Sir W. D. Ross | |
---|---|
Born | William David Ross 15 April 1877 Thurso, Scotland |
Died | 5 May 1971 Oxford, England | (aged 94)
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh Balliol College, Oxford |
Era | 20th-century philosophy |
Region | Western philosophy |
School | Analytic 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 |
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.