Editing Ray Monk

{{short description|British biographer born 1957}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox philosopher
| region = [[Western philosophy]]
| era    = [[Contemporary philosophy]]
| name    = Ray Monk
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRSL}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|2|df=yes|15}}
| birth_place =
| death_date  =
| death_place =
| education        = [[University of York]] ([[M.A.]], 1979)
| institutions     = [[University of Southampton]]
| school_tradition = [[Analytic philosophy]], [[postanalytic philosophy]]
| main_interests   = [[Philosophical biography]], [[history of analytic philosophy]], [[philosophy of mathematics]], [[veganism]]
| notable_ideas =
}}

'''Ray Monk''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRSL}} (born 15 February 1957) is a British biographer who is renowned for his biographies of [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]], [[Bertrand Russell]], and [[J. Robert Oppenheimer]]. He is emeritus professor of philosophy at the [[University of Southampton]], where he taught in various capacities from 1992 to 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.southampton.ac.uk/philosophy/about/staff/rm.page|title=Professor Ray Monk &#124; Philosophy &#124; University of Southampton|website=www.southampton.ac.uk}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf/purchase?openform&fp=cogito&id=cogito_1992_0006_0002_0057_0060|title=An Interview with Ray Monk|date=July 1, 1992|journal=Cogito|volume=6|issue=2|pages=57–61|via=www.pdcnet.org|doi=10.5840/cogito19926228|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Raymodraco/status/1024230159556206592|title=x.com}}</ref>

==Biography==

Monk graduated with an [[M.A.]] in Philosophy from the [[University of York]] in 1979. Later he obtained an [[Master of Letters|MLitt]] from the [[University of Oxford]].<ref name="auto"/>

He won the 1990 [[John Llewellyn Rhys Prize]] and the 1991 [[Duff Cooper Prize]] for his acclaimed biography of [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]], ''Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius''. His two-volume biography of [[Bertrand Russell]] appeared in 1996 and 2001. His biography of [[J. Robert Oppenheimer]] was published in 2012.

Since 2012 he has occasionally written for the ''[[New Statesman]]'', contributing articles on philosophers and on [[veganism]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/writers/318837|title=Writers|website=www.newstatesman.com|language=en|access-date=2018-05-01}}</ref><ref>[https://www.southampton.ac.uk/philosophy/news/2017/11/08-ray-monk-on-veganism-in-the-new-statesman.page "Ray Monk on veganism in the New Statesman"]. [[University of Southampton]].</ref>

In 2015 he was elected as a Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Literature]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rsliterature.org/fellow/ray-monk/|title=Ray Monk|website=Royal Society of Literature|date=September 2023 }}</ref>

==Works==
* {{cite book | title=Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius | publisher=[[Penguin Books]] | publication-place=New York, NY | date=1991 | isbn=978-0-14-015995-0}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mostlyaboutstories.com/wittgenstein-duty-of-genius-monk-review/|title=Ray Monk's Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius|date=2 August 2021}}</ref>
*''Bertrand Russell: The Spirit of Solitude 1872–1921''. London: [[Vintage Books]], 1996.
*''Russell''. London: [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]], 1997.
*''[[iarchive:bertrandrussellg00monk|Bertrand Russell: The Ghost of Madness 1921–1970]]''. London: Vintage Books, 2001.
*''How to Read Wittgenstein''. London: Granta, 2005.
*"Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Sketch of His Life" (chapter in ''A Companion to Wittgenstein'', edited by [[Hans-Johann Glock]] and [[John Hyman (philosopher)|John Hyman]]. [[Wiley-Blackwell]], 2017) 
* {{cite book | last = Monk | first = Ray | author-link = Ray Monk | title = Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center | year = 2012 | publisher = [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] | location = New York; Toronto | isbn = 978-0-385-50407-2 | url = https://archive.org/details/robertoppenheime0000monk | url-access = registration }}
**{{cite book |last= Monk  |first= Ray  |title= Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center |accessdate=  |edition=  |orig-date=  |year= 2012  |publisher= [[Jonathan Cape]]/[[Random House]]   |location= London  |isbn=  978-0224-062626 |oclc= |page= |pages=  }}
**''[[iarchive:insidecentrelife0000monk|Inside the Centre: The Life of J. Robert Oppenheimer]]''. London: Jonathan Cape, 2012; [[iarchive:robertoppenheime0000monk|''Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center''.]] New York: Doubleday, 2013.
** {{cite book |last1=Monk |first1=Ray |author1-link=Ray Monk |title=Robert Oppenheimer: a life inside the center |date=2014 |publisher=[[Anchor Books]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0385722049 |edition=First Anchor books |url=https://archive.org/details/robertoppenheime0000monk}}<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maslin |first1=Janet |title=Rough-Edged Atomic Pioneer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/books/robert-oppenheimer-a-life-inside-the-center-by-ray-monk.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=July 23, 2023 |date=May 27, 2013}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.southampton.ac.uk/philosophy/about/staff/rm.page?#background Home page]
* [http://traffic.libsyn.com/philosophybites/Ray_Monk_on_Philosophy_and_Biography.mp3 ''Philosophy Bites'' podcast interview with Ray Monk on Philosophy and Biography]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716204731/http://forum-network.org/speaker/ray-monk WGBY audio recording of lecture "Philosophy Circa 1905"]
* Leading, contemporary biographers [[Hermione Lee]] & Ray Monk and director [[Stephen Frears]] debate whether [http://iai.tv/video/the-art-of-life all biographies are fiction]
*{{C-SPAN|71302}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monk, Ray}}

[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Academics of the University of Southampton]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of York]]
[[Category:British biographers]]
[[Category:British philosophers]]
[[Category:British veganism activists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature]]
[[Category:John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners]]
[[Category:21st-century British writers]]
[[Category:21st-century British educators]]
[[Category:20th-century British writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British educators]]
[[Category:20th-century English historians]]
[[Category:21st-century English historians]]
[[Category:21st-century English biographers]]
[[Category:20th-century English biographers]]
[[Category:21st-century English philosophers]]
[[Category:20th-century English philosophers]]


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