Guide to the Wilfrid S. Sellars Papers, 1899-1990 ASP.1991.01

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Wilfrid S. Sellars Papers
Creator
Sellars, Wilfrid
Collection Number
ASP.1991.01
Extent
82.25 Linear Feet (197 document cases, 1 oversize box, and 28 boxes of dictabelts)
Date
1899-1990
Abstract
Wilfrid S. Sellars was an American philosopher who made significant contributions to Philosophy of Science, Epistemology, and many other areas within philosophy. He was particularly noted for his contributions to Metaphysics and to Philosophy of Mind. The collection consists of manuscripts of nearly all of Sellars' work (including autograph manuscripts of many these texts), reading notes, preliminary notes for further development, drafts of articles, working papers, correspondence, teaching materials and lecture notes. The correspondence includes exchanges with many of the leading philosophers of the twentieth century. There are also Ph.D. theses for students supervised by Sellars, personal correspondence, and drafts and typescripts for materials written by other philosophers. Materials from the work of Roy Wood Sellars can also be found here. Digital reproductions of this collection are available online.
Language
English .
Author
Jaimie George and Lance Lugar.
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of the Wilfrid S. Sellars Papers was provided by Robert B. Brandom, Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh using funds from a Mellon Award grant.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman)
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Biography

Wilfrid S. Sellars (1912-1989) was a major American philosopher who was active in the middle part of the 20th century. His father was the prominent Canadian-American philosopher Roy Wood Sellars. Wilfrid Sellars's family traveled in Europe during his childhood and youth and he attended educational institutions in France and in Germany. He attended the University of Michigan, receiving an A.B. degree in 1933. He then attended the University of Buffalo, located in Buffalo, New York, from which he obtained an AM in 1934. He then traveled to England, where as a Rhodes Scholar he enrolled at Oriel College, Oxford. He earned a BA from Oriel in 1936 and an MA in 1940. In 1938 Sellars took up his first academic post as Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Iowa.

Sellars served in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war, in 1946, he moved to the University of Minnesota, as an assistant professor of Philosophy. At Minnesota he established a productive professional relationship with Herbert Feigl, working with him at the Minnesota Center for the Philosophy of Science. In 1950 the two of them founded Philosophical Studies, a forum for publishing articles and books in the new sub-discipline of analytic philosophy, and were co-editors of the early volumes.

In 1956 Sellars, while at the University of London as a Special Lecturer, delivered one of his most important papers. This was later published as "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind." In 1958 Sellars became a Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. In 1963 Sellars moved to the University of Pittsburgh where he became the University Professor of Philosophy. Sellars remained at the University of Pittsburgh for the remainder of his active professional life.

Sellars delivered lectures in distinguished lecture series such as the John Locke Lectures Series of Oxford University. This lecture series was subsequently published as Science and Metaphysics. Other important lecture series include the Matchette Foundation lectures of 1971, given at the University of Texas and later published as "The Structure of Knowledge;" the 1973 John Dewey Lectures of the University of Chicago, later published as Naturalism and Ontology, and the 1977 Paul Carus Lectures which were later published as "Foundations for a Metaphysics of Pure Process".

Sellars was renowned as a teacher and had profound influence on many students, both undergraduate and graduate, during his teaching career. His teaching style was lively and effective and he was able to communicate core ideas in philosophy in a clear and profound way. Some of the students affected by Sellars' teaching went on to become very prominent philosophers themselves. Among these are Pedro Amaral, Bruce Aune, Robert Brandom, Hector Neri Castaneda, Paul Churchland, James Conant, John McDowell, Willem De Vries, Richard Rorty, Jay Rosenberg, Johanna Seibt, Jeffrey Sicha, Tim Triplett, and Bas Van Fraassen.

Scope and Content Notes

The Wilfrid S. Sellars Papers reflect the working life of a professional philosopher of science. Focusing on his professional pursuits in researching, writing and teaching from the 1930s through 1987, these files consist of books, correspondence, contracts, course materials, financial records, manuscripts, notes, photographs, publications, and reports. Especially significant are the manuscripts, which range from notes and working drafts in Sellars's own hand to the published articles.

Although smaller than the other series, the first series provides researchers with records pertaining to the more personal aspects of Sellars's life. The second, fifth and sixth series document the various stages of researching, writing, and editing of manuscripts employed by Sellars. The third series emphasizes Sellars's academic duties as a philosophy professor from 1938 to 1987. The fourth series highlights Sellars's contributions to the philosophy community as an editor, consultant, and lecturer, which compliment his duties as an author and professor. The seventh series documents the career of Sellars's father, Roy Wood Sellars, which is included because of the close personal and professional interactions between them.

Digital reproductions of portions of the collection are available electronically, specifically Series I. Personal, Subseries 2. Educational Material and Series II. Research and Writing, Subseries 1. Handwritten Notes and Subseries 2. Pre-Publication Materials.

Arrangement

The collection has been arranged into seven series, loosely grouped by topic. Extensive scope and content notes are provided at the following series levels:

Series I. Personal and Biographical

Series II. Research and Writing

Series III. Academic Career

Series IV. Professional Activities

Series V. Library

Series VI. Dictabelts

Series VII. Roy Wood Sellars

The collection has been arranged into seven series, loosely grouped by topic. Extensive scope and content notes are provided at the following series levels:

Access Restrictions

The letters of recommendation are restricted. In addition all student records in Series III Subseries I -boxes 112 and 113 are restricted.

Acquisition Information

The scholarly books, journals, and offprints were donated by his heir, Susanna K. Downie to the University of Pittsburgh, Archives of Scientific Philosophy. The manuscripts, letters, dictabelts, and working drafts were sold to the University of Pittsburgh by his widow and heir, Susanna K. Downie.

Existence and Location of Copies

A portion of the Wilfrid S. Sellars Papers is dictabelts, and an inventory of this material is located in the scope and content notes for Series VI. Digital reproductions of portions of the collection are available online.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

This collection contains dictabelt records which require the use of the Series 850 Dictaphone device.

Custodial History

The material within the Wilfrid S. Sellars Collection that originally derives from the work of his father, Roy Wood Sellars, and the material created by his mother, Helen Sellars, were present in the collection at the time of its sale to the University of Pittsburgh Library System's Archives of Scientific Philosophy.

Previous Citation

Wilfrid S. Sellars Papers, 1899-1990, ASP.1991.01, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Wilfrid S. Sellars Papers, 1899-1990, ASP.1991.01, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Jaimie George and Lance Lugar in July 2005 and June 2007.

Copyright

Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Separated Material

The annotated books and journals, as well as the annotated offprints will be retained in the collection and housed with the manuscripts, correspondence, working drafts, and other materials from the collection. The dictabelts are stored separately in the climate controlled audio/visual room at the University of Pittsburgh's Archives Service Center.

Subjects

    Personal Names

    • Sellars, Roy Wood
    • Sellars, Wilfrid

    Other Subjects

    • Realism
    • Ethics
    • Ontology
    • Naturalism
    • Analysis (Philosophy)
    • Empiricism
    • Epistemology
    • Metaphysics
    • Science -- Philosophy
    • Philosophy of mind

Container List

Subseries 1 Dictabelts

Scope and Content Notes

This series is composed of roughly 1,173 dictabelts that contain the oration of Wilfrid Sellars. Most of the dictabelts have labels written on them in chalk pencil. These dictabelts are usually grouped in nested sets and labeled with the same title and a sequential number. The 865 labeled dictabelts fall into several categories: manuscripts, correspondence, miscellaneous, dated and untitled. The dictabelts classified as manuscripts seem to be pre-cursors to articles and lectures, both published and unpublished. The correspondence appears to be pre-cursors to letters Sellars sent to colleagues. The dated and untitled category houses dictabelts that currently cannot be identified. For example, some have only a date label done in chalk, while others have no label whatsoever. The dictabelts preserved all show signs of having been used by Sellars. However, only a small number have been played by the archivists, confirming that at the dictabelts are still in usable condition.