W. D. Ross

Sir W. D. Ross
Born
William David Ross

(1877-04-15)15 April 1877
Thurso, Scotland
Died5 May 1971(1971-05-05) (aged 94)
Oxford, England
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
Balliol College, Oxford
Era20th-century philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolAnalytic philosophy
Main interests
Ethics, Greek philosophy
Notable ideas
Deontological pluralism (ethical non-naturalism / ethical intuitionism / ethical pluralism),[1] prima facie moral duties,[2] criticism of consequentialism
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Sir William David Ross KBE FBA (15 April 1877 – 5 May 1971), known as David Ross but usually cited as W. D. Ross, was a Scottish Aristotelian philosopher, translator, WWI veteran, civil servant, and university administrator. His best-known work is The Right and the Good (1930), in which he developed a pluralist, deontological form of intuitionist ethics in response to G. E. Moore's consequentialist form of intuitionism. Ross also critically edited and translated a number of Aristotle's works, such as his 12-volume translation of Aristotle together with John Alexander Smith, and wrote on other Greek philosophy.

  1. ^ "William David Ross" by David L. Simpson in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2012
  2. ^ A Simple Ethical Theory Based on W. D. Ross
  3. ^ Principles of Biomedical Ethics (1985), with James F. Childress, in which the authors acknowledge their debt towards Ross.