Ellen Mitchell (philosopher) facts for kids

Ellen M. Mitchell (1838–1920) was an American philosopher, teacher, and reformer who worked to improve education. She was one of the first women to teach at a university. She also wrote about philosophy, literature, and how to understand books and stories.

Ellen Mitchell's Life Story

Early Life and Family

Ellen M. Smith was born in 1838 in a small village called Geddes, New York. Her parents were Harriet H. Rowland and Edwin R. Smith. Ellen was the oldest of their four children.

When Ellen was a teenager in 1851, something important happened nearby in Syracuse. A man named William "Jerry" Henry, who had escaped slavery, was freed from jail by a group of citizens. This event showed that central New York was a strong center for the movement to end slavery.

Ellen graduated from the Cortland Academy in Homer, New York, in 1860. She studied Classics, which means she learned about ancient Greek and Roman history, language, and literature. After graduating, she taught school in Syracuse.

The Civil War and a New Name

During the American Civil War, Ellen's brother, Edwin R. Smith, Jr., fought for New York. Sadly, Edwin was killed in the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. The family tried to find out what happened to him, but he was lost without a trace.

After her brother's death, Ellen started using the pen name "Ella Ellwood" to remember him. She used this name when she wrote during the war. She then left her teaching job in Syracuse and moved to Cairo, Illinois, to live with her uncle and aunt.

Moving to St. Louis and Marriage

Later, Ellen moved to St. Louis, Missouri. She wrote for the Missouri Republican newspaper, still using her pen name, until the war ended.

In 1867, she married Joseph W. Mitchell, a lawyer and Civil War veteran. They got married in Alton, Illinois. Alton was a place where people strongly supported ending slavery. An important person who fought against slavery, Rev. Elijah Parish Lovejoy, was even killed there by a mob. Ellen and Joseph's marriage showed their dedication to the Union cause.

In St. Louis, Ellen attended lectures on Hegelian philosophy, which is a type of deep thinking about ideas. She and Joseph were also part of a group called "The Pen & Pencil Club," where they discussed literature and philosophy. They often hosted these meetings at their home.

Life in Denver and the Concord School

In 1878, Ellen and Joseph moved to Denver, Colorado, hoping to find treatment for Joseph's illness, which might have been tuberculosis. However, Joseph died in 1879.

Ellen stayed in Denver. She taught school and later lectured on philosophy and literature at the University of Denver. She was also active in local discussion groups like the Kant Club and the Fortnightly Club.

In July 1879, Ellen attended the first Concord Summer School of Philosophy in Concord, Massachusetts. This school brought together different ways of thinking, including the ideas from St. Louis and Concord. At this school, Ellen met many women who were leaders in the fight for women's right to vote and for better education. One of these women was Julia Ward Howe, who later became president of the Association for the Advancement of Women.

The Concord School helped connect people who wanted to make social changes. More than half of the people who attended were women. Mrs. Mitchell went to the Concord School every year until it closed in 1888. She even gave a speech there in 1887 about "Friendship in Aristotle's Ethics."

Working for Women's Advancement

Ellen Mitchell was very active in the Association for the Advancement of Women (A.A.W.). She regularly attended their yearly meetings. In 1884, she gave a speech called "A Study of Hegel." By 1885, she was the Vice President of the A.A.W. for Colorado. She also led the committee for choosing topics and papers for the congresses. In 1890, she gave another speech about "The Dramas of Henrik Ibsen."

Ellen believed in the idea of American philosophy that Walt Whitman wrote about in his essay "Democratic Vistas." She worked to make this idea a reality throughout her career.

Return to Syracuse and the Round Table

After 1890, Ellen moved back to Geddes (which was then part of Syracuse) to care for her parents. In Syracuse, she started and led a group called the Round-Table of Syracuse. This was a seminar group for adults who wanted to study literature and philosophy. The Round Table began in 1894 and continued for over 20 years.

To help the group, Ellen wrote and published essays about famous writers like Dante, Tennyson, and Goethe. One essay was called "The Way of the Soul." In her introduction to this essay, she explained that the Round Table was a group of women who met to study great books. They believed that by studying these books, they could understand important truths and how literature connects to art, history, and society.

She wrote that the group first tried to understand the author's meaning on their own, without help. This encouraged them to think for themselves. Later, they would use commentaries and compare ideas. She also mentioned that the group aimed for "rational conversation," where they would ask questions, discuss, and solve problems together.

