Miller, Dickinson Sergeant, 1868-1963

Miller was professor of philosophy at Bryn Mawr College.

From the description of Correspondence to Daniel Garrison Brinton, n.d. (University of Pennsylvania Library). WorldCat record id: 226054851

Dickinson Sergeant Miller (1868-1963) was a professor of philosophy and a writer. In 1889 received an A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania and an A.B. and A.M. in 1892 from Harvard. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Halle in 1893. After returning to the United States, he taught at Bryn Mawr in 1894, then in 1899 was appointed an instructor at Harvard. He taught at Columbia University from 1904-1919 and also was (1911-1924) a professor of Christian apologetics at the General Theological Seminary, and an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church. From 1924-1926 he taught philosophy at Smith College, then began a period of "European retirement", mainly in Vienna and Florence, where he met with the Vienna Circle and others and wrote and published various philosophical articles. In 1934 he returned to Boston and began his "American retirement" period, continuing to write and publish, as much as his chronic ill health would allow, until his death in 1963. Miller never married.

From the description of Dickinson Sergeant Miller papers, 1915-1980. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612869534

Dickinson Sergeant Miller (1868-1963) was a professor of philosophy and a writer, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Elihu Spencer Miller (1817-1879) and Ana Emlen Hare Miller. In 1885 he graduated from Episcopal High School in Philadelphia and in 1889 received an A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania. He entered Clark University in 1889, but withdrew the next year to enroll in Harvard University where he was influenced by his friend and mentor William James. He also studied under Josiah Royce, George Santayana, and George Herbert Palmer. He received an A.B. and A.M. in 1892 from Harvard, then went abroad to study in Germany at Berlin and Halle. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Halle in 1893. The dissertation, entitled: Dad Wesen der Erkenntnis und des Irrthums, was published in 1893 as The meaning of truth and error.

Miller returned to the United States and became an associate in philosophy at Bryn Mawr in 1894. Here he developed a partially paralyzing illness that plagued him his entire life ("crippling neurasthenia"). In 1899 he was appointed an instructor at Harvard where he became increasingly critical of William James' thought. Miller left Harvard to teach at Columbia University from 1904-1919. In addition to his professorship at Columbia, from 1911-1924 he was a professor of Christian apologetics at the General Theological Seminary, and became an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church. From 1924-1926 he taught philosophy at Smith College, then began a period of "European retirement", mainly in Vienna and Florence, where he met with the Vienna Circle and others and wrote and published various philosophical articles. In 1934 he returned to Boston and began his "American retirement" period, continuing to write and publish, as much as his chronic ill health would allow, until his death in 1963. Miller never married. [Source: Loyd David Easton "Miller, Dickinson Sergeant" American National Biography Online, February 2000].

From the guide to the Dickinson Sergeant Miller papers, 1915-1980., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)