Principia Ethica - Paperback

by G. E. Moore (Author)

The long history of ethics has had as its driving force the goal of establishing basic principles to govern human behavior and against which our actions can be judged and determinations of responsibility made. But as the twentieth century began, Moore believed that it was time to get back to basics and to ask the relevant questions once again.What is good? How do we define it? What do we mean when we call something 'good'? He contends that much of what serves as the foundation for ethics is in jeopardy - i.e., open to the "Naturalistic Fallacy" - because the question of defining "good" is not fully addressed. Here one of the most penetrating minds of modern philosophy seeks to clarify the fundamental elements of ethical discourse.

Author Biography

GEORGE EDWARD MOORE, noted epistemologist, moral philosopher, and "ordinary language" philosopher, was born on November 4, 1873, in Upper Norwood, London. He was educated at Dulwich College at the University of Cambridge, where he specialized in the classics until turn-ing his attention to philosophy. He lectured at Cambridge from 1911 to 1925, at which time he was appointed professor and taught there until his retirement in 1939. In addition to writing Principia Ethica (1902), Moore was the editor of the internationally respected journal Mind from 1921 to 1947. In 1951 he was awarded England's highest honor, the Order of Merit. He died in Cambridge on October 24, 1958.