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George Edward Moore (1873–1958) was a British philosopher and a founding figure of analytic philosophy. Renowned for his contributions to ethics, epistemology, and common-sense realism, Moore taught at the University of Cambridge and edited the journal Mind.
Known for: Principia
Books by Isaac Newton
Principia
Principia Ethica, first published in 1903, is a landmark in analytic moral philosophy. In this work, G. E. Moore critiques ethical naturalism and introduces the 'open question argument' to demonstrate that 'good' is a simple, indefinable quality. The book emphasizes intrinsic value and the distinction between means and ends, profoundly influencing later thinkers such as Bertrand Russell and members of the Bloomsbury Group.
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Critique of Ethical Naturalism
I begin my argument by questioning what philosophers have long taken for granted—that goodness can be defined in terms of some natural property. Utilitarians claimed good to mean pleasure; evolutionists defined it as survival; others equated it with desire or social approval. All these attempts shar...
From Principia
The Indefinability of 'Good' and the Open Question Argument
Having shown that attempts to define good in naturalistic terms fail, I advance the claim that 'good' is simple and indefinable. By simplicity I mean that good is not composed of smaller parts or reducible to anything more fundamental. Colors provide an analogy: 'yellow' cannot be defined except by ...
From Principia
About Isaac Newton
George Edward Moore (1873–1958) was a British philosopher and a founding figure of analytic philosophy. Renowned for his contributions to ethics, epistemology, and common-sense realism, Moore taught at the University of Cambridge and edited the journal Mind. His rigorous argumentation and defense of...
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George Edward Moore (1873–1958) was a British philosopher and a founding figure of analytic philosophy. Renowned for his contributions to ethics, epistemology, and common-sense realism, Moore taught at the University of Cambridge and edited the journal Mind. His rigorous argumentation and defense of...
George Edward Moore (1873–1958) was a British philosopher and a founding figure of analytic philosophy. Renowned for his contributions to ethics, epistemology, and common-sense realism, Moore taught at the University of Cambridge and edited the journal Mind. His rigorous argumentation and defense of moral intuitionism shaped twentieth-century philosophical thought.
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George Edward Moore (1873–1958) was a British philosopher and a founding figure of analytic philosophy. Renowned for his contributions to ethics, epistemology, and common-sense realism, Moore taught at the University of Cambridge and edited the journal Mind.
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