Later Years and Legacy

Ellen Mitchell passed away in Syracuse on May 14, 1920, at age 81. Her death happened just three months before the 19th Amendment was passed, which finally gave women the right to vote across the country. She was buried next to her parents in Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Geddes.

The Syracuse Herald newspaper wrote in her obituary that she was a "gentle preceptor and oracle" of the Syracuse Round Table. They said that her contributions to the city's literary life were very valuable. They also mentioned her "lovable" personality and how she made her discussions and teaching charming. The newspaper concluded that Syracuse was "much the poorer by her death."

Ellen Mitchell's Philosophy

A Study of Greek Philosophy

In 1891, Ellen Mitchell published her book, "A Study of Greek Philosophy." This book had 36 chapters and explained the history of classical Greek philosophy, from the earliest thinkers to the neo-Platonists. It was the first book-length philosophical analysis written in America by a woman scholar. The book was meant to help university students, teachers, and adult scholars learn about ancient Greek philosophy. It also helped keep the ideas of ancient Greek philosophy alive in the New World.

In her introduction, Mitchell explained how the book came to be. She said that 12 years earlier, in St. Louis, a small group of women met weekly to study philosophy. She led the group as both a teacher and a learner. She worked hard to understand the great philosophers and their writings, and then to make those ideas clear to others. When she moved to Denver, she continued this work with a new group. At their request, her spoken explanations became written ones, which eventually turned into her book. She thanked her co-workers for their questions and support, and especially thanked Dr. William T. Harris, who taught her to find philosophy in its history and as a way to understand the world.

Reviews of Her Book

When "A Study of Greek Philosophy" was published, many important scholars and thinkers praised it:

• Dr. W.T. Harris, U.S. Commissioner of Education, said it showed "scholarship in the best lines, and of real insight."
• S.H. Howison, a philosophy professor, was glad to read a book that didn't treat ancient Greek thinkers as less smart than modern ones.
• Edmund Clarence Stedman called it the "most clear and inclusive" survey of Greek schools in English.
• Prof. Louis J. Block said it was "admirable in spirit and excellent in matter."
• Frank Sanborn wrote that it was a great manual for beginners but also interesting for all thoughtful readers.
• Caroline K. Sherman noted that it was a "careful study from original sources" and would encourage students to read those sources themselves.
• Science magazine in New York said it was written with a "serious spirit" and was fair to different schools of thought.
• Vouga's Art Folio called it "comprehensive" and praised its clear style.
• The Review of Reviews described it as an "interesting, valuable, and very comprehensive view."
• The Scotsman in Edinburgh said it gave general readers a clear idea of Greek thought.
• The Methodist Review highlighted the book's value in promoting the study of philosophy and its historical review of Greek thought.
• Julia Ward Howe wrote that Mitchell's book showed her love for philosophy, avoiding dryness and making the topic inviting.

William R. Alger also wrote an introduction to the book. He explained that philosophy is the "love of wisdom." He defined philosophy as a way of thinking where all parts connect and depend on each other, and where every part helps understand the whole. He called it the "science of sciences" and the "queen of all the rest." He also stated that philosophy is about finding the ultimate truths, and morality is about right and wrong actions.

Mitchell's Key Ideas

Ellen Mitchell focused her writings on the philosophy of history, the philosophy of art, political ethics, transcendentalism, and the ideas of Phidias and Plato. When she taught at the University of Denver, she was one of the first to introduce women to idealist thought, a way of thinking that emphasizes ideas and the mind.

In her essay "The Philosophy of Pessimism," Mitchell disagreed with philosophical systems that came from skepticism, which questions what is true or real. She preferred positive theories based on what God created, like nature, rather than only on human reason. She was part of the idealist philosophers.

One of her important works was "A Study of Hegel." This article, though short, discussed important topics for women, as well as nature, art, and religion. In one part, she wrote:

"We communicate with the outward world through the organs of sense; but the impressions received by this means are confused and unrelated, and do not of themselves constitute knowledge, until they have been referred to the unifying power of thought."

This idea is a bit different from Hegel's own beliefs, showing that Mitchell also had her own unique philosophical thoughts. She believed that while we get information through our senses, true knowledge comes from how we use those senses in our own life experiences.

Mitchell also believed that people cannot truly be separate from society. She said that "social institutions play a critical role in individual self-determination." This means that to grow and succeed, a person needs to be part of society.

In her book A Study of Greek Philosophy, she argued that the main goal of knowledge in philosophy is to understand the human spirit itself. She also believed that truth is a living process that grows and develops as humanity becomes more civilized. The book also suggests that we gain self-knowledge as we have more experiences in life, which shapes who we become.