author
G. E. (George Edward) Moore
1873–1958
A central figure in early analytic philosophy, this English thinker became famous for clear, exact arguments about ethics, common sense, and what we can really know. His writing helped shape twentieth-century philosophy far beyond Cambridge.
2 Audiobooks
Principia Ethica
by G. E. (George Edward) Moore
Philosophical Studies
by G. E. (George Edward) Moore
About the author
Born in London in 1873, G. E. Moore spent most of his career at the University of Cambridge, where he became one of the key figures in the rise of analytic philosophy. He is often mentioned alongside Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein, and he was widely respected for his patient, meticulous style of argument.
Moore is especially known for Principia Ethica (1903), a highly influential work in moral philosophy. He argued that the good cannot simply be defined in natural terms, a view that became closely associated with his attack on the “naturalistic fallacy.” He was also well known for defending common sense in philosophy, insisting that some everyday