Hare, R. M.
Description
Richard Mervyn Hare (21 March 1919 in Backwell, Somerset – 29 January 2002 in Ewelme, Oxfordshire) was an English moral philosopher who held the post of White's Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford from 1966 until 1983 and then taught for a number of years at the University of Florida. His meta-ethical theories were influential during the second half of the twentieth century. Hare is best known for his development of prescriptivism as a meta-ethical theory. He believed that formal features of moral discourse could be used to show that correct moral reasoning will lead most agents to a form of preference utilitarianism. [Wikipedia]
Books
Objective prescriptions, and other essays
"R. M. Hare has brought together in this volume the best of his uncollected essays in moral philosophy, several of them previously unpublished or revised for this collection. They span the whole range of his ethical interests; from the most abstract to the most down-to-earth. The reader will find here the bases of his ethical theory in Kantian prescriptivism, utilitarianism, and the logic of imperatives, and will see that theory applied to issues of bioethics, medical ethics, business ethics, loyalty and obedience, and racism."--Jacket.
Greek philosophers
"Greek Philosophers contains essays on three of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle." "Almost uniquely for someone whose thought has been so influential, Socrates wrote nothing himself, and our knowledge of his philosophical opinions and method is derived mainly from the engaging and infuriating figure who appears in Plato's dialogues. The philosophy of Socrates and Plato is therefore closely interconnected, and the most powerful elements of Plato's mature thought form the basis of an interpretation of knowledge, reality, and morality which is still held and debated by philosophers today. Aristotle's approach to these and other issues is in many ways directly opposed to that of Plato, and has been no less influential. His scientific explorations and systematic philosophical investigation have been instrumental in the development of Western philosophy as we know it, and he remains a pivotal figure in metaphysical and ethical thinking."--Jacket.