1858 – 1931
William Ernest Johnson (1858–1931) was a British logician and philosopher at Cambridge University, best known for his three-volume treatise Logic (1921–1924). He made foundational contributions to formal logic, probability theory, and the philosophy of induction, and introduced influential distinctions in the theory of universals that shaped early analytic philosophy.
Authored the three-volume Logic (1921–1924), a systematic treatment of logical theory and inference
Introduced the distinction between 'determinables' and 'determinates' in the metaphysics of properties
Made foundational contributions to probability theory, influencing Keynes and Carnap on inductive logic
Analyzed the logic of future contingencies and modal inference
Mentored prominent Cambridge philosophers including John Maynard Keynes