Philosopher

Elizabeth Anscombe

Ethics

Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe, generally known as Elizabeth Anscombe, was a British philosopher, born in 1919 and died in 2001, who studied under and later edited and translated the work of Ludwig Wittgenstein and became one of the leading analytic philosophers of the twentieth century as well as a committed Roman Catholic engaged in Thomist ethics. Her 1957 monograph Intention, described by the philosopher Donald Davidson as the most important treatment of human action since Aristotle, examines what distinguishes an intentional action from mere bodily movement, and her 1958 essay Modern Moral Philosophy introduced the term consequentialism while arguing that moral philosophy could not proceed usefully until it had a sound philosophy of psychology, an argument credited with helping revive virtue ethics in the later twentieth century. Anscombe also played a central role in editing and translating Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations and other posthumous writings, shaping how his later philosophy was received by generations of subsequent philosophers.

Facts

Birth Year

1919 2

Defining Moment

Her 1958 article Modern Moral Philosophy introduced the term consequentialism into analytic philosophy and influenced the revival of virtue ethics. 2

Birth Date

1919-03-18 2

Notable Publication

Intention (1957) 2

Office Held

Professor of Philosophy, University of Cambridge 2

Death Year

2001 2

Death Date

2001-01-05 2

Birthplace

Limerick, Ireland 2

Death Place

Cambridge, England 2

Tradition

Analytic philosophy 2

Classification

Nationality

United Kingdom 1

Tradition

Tradition (category)

Analytic 2

FAQs

Why is Anscombe credited with the word consequentialism, and what did she mean by it?

Anscombe introduced the word as a label for theories that deny any moral difference between intended and merely foreseen results.

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy lists the introduction of the word consequentialism, as a label for a class of ethical theories, among Anscombe's main contributions to ethics. She also gave an account of what she took to be their shortcomings. In that account, consequentialism is the denial that there is any significant moral difference between results of action that are brought about intentionally and those that are foreseen but not intended.

What did Anscombe argue in Modern Moral Philosophy about moral obligation?

She argued that moral obligation and a special moral sense of ought are harmful ideas, and that moral philosophy should wait for an adequate philosophy of psychology.

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy summarizes the paper as putting forward three theses. First, all the major British moral philosophers from Henry Sidgwick on were essentially the same, that is, consequentialists. Second, the concepts of moral obligation, the use of the word ought with a special moral sense, and related notions are harmful and should be dropped. Third, we should stop doing moral philosophy until we have an adequate philosophy of psychology.

Connections