Several of the chapters also seem to make substantial contributions to the relevant discussions, at least judging from the metaethicsy papers that deal with issues I know something about.

They are polished, and many of them are a real joy to read. The papers cover what seems like a fitting selection of topics. Written by a distinguished bunch of philosophers, this wonderful book collects together fourteen papers on various aspects of Blackburn's work. And at the same time, he showed how meta-ethics thus enriched could become an area of inquiry critical for understanding meaning, mind, and modality more generally. 210) puts it nicely in his contribution to the volume:ĭrawing upon his knowledge of philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and metaphysics, Blackburn showed how greatly meta-ethics could benefit from philosophical sophistication in these collateral areas. As is well known, the results - Blackburn's quasi-realist research program - have been most impressive and influential. Considerably less elegantly, and somewhat more concisely still: you combine an analytical training in Cambridge with an (at the time) unfashionable engagement with Hume's and Ramsey's naturalistic/pragmatist accounts of causation and probability, then take these ideas to the 'ethics laboratory' for easier testing, and finally end up developing the test results in response to considerable critical reaction, coating them - but not thereby messing them up - with a carefully administered dose of minimalism about truth, facts, etc.

Johnson and Michael Smith - is an elegant, concise account of his philosophical career thus far. Simon Blackburn's 'Apologia pro Vita Sua' - opening this volume, together with an introduction from the editors, Robert N.

Simon blackburn philosophy