Modern Moral Philosophy
"Modern Moral Philosophy" is an article on moral philosophy by G. E. M. Anscombe, originally published in the journal Philosophy, vol. 33, no. 124 (January 1958).[1]
The article has influenced the emergence of contemporary virtue ethics,[2][3] especially through the work of Alasdair MacIntyre. Notably, the term "consequentialism" was first coined in this paper.
Theses[]
The author presents three theses:
"It is not profitable for us at present to do moral philosophy; that should be laid aside at any rate until we have an adequate philosophy of psychology, in which we are conspicuously lacking."
"Concepts of obligation, and duty — moral obligation and moral duty, that is to say — and of what is morally right and wrong, and of the moral sense of "ought," ought to be jettisoned if this is psychologically possible; because they are survivals, or derivatives from survivals, from an earlier conception of ethics which no longer generally survives, and are only harmful without it."
"The differences between the well-known English writers on moral philosophy from Sidgwick to the present day are of little importance."
Criticism[]
John Wardle argued that Anscombe misrepresented Henry Sidgwick's understanding of the concept of humility when she concludes that it is "a species of untruthfulness".[4]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ G. E. M. Anscombe (January 1958). "Modern Moral Philosophy". Philosophy. 33 (124): 1–19. doi:10.1017/s0031819100037943. JSTOR 3749051.
- ^ Roger Crisp; Michael Slote, eds. (2001). Virtue ethics. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. pp. 1–5. ISBN 978-0-19-875188-5.
- ^ Haldane, John (June 2000). "In Memoriam: G. E. M. Anscombe (1919-2001)". The Review of Metaphysics. 53 (4): 1019–1021. JSTOR 20131480.
- ^ Wardle, John (July 1983). "Miss Anscombe on Sidgwick's View of Humility". Philosophy. 58 (225): 389–391. doi:10.1017/s0031819100068467. JSTOR 3750774.
Sources[]
Further reading[]
- Virtue Ethics, edited by Roger Crisp and Michael Slote, Oxford, 1997. ISBN 0-19-875189-3
- Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, London, 1985 (2nd ed.). ISBN 0-268-00611-3.
- 1958 documents
- Academic journal articles
- Works by Elizabeth Anscombe
- Works originally published in Philosophy (journal)
- 1958 essays
- Ethics essays
- Philosophy-related lists
- Ethics book stubs
- Essay stubs