Simon Blackburn (born 1944) is a British academic philosopher known for his efforts to popularise
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
. He attended
Clifton CollegeClifton College is an independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated boarding house...
and went on to receive his bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1965 and his doctorate in 1970 from
Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 160 Fellows ....
. He is currently Professor of Philosophy at the
University of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
's Faculty of Philosophy and Research Professor of Philosophy at the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
. He is also a fellow of
Trinity CollegeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 160 Fellows ....
,
CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
, and has previously held teaching posts at
Pembroke CollegePembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2007, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £45.5 million.-History:...
,
OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
and the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
as an Edna J.
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Simon Blackburn (born 1944) is a British academic philosopher known for his efforts to popularise
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
. He attended
Clifton CollegeClifton College is an independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated boarding house...
and went on to receive his bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1965 and his doctorate in 1970 from
Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 160 Fellows ....
. He is currently Professor of Philosophy at the
University of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
's Faculty of Philosophy and Research Professor of Philosophy at the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
. He is also a fellow of
Trinity CollegeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 160 Fellows ....
,
CambridgeThe University of Cambridge , located in the City of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, is the second oldest university in the English-speaking world and the fourth oldest in Europe...
, and has previously held teaching posts at
Pembroke CollegePembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2007, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £45.5 million.-History:...
,
OxfordThe University of Oxford , located in the UK city of Oxford, is the oldest surviving university in the English-speaking world and is regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions. Although the exact date of foundation remains unclear, there is evidence of teaching there as far back...
and the
University of North CarolinaThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. The university is the oldest in, and flagship of, the University of North Carolina system...
as an Edna J. Koury Professor.
In philosophy, he is best-known as the proponent of
quasi-realismQuasi-realism is the meta-ethical view which claims that:# Ethical sentences do not express propositions.# Instead, ethical sentences project emotional attitudes as though they were real properties....
in
meta-ethicsIn philosophy, meta-ethics is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, and ethical statements, attitudes, and judgments. Meta-ethics is one of the three branches of ethics generally recognized by philosophers, the others being ethical theory and applied ethics...
and as a defender of neo-
HumeDavid Hume was a Scottish philosopher, economist, historian and a key figure in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
an views on a variety of topics; he is an atheist. He is a Vice-President of the
British Humanist AssociationThe British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism and represents "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs." The BHA is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, egalitarianism and mutual respect...
and a former editor of the journal
MindMind is a British journal, currently published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Mind Association, which deals with philosophy in the analytic tradition. It was founded by Alexander Bain in 1876 with George Croom Robertson as editor at University College London. With the death of...
.
He makes occasional appearances in the British media, such as on
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a domestic UK radio station that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967.-Outline:...
's
The Moral MazeThe Moral Maze is a radio programme on BBC Radio 4, broadcast since 1990. Four regular panellists discuss moral and ethical issues relating to a recent news story. The debate is often combative and guest witnesses may be questioned aggressively...
.
Books
- Reason and Prediction (1973). ISBN 0-521-08742-2.
- Spreading the Word (1984) - a text. ISBN 0-19-824650-1.
- Essays in Quasi-Realism
Quasi-realism is the meta-ethical view which claims that:# Ethical sentences do not express propositions.# Instead, ethical sentences project emotional attitudes as though they were real properties....
(1993). ISBN 0-19-508041-6 and ISBN 0-19-508224-9.
- The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy is a dictionary of philosophical terms published by Oxford University Press and written by Simon Blackburn. The dictionary was first published in 1994. The first entry is "Abbagnano, Nicola;" the last is "zygote."...
(1994) - compiled whole-handedly. ISBN 0-19-211694-0.
- Ruling Passions (1998) - a defense of quasi-realism as applied to ethics. ISBN 0-19-824785-0.
- Truth (1999) (edited w/ Keith Simmons) - from Oxford Readings in Philosophy series. ISBN 0-19-875250-4.
- Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy
- Table of Contents :* Introduction* 1. Knowledge* 2. Mind* 3. Free Will* 4. The Self* 5. God* 6. Reasoning* 7. What to Do* Notes* Bibliography* Index...
. (1999) ISBN 0-19-210024-6 and ISBN 0-19-969087-1.
- Being Good (2001) - an introduction to ethics
Ethics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality, such as what the fundamental semantic, ontological, and epistemic nature of ethics or morality is , how moral values should be determined , how a moral outcome can be achieved in specific situations , how moral...
. ISBN 0-19-210052-1.
- Reprinted as Ethics: A Very Short Introduction in Oxford University Press
Oxford house Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. they are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as OUP's...
' Very Short Introductions series http://www.oup.co.uk/general/vsi/. ISBN 0-19-280442-1.
- Lust (2004) - one of an Oxford University Press
Oxford house Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. they are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as OUP's...
series covering the Seven Deadly SinsThe Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of the most objectionable vices which has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen man's tendency to sin...
. ISBN 0-19-516200-5.
- Truth: A Guide (2005). ISBN 0-19-516824-0.
- Plato's Republic: A Biography (2006) - from Atlantic Books' Books That Shook the World series. ISBN 1-84-354350-8.
External links