Jonathan Glover facts for kids

Jonathan Glover (born in 1941) is a British philosopher. He is well-known for his books and studies about ethics. Ethics is the study of what is right and wrong.

Glover currently teaches ethics at King's College London. He is also a member of the Hastings Center. This is a group in the United States that researches bioethics. Bioethics looks at moral questions that come up in medicine and biology. He is also a special researcher at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.

Jonathan Glover's Education

Jonathan Glover went to Tonbridge School. After that, he studied at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, which is part of Oxford University. He later became a teacher and tutor in philosophy at New College, Oxford. Today, he is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.

Jonathan Glover's Work and Ideas

Jonathan Glover's ideas often focus on the consequences of our actions. This means he thinks about what happens because of our choices. He believes that the results of our actions are very important when we decide if something is right or wrong.

He also believes we should always treat other people with respect. We should never just use people to get what we want. He questions the idea that life itself is always valuable, no matter what. Instead, he argues that life matters because it allows us to do and experience things that make life worth living.

Glover also looks at the difference between actively harming someone and letting them be harmed. He thinks there isn't a huge moral difference between killing someone and intentionally letting them die. He uses ideas from history and literature, not just strict philosophy, to understand these issues. He has noted that it can feel easier to harm someone from a distance, like in war. This can make it seem less terrible to some people.

Understanding Human Actions

In his 1999 book, Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century, Glover explores why people commit terrible acts. He suggests ways that human traditions and imagination can help stop us from being completely selfish. He believes that understanding the darker parts of human nature helps us control them.

He studied many terrible events from the 20th century. These include the Nazi genocide, and mass killings under leaders like Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot. He also looked at more recent violence in Bosnia and Rwanda. He wanted to find out what could prevent such horrors.

Glover identified three main ways to protect against terrible acts:

• Sympathy: Feeling for others.
• Respect for Human Dignity: Valuing every person.
• Moral Identity: Believing "I am not the kind of person who would do that."

He noted that the idea of "moral identity" can sometimes be twisted, as it was by the Nazis.

The Importance of Relationships

Sam Harris once quoted Glover about how relationships affect us. Glover said that our connections with family and friends make us less selfish. He explained that when we have loved ones, we become "hostages to fortune." This means we care about others so much that it changes our own self-interest.

Other Contributions

In 1989, the European Commission asked Glover to lead a group. This group studied research on human embryos and ways to help people have children.

In 2018, Jonathan Glover received the Dan David Prize. This award recognized his important work in bioethics.