Elizabeth Anscombe(1919 — 2001)
G. E. M. Anscombe
Royaume-Uni
8 min read
G. E. M. Anscombe (1919-2001) est l'une des plus grandes philosophes analytiques du XXe siècle. Élève de Wittgenstein, elle forge le terme « conséquentialisme » et révolutionne la philosophie de l'action avec son œuvre majeure *Intention* (1957). Catholique fervente, elle n'hésite pas à s'opposer publiquement à la bombe atomique.
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« Je veux dire par « conséquentialisme » la doctrine selon laquelle un acte est juste si et seulement si il produit les meilleures conséquences disponibles. »
Key Facts
- Étudie sous la direction de Ludwig Wittgenstein à Cambridge dans les années 1940 et traduit ses œuvres majeures en anglais
- Publie *Intention* en 1957, ouvrage fondateur de la philosophie contemporaine de l'action
- Forge le terme « conséquentialisme » dans son article *Modern Moral Philosophy* (1958), rejetant cette doctrine au nom d'une éthique des vertus
- S'oppose publiquement en 1956 à l'attribution d'un doctorat honoris causa à Harry Truman par l'université d'Oxford, le tenant responsable des bombardements atomiques
- Succède à Wittgenstein à la chaire de philosophie de Cambridge en 1970, poste qu'elle occupe jusqu'en 1986
Works & Achievements
Her major work, foundational to modern philosophy of action. Anscombe analyzes the notion of intention, distinguishing intentional action from causally determined behavior, with considerable influence on analytic philosophy and ethics.
A short but revolutionary article in which Anscombe coins the term 'consequentialism', critiques modern moral theories, and calls for a return to Aristotelian virtue ethics, redefining the agenda of Anglophone moral philosophy.
A scholarly and rigorous introduction to Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. This book remains one of the best entry points to the Austrian philosopher's work and attests to the depth of Anscombe's work as an interpreter.
English translation of Wittgenstein's major posthumous work, produced from his manuscripts. This titanic effort as editor and translator made Wittgenstein's ordinary language philosophy accessible to the English-speaking world.
A collection of all her philosophical articles, covering metaphysics, philosophy of action, ethics, and philosophy of mind. Constitutes the primary reference for studying Anscombe's thought in its entirety.
A pamphlet in which Anscombe justifies her vote against the honorary doctorate awarded to Harry Truman, on the grounds of just war doctrine. A short but powerfully argued text on the moral responsibility of political leaders.
Anecdotes
During a conference at Oxford in the 1950s, Anscombe publicly opposed the decision to award an honorary doctorate to Harry Truman, the American president who had ordered the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She was one of the rare academic voices to vote against it, arguing that honouring a man responsible for the deliberate killing of innocent civilians was morally unacceptable.
A student and close friend of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Anscombe was one of the few people the Austrian philosopher trusted entirely. Upon Wittgenstein's death in 1951, he named her one of his three literary executors, entrusting her with the immense task of translating and publishing his posthumous works, including the celebrated Philosophical Investigations.
Anscombe was known for her direct and uncompromising personality. She often wore a monocle and smoked cigars, which was particularly unusual for a woman of her era. In lectures, she did not hesitate to rebuke students who put forward arguments she deemed insufficiently rigorous, sometimes with a frankness that intimidated her interlocutors.
A devout and convinced Catholic, Anscombe firmly opposed artificial contraception and publicly defended the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae. This position earned her severe criticism, even in progressive Catholic circles. Mother of seven children, she believed her personal life should be consistent with her philosophical and moral convictions.
Her 1958 article 'Modern Moral Philosophy' is considered one of the founding texts of contemporary virtue ethics. In this essay, she coined the term 'consequentialism' to critique moral theories that justify acts solely by their outcomes, thereby opening a philosophical debate that still shapes the teaching of ethics in universities around the world today.
Primary Sources
The question 'why?' is not a request for causes; it is a request for reasons. When I ask why you did something, I am asking for your reason, not for a causal explanation of your behavior.
The concepts of obligation, and duty—moral obligation and moral duty, that is to say—and of what is morally right and wrong, and of the moral sense of 'ought', ought to be jettisoned if this is psychologically possible.
For men to choose to kill the innocent as a means to their ends is always murder, and murder is one of the worst of human actions. So that Mr. Truman's decision to use the atom bomb is objectively the decision of a mass murderer.
Causality is not the same thing as necessity. The discovery of a cause does not entail the discovery of a law-like necessity governing events.
Key Places
It was at Oxford that Anscombe completed her higher education and converted to Catholicism. There she developed the foundations of her philosophical thought and met the great analytical minds of her time.
Anscombe attended Wittgenstein's seminars at Cambridge in the 1940s and held a chair in philosophy there from 1970 to 1986, succeeding a long line of analytical thinkers. It was there that she died in 2001.
Anscombe travelled to Rome several times in connection with her reflections on Catholic ethics and her defence of Church teaching. Her engagement with Catholic intellectual circles was recognised as far as the Holy See.
Oxford's great library was an essential workplace for Anscombe during her research and her preparation of translations and editions of Wittgenstein's works.
Birthplace of Elizabeth Anscombe, born on 18 March 1919. Her Irish origins and Catholic upbringing lastingly shaped her relationship to tradition and morality.
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Modern Moral Philosophy
1958
An Introduction to Wittgenstein's Tractatus
1959
Traduction des Recherches philosophiques de Wittgenstein (Philosophical Investigations)
1953
Collected Philosophical Papers (3 volumes)
1981
Mr Truman's Degree
1958
