Judith Jarvis Thomson Quotes
Judith Jarvis Thomson was an American moral and metaphysical philosopher and a long-serving professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her A Defense of Abortion, published in 1971, became one of the most discussed papers in twentieth-century moral philosophy and inaugurated a new style of careful, scenario-driven argument in applied ethics. The quotes below are attributed to Judith Jarvis Thomson, organized by topic.
Browse Judith Jarvis Thomson by topic
Judith Jarvis Thomson on Justice
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Attributed to Judith Jarvis Thomson:
“A defense of abortion does not require a denial of personhood.”
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Attributed to Judith Jarvis Thomson:
“We have rights, but we also have duties to one another.”
Judith Jarvis Thomson on Knowledge
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“A fetus is no more a human than an acorn is a tree”
Judith Jarvis Thomson, Philosopher, “A Defense of Abortion”. Philosophy & Public Affairs, Fall 1971 -
“Judith Jarvis Thomson, Philosopher, “A Defense of Abortion”. Philosophy & Public Affairs, Fall 1971”
A fetus is no more a human than an acorn is a tree -
“Judith Jarvis Thomson, "How it Was" Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association vol. 87, November 2013, pgs. 109-121”
Many women of my generation, in many fields, had good reason to be grateful to the women's colleges.
Judith Jarvis Thomson on Mind
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“Many women of my generation, in many fields, had good reason to be grateful to the women's colleges.”
Judith Jarvis Thomson, "How it Was" Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association vol. 87, November 2013, pgs. 109-121
Judith Jarvis Thomson on Virtue
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Attributed to Judith Jarvis Thomson:
“The trolley problem reveals the structure of our moral intuitions.”
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Attributed to Judith Jarvis Thomson:
“What you may not do is not always what you must not allow to happen.”
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Attributed to Judith Jarvis Thomson:
“Careful description of cases is the first task of moral philosophy.”