Simon Blackburn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Simon Blackburn
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Blackburn in 2017
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| Born | 12 July 1944 Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England
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| Era | Contemporary philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Analytic philosophy |
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| Academic advisors | Casimir Lewy |
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Main interests
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Notable ideas
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Quasi-realism |
Simon Walter Blackburn (born 12 July 1944) is an English philosopher. He is famous for his work in metaethics, which is a part of philosophy that studies where our ideas about right and wrong come from. He also works on the philosophy of language, which looks at how language works and what it means.
Blackburn is well-known for making philosophy easier for everyone to understand. He has appeared on TV shows like Closer to Truth to share his ideas. Throughout his career, he has taught at important universities like Oxford University, Cambridge University, and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Contents
About Simon Blackburn's Life
Early Life and Education
Simon Blackburn was born in Chipping Sodbury, England, on July 12, 1944. He went to Clifton College for his schooling. After that, he studied philosophy at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earned his first degree in 1965. He continued his studies at Churchill College, Cambridge, and received his doctorate degree in 1969.
Teaching and Academic Career
Blackburn taught philosophy for many years. He was a professor at the University of Cambridge until he retired in 2011. Even after retiring, he still teaches as a research professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill every fall. He is also a special member, called a Fellow, at Trinity College, Cambridge. He has taught at other places too, like Pembroke College, Oxford.
He has received many important honors for his work. In 2002, he became a Fellow of the British Academy, which is a group for top scholars in the humanities and social sciences. In 2008, he was also made an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He used to be the editor of a well-known philosophy magazine called Mind.
Simon Blackburn's Philosophical Ideas
Understanding Metaethics and Quasi-realism
Simon Blackburn is most famous for his ideas in meta-ethics. This area of philosophy asks big questions about morality, like: Are moral truths real? Do they exist independently of us? Blackburn supports a view called quasi-realism.
Quasi-realism suggests that even if moral truths aren't "real" in the same way a rock is real, we can still talk about them as if they are. It means we can use words like "good" or "bad" in a meaningful way, even if they come from our feelings or agreements, not from some independent moral facts. He also supports ideas from the philosopher David Hume, especially about how our feelings and reasons connect to our actions.
Books on Philosophy
Blackburn has written many books that explain complex philosophical ideas. One of his well-known works is The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, which is like a dictionary for philosophical terms.
In 2014, he wrote Mirror, Mirror: The Uses and Abuses of Self-Love. This book explores different philosophical views on self-love, pride, and self-esteem. He looks at how these ideas have changed over time.
Philosophy for Everyone
Sharing Ideas in Public
Simon Blackburn often appears in the media to discuss philosophy with a wider audience. He has been on BBC Radio 4's The Moral Maze, a show where people debate ethical issues.
He believes that religious views should have less influence on political decisions. He has signed letters with other public figures to share his opinions on important topics. For example, he joined other academics in a letter to the Equality and Human Rights Commission about gender issues.
Debating Moral Questions
Blackburn has also taken part in public debates. In one debate, he argued against the idea that morality can simply come from science alone. He believes that understanding right and wrong is more complex than just scientific facts.
Books by Simon Blackburn
- Reason and Prediction (1973)
- Spreading the Word (1984)
- Essays in Quasi-realism (1993)
- The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (1994, updated 2015)
- Ruling Passions (1998)
- Truth (1999) (edited with Keith Simmons)
- Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy (1999)
- Being Good (2001) – also known as Ethics: A Very Short Introduction
- Truth: A Guide (2005)
- Plato's Republic: A Biography (2006)
- How to read Hume (2008)
- What do we really know? -The Big Questions of Philosophy (2009)
- Mirror, Mirror: The Uses and Abuses of Self-Love (2014)
- On Truth (2018)
See also
- In Spanish: Simon Blackburn para niños
