Gilbert Harman 1938 – 2021
Gilbert Harman (1938 – 2021) was an American philosopher of the Contemporary era, associated with Analytic Philosophy.
Gilbert Helms Harman was an American philosopher of language, mind, and ethics and a long-serving professor at Princeton. After studies at Swarthmore and Harvard under W. V. O. Quine, he developed in his many essays and books the notion of inference to the best explanation as the most general form of nonscientific reasoning, defended a moderate moral relativism in The Nature of Morality, and argued in late papers against the existence of robust character traits of the kind required by classical virtue ethics. He shaped American philosophy of mind and meta-ethics for half a century.
Key facts
- Nationality
- American
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Analytic Philosophy
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Gilbert Harman:
“Inference to the best explanation is the most general form of inductive reasoning.”
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Attributed to Gilbert Harman:
“Moral relativism is not the denial of moral truth, but its localization.”
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Attributed to Gilbert Harman:
“There is no robust character trait of the kind virtue ethics requires.”
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Attributed to Gilbert Harman:
“Reasoning, like perception, can be analyzed without taking inner soliloquy at face value.”
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Attributed to Gilbert Harman:
“The internal pressure of consistency is the engine of moral thought.”
Gilbert Harman by topic
Frequently asked about Gilbert Harman
- When did Gilbert Harman live?
- Gilbert Harman was born in 1938 and died in 2021.
- Where was Gilbert Harman from?
- Gilbert Harman was an American philosopher of the Contemporary era.
- What philosophical movements is Gilbert Harman associated with?
- Gilbert Harman was associated with Analytic Philosophy.
- What was Gilbert Harman known for?
- Gilbert Helms Harman was an American philosopher of language, mind, and ethics and a long-serving professor at Princeton.
- How many quotes are attributed to Gilbert Harman?
- There are 8 attributed quotations from Gilbert Harman in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.