The intellectual origins and social landscapes of Patrick Geddes, ca. 1880-1899

Abstract

This thesis aims to examine the intellectual origins and social landscapes of Patrick Geddes. It provides a scope for establishing a clearer picture of his initiatives in Edinburgh between 1880 and 1899. Its contribution to Scottish history is highly valuable in fashioning a critical evaluation of the historical figure through the lens of available archival documentation. Most of this work has been derived from documents housed at the National Library of Scotland and the vast collection of Patrick Geddes papers at the University of Strathclyde. The great majority of archives that have been sourced have yet to be fully assessed or published. The scope of this research has been to reconstruct a narrative around Geddes’ intellectual origins in relation to the development of his early activity. It further intends to be a starting-point for filling a large gap in Geddesian studies. Moreover, it traces the construction of P.G.’s diverse social landscape through co-operative means and crafts a new focus for assessing the Scottish context of his generalist philosophy. Furthermore, this thesis furnishes a new perspective relating to his intellectual upbringing, professional evolution and generalist practice. More broadly, this research firmly places Geddes in the tradition of Scottish intellectual history.