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.
Browse Simon Blackburn 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) -
“Perhaps to restore human freedom we should deny determinism ?”
Think(1999) | Chapter Three, Free Will, p. 84
Simon Blackburn on God
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“A god that created the world and then walked off the site leaving it to its own devices is not a fit object of worship, nor a source of moral authority.”
Think(1999) | Chapter Five, God, p. 169
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 . -
“A signpost doesn't in and of itself represent the way to the village. We have to learn how to take it.”
Think(1999) | Chapter Two, Mind, p. 78 -
“We can grieve over lost powers and memories, or rejoice over gained knowledge and maturity, according to taste.”
Think(1999) | Chapter Four, The Self, p. 146
Simon Blackburn on Love
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“Myself, I have never seen a bumper sticker saying " Hate if you Love Jesus ", but I sometimes wonder why not. It would be a good slogan for the religious Right.”
Think(1999) | Chapter Five, God, p. 191
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.”
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“If our best efforts come to nothing often enough, we need consolation, and thoughts of unfolding, infinite destiny, or karma , are sometimes consoling.”
Think(1999) | Chapter Three, Free Will, p. 117 -
“We think about what to do, and muster considerations and arguments in favor of one course or another. How are we to think about that?”
Think(1999) | Chapter Eight, What To Do, p. 270
Simon Blackburn on Nature
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“It can seem an amazing fact that laws of nature keep on holding, that the frame of nature does not fall apart.”
Think(1999) | Chapter Five, God, p. 162
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 .