Leon MacLaren, born Leonardo da Vinci MacLaren (24 September 1910 – 24 June 1994), was a British philosopher and the founder of the School of Economic Science (SES). MacLaren was inspired by Henry George, Socrates, Dr Francis Roles, Pyotr Ouspensky, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and finally the philosophy of Advaita Vedānta through the Shankaracharyas of Jyoti Math. Early life MacLaren was born in Glasgow on 24 September 1910, but from the age of four grew up in the London suburb of Wimbledon. He was the son of Andrew MacLaren, a Labour Member of Parliament who was a staunch advocate of Henry George. Schooled at Rutlish School in Wimbledon, MacLaren later became attracted to the law and trained as a barrister. Maclaren said he was grateful to have inherited from his father three things: no religion, no education, and a strong desire to distrust experts. At the age of sixteen, MacLaren contemplated how his life could best be put to the service of mankind, a one-word answer came to his mind, the word was "School". Describing the experience when he was siting by a lake in Wimbledon Park when he says:It became very clear to me that there was such a thing as truth, and there was such a thing as justice, and that they could be found and, being found, could be taught. It seemed to me that that was the most valuable thing that one could pursue. So I resolved to pursue this when I was twenty-one.Years later, in 1936, aided by his father Andrew MacLaren, he began an economic study group based on the Socratic method of inquiry that became The School of Economic Science. MacLaren believed that the practical problems of the world could best be solved by transforming the nature of human beings. Career MacLaren's influences include his father Andrew MacLaren, Shantanand Saraswati, Henry George, Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff, P. D. Ouspensky, Francis Roles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. According to the Henry George Foundation, MacLaren joined the Henry George movement in London in 1931, serving on the executive committee from 1933 until 1937. At the 1936 International Conference of Georgist Organisations held in London, a contingent from the US presented a question-based method of teaching Henry George's ideas. MacLaren created a similar method and taught the course in London. In 1937 MacLaren left the Henry George movement and founded the School of Economic Science (SES) with the support