She loved to learn! She studied philosophy and mathematics at Millikin University from 1924 to 1928. After that, she earned her first PhD degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1932.

Alice then traveled to Cambridge University in England. There, she studied at Newnham College with two very famous philosophers, G. E. Moore and Ludwig Wittgenstein. She earned a second PhD in 1938.

Working with a Famous Philosopher

Alice Ambrose in 1927

Alice Ambrose became a close student of Ludwig Wittgenstein. He was a very important philosopher. She later wrote about her time with him in a book called Ludwig Wittgenstein: Philosophy and Language (1972). She wrote this book with her husband, Morris Lazerowitz.

Wittgenstein didn't usually allow his lectures to be written down. But Alice, along with another student named Margaret MacDonald, secretly took notes during his classes. These notes were later published, which helped other people learn from his ideas.

Wittgenstein also dictated, or spoke aloud, some of his important ideas to a small group of students, including Alice. These ideas were later put into books known as the Blue and Brown Books. These books showed how Wittgenstein's thinking changed between his two main works, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations.

In 1935, their working relationship ended. This happened after Alice decided to publish an article about Wittgenstein's ideas on mathematics.

Her Career as a Professor

Alice Ambrose returned to the United States in 1935. She started her teaching career at the University of Michigan. In 1937, she began working at Smith College, a women's college, and stayed there for the rest of her career.

She became a very respected professor. In 1964, she was given a special title: the Austin and Sophia Smith chair in Philosophy. When she retired in 1972, she became a Professor Emeritus, which means she kept her title even after she stopped working full-time.

From 1953 to 1968, Alice was the editor of an important academic magazine called the Journal of Symbolic Logic.

She mostly studied logic and the philosophy of mathematics. She wrote a textbook on these subjects with her husband, Morris Lazerowitz. This book was used by many students and was often called "Ambrose and Lazerowitz." They worked together on several other books, including Fundamentals of Symbolic Logic (1948) and Philosophical Theories (1976).

Even after she retired, Alice Ambrose continued to teach and give guest lectures at different colleges. She taught at Smith College, Hampshire College, the University of Delaware, and other universities across the country. She continued teaching until she passed away at the age of 94 on January 25, 2001.

See also

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers