Margaret K. Knight 2405437 203431843 2008-04-05T02:05:52Z Altzinn 4710148 along side ==> alongside '''Margaret Kennedy Knight (nee Horsey)''', ([[November 23]], [[1903]] – [[May 10]][[1983]]), was a psychologist and [[Humanism (life stance)|humanist]]. Born in [[Hertfordshire]], [[England]], Knight went to [[Girton College]], [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]], graduating in 1926. In [[1948]] she gained a Master's degree. It was in her third year at Cambridge that she found the "moral courage", as she put it, to finally abandon the religious beliefs she had long been uneasy with. In the preface to her book ''Morals Without Religion'' (1955), she wrote, "a fresh, cleansing wind swept through the stuffy room that contained the relics of my religious beliefs. I let them go with a profound sense of relief, and ever since I have lived happily without them." Between 1926 and 1936 Margaret worked as a librarian, information officer and editor for journal published by the [[National Institute of Industrial Psychology]]. She married her husband [[Arthur Rex Knight]] in 1936, then in 1938 she started working alongside him as an assistant lecturer in [[psychology]] at the [[University of Aberdeen]], [[Scotland]]. Ten years later in 1948 she was promoted to lecturer in psychology, a post she held till her retirement in 1970. In collaboration with her husband, Knight wrote ''A Modern Introduction to Psychology'' (1948), which went through many editions. An advocate of Scientific Humanism, Knight gave two short radio talks on the [[BBC]] [[BBC Home Service|Home Service]] in 1955 under the title ''Morals Without Religion''. The first talk was broadcast on [[5 January]] and caused a storm of controversy. The ''Sunday Graphic'' headline described her as "The Unholy Mrs. Knight", and called her "a menace". ==External links== *[http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentViewArticle.asp?article=1770 Morals Without Religion: transcripts of the talks]. *[http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentViewArticle.asp?article=1767 Moral panics, moral education, and religion, by Marilyn Mason – on the impact of Margaret's Knight's talks] ==Publications== *''Honest to Man: Christian ethics reexamined'' (1974). London: Elek/Pemberton. ISBN 0-236-31002-X *[http://www.secularism.org.uk/uploads/christianitythedebitaccount.pdf Christianity: the debit account] ([[1973]]). London: [[National Secular Society]]. (pamphlet) *''Humanist Anthology: from [[Confucius]] to [[Bertrand Russell]]'' ([[1961]]). London: Barrie and Rockliff. (Editor) *''Morals without religion : and other essays'' (1955). London: Dobson. (Includes the text of the two BBC talks) *''William James; A Selection From His Writings On Psychology'' (1950) Middlesex: Penguin/Pelican. (Editor) *''A Modern Introduction to Psychology'' (with Rex Knight) (1st edition, [[1948]]). London: University Tutorial Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Margaret}} [[Category:British psychologists]] [[Category:People from Hertfordshire]] [[Category:Academics of the University of Aberdeen]] {{psychologist-stub}}