Anscombe on Faith and Justice

Another new publication. This one is short, open access, and quotes unpublished letters to von Wright. 

Abstract

In G. E. M. Anscombe’s extensive correspondence with G. H. von Wright, one of the many topics that come up is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. What she says in these letters is significant because of the interest in what she wrote elsewhere about the use of atomic weapons. It is especially interesting because she might seem to imply here that only a person with religious faith is capable of being just. This paper quotes the relevant passages from the correspondence, explores what she might have meant, and concludes that she is not committed to the view that only the faithful can be just.

Wittgenstein Versus Anscombe on How to Live

My next book is now available to pre-order here. Here's a description of the contents:

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) and Elizabeth Anscombe (1919–2001) are two of the most interesting and influential philosophers of the twentieth century. Anscombe was Wittgenstein's friend and student, chosen by him to be his translator and editor, but the two had very different views on ethics and religion. Anscombe was a devout Catholic, while Wittgenstein was much less traditional. Each cared passionately about living the right way, and each was noted for their eccentricity. Why did they live as they did? What did they have to say about how one ought to live? And what, if anything, can we learn from them? This book explores their different beliefs about killing in war, about sexuality, about politics, about God, and about the meaning of life. Drawing on previously unpublished work by Anscombe, Duncan Richter explains where these beliefs came from, how they affected the lives of these two great philosophers, and some of the strengths and weaknesses of their divergent positions. If we understand these two thinkers better, we may improve our own chances of living a good life.

Sheer Poison? Anscombe and Wittgenstein on Philosophy of Religion

I have a new, open access publication available here. It's part of a special issue on New Work on Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Religion edited by Sebastian Sunday Grève.

Abstract 

Anscombe once said to Anthony Kenny that “On the topic of religion, Wittgenstein is sheer poison”. This paper offers an assessment of that view. I take it that Anscombe meant that Wittgenstein was a bad influence rather than that his views were necessarily false, although she seems to have been uncertain about what exactly his views were. In “Paganism, Superstition and Philosophy”, she identifies five ideas that make up “a certain current in philosophy which has a strong historical connection with Wittgenstein”. I identify some of the sources of these ideas, in Wittgenstein’s writing and in work by some of his followers, and consider what Anscombe’s objections to them might have been. I also look at whether we should think of these ideas as belonging either to Wittgenstein’s philosophy of religion or to his personal beliefs. This will involve some consideration of how far we can, or should try to, separate the personal from the philosophical. So far as he held objectionable views about religion, I argue that these ought to be considered personal rather than philosophical.

Anti-Theory in Ethics and Philosophy of Science

 

This book brings together scholars from ethics and philosophy of science in order to identify ways in which insights gleaned from one subfield can shed light on the other. The book focuses on two radical Anti-Theory movements that emerged in the 1970’s and 1980’s, one in philosophy of science and the other in ethics. Both movements challenged attempts to supply general, systematized philosophical theories within their domains and thus invited the reconsideration of what philosophical theorizing can and should offer. Each of these movements was domain-specific – that is, each criticized the aspirations to philosophical theories within its own domain and advanced arguments aimed at philosophers within their own specific subfield. The innovative systematic comparative examination of these movements by scholars from each domain sheds new light on some familiar debates, offers new and exciting paths of research to pursue in each domain, provides insight into the place of science and ethics in contemporary life and culture, and enables a fresh view on the longstanding and alluring philosophical aspiration for a fully general, absolute theory of reality and an ultimate objective foundational theory of knowledge.

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   
   

2. Introduction to Philosophical Theorizing and Its Limits: Anti-theory in Ethics and Philosophy of Science

   • Uri D. Leibowitz, Klodian Coko, Isaac Nevo

   Pages 1-13

3. Moral Philosophy Is Not What It Used To Be: Reflections on Three Decades of Anti-theory

   • Nora Hämäläinen

   Pages 15-34

4. Feyerabend’s Asymmetry Argument for Epistemological Anarchism

   • Jamie Shaw

   Pages 35-51

5. The Scientific Method and the Moral Method

   • Uri D. Leibowitz

   Pages 53-80

6. Against Theory and Method in Ethics and Philosophy of Science

   • Klodian Coko

   Pages 81-104

7. Ethical Description as a Form of Anti-theory

   • Duncan Richter

   Pages 105-122

8. Overcoming Metaethics: Interpretation, Objectivity, and Realism

   • Michiel Meijer

   Pages 123-140

9. What Is It Like to See an Animal? Self-Examination and the Moral Relevance of Ordinary Descriptions of Animals

   • Erich Linder

   Pages 141-157

10. Anti-theory in Philosophy: A Case for Pragmatism

    • Isaac Nevo

    Pages 159-181

11. The Dangers of ‘Best Practices’: Against Supposedly Revolutionary Theories of Evidence in Medicine

    • Charles M. Djordjevic

    Pages 183-209

Available here and wherever expensive academic books are sold