John Thomson

Biographical notes Born in 1925 and grew up on a farm in the Scottish Borders. Served in the army from 1943- 1947 mainly in the East. Studied Humanities and Law at Edinburgh University and after graduation decided to become a painter. For 4 years I painted (autodidact) and developed skills as part-time teacher of adults, children and young people in Paris and London. In 1945 I met the writings of Rudolf Steiner and a year later joined a Steiner school in the Midlands with my wife Marie-Claire Gay. We taught there for 25 years where our four children were educated. In 1981 I was invited to join Emerson College as leader of the Education Course. This was a rich time as well as a challenging one for me. I officially retired in 1996 but continued involvement with Emerson. I returned to painting and this has taught me a great deal. I have made several exhibitions locally which have been much appreciated. Over the years I have developed a deep interest in philosophy and lectured on Steiner’s philosophy as well as on the work of some mainstream thinkers. I am currently putting the finishing touches to ‘The Experience of Thinking from Plato to Buber’ which will be published soon.