Simon Blackburn Quotes
Simon Blackburn is a British philosopher, professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge, and one of the leading defenders of expressivism in contemporary metaethics. Spreading the Word and Ruling Passions developed his quasi-realist program, in which moral judgments are projections of attitudes onto the world that nevertheless deserve to be treated, in practice, as if they tracked moral facts. The quotes below are attributed to Simon Blackburn, organized by topic.
Simon Blackburn on Death
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“An ethic gone wrong is an essential preliminary to the sweat shop or the concentration camp and the death march .”
Simon Blackburn , Being Good (2001)
Simon Blackburn on Freedom
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“We hope for lives whose story leaves us looking admirable; we like our weaknesses to be hidden and deniable... We want to enjoy our lives, and we want to enjoy them with a good conscience ... Ethics is disturbing. We are often vaguely uncomfortable when we think of such things as exploitation of the world's resources, or the way our comforts are provided by the miserable labour conditions of the third world ... Racists and sexists, like antebellum slave owners in America, always have to tell themselves a story that justifies their system .”
Simon Blackburn , Being Good (2001)
Simon Blackburn on Justice
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“Thoughts are strange things. they have 'representational' powers: a thought typically represents the world as being one way or another. A sensation, by contrast, seems to just sit there.”
Chapter Two, Mind, p. 78
Simon Blackburn on Knowledge
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“The word " philosophy " carries unfortunate connotations: impractical, unworldly, weird.”
Introduction, p. 1 -
“In the end , it is ideas for which people kill each other.”
Introduction, p. 11 -
“Since there is no telling in advance where it may lead, reflection can be seen as dangerous .”
Introduction, p. 11 -
“The scientific world is to be less threatening than was feared. It is to be made safe for human beings. And the way to make it safe is to reflect on the foundation of knowledge .”
Chapter One, Knowledge, p. 17 -
“Chapter One, Knowledge, p. 17”
The scientific world is to be less threatening than was feared. It is to be made safe for human beings. And the way to make it safe is to reflect on the foundation of knowledge .
Simon Blackburn on Mind
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Attributed to Simon Blackburn:
“Mind is not the mirror of nature; mind is one of nature's accomplishments.”
Simon Blackburn on Truth
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Attributed to Simon Blackburn:
“Quasi-realism earns the right to talk like a realist while ceding the metaphysics to the projectivist.”
Simon Blackburn on Virtue
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Attributed to Simon Blackburn:
“Moral judgments are not descriptions of the world; they are stances toward it.”
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Attributed to Simon Blackburn:
“Humean philosophy is the school of moral common sense.”
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Attributed to Simon Blackburn:
“An honest naturalism is enough for ethics.”
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“Simon Blackburn , Being Good (2001)”
We hope for lives whose story leaves us looking admirable; we like our weaknesses to be hidden and deniable... We want to enjoy our lives, and we want to enjoy them with a good conscience ... Ethics is disturbing. We are often vaguely uncomfortable when we think of such things as exploitation of the world's resources, or the way our comforts are provided by the miserable labour conditions of the t -
“Simon Blackburn , Being Good (2001)”
An ethic gone wrong is an essential preliminary to the sweat shop or the concentration camp and the death march .