George Edward Moore

George Edward Moore was born on ۴ November ۱۸۷۳ in South London. In ۱۸۹۲ he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, and, after beginning his studies in classics, turned to philosophy. His acquaintance with Bertrand Russell and J. M. E. McTaggart was important in shaping his intellectual development. Moore became a Fellow of Trinity in ۱۸۹۸, returned to Cambridge in ۱۹۱۱, and became Professor of Philosophy in ۱۹۲۵. He also served for many years as editor of the philosophical journal Mind.

Moore’s most important work, Principia Ethica, was published in ۱۹۰۳. In this book he opposed ethical naturalism and argued that the concept of “good” cannot be reduced to natural properties such as pleasure or desire. His famous discussions of the “naturalistic fallacy” and the “open-question argument” became influential topics in twentieth-century metaethics. Moore also wrote on intrinsic value, normative ethics, and the relationship between goodness and right action.

Moore also played an important role in epistemology and metaphysics. Together with Russell, he helped move British philosophy away from idealism, and in works such as “A Defence of Common Sense” and “Proof of an External World” he emphasized the credibility of certain ordinary beliefs in the face of philosophical skepticism. His famous demonstration of raising his two hands and saying “This is one hand” exemplifies this approach. Moore died in Cambridge on ۲۴ October ۱۹۵۸, and his legacy remains influential in analytic philosophy, ethics, and debates about common sense.