W. B. Gallie

Walter Bryce Gallie (5 October 1912 – 31 August 1998) was a Scottish social theorist, political theorist, and philosopher. He was also a lifelong democratic socialist. In 1940, he married Menna Humphreys, a Welsh-speaking novelist, and they had two children. Gallie made significant contributions to philosophy in 1952 with the publication of his book *Peirce and Pragmatism*, which introduced the work of Charles Sanders Peirce to a wider audience. In 1956, he introduced his influential concept of 'essentially contested concepts', arguing that certain concepts, like social justice or democracy, are inherently open to debate and cannot be definitively defined. Gallie's career included academic positions at various universities, including University College of Swansea, the University of Keele, Queen's University Belfast, and Cambridge University. He served in the British Army during World War II, achieving the rank of Major and being awarded the Croix de Guerre. His later work focused on the philosophy of war and political philosophy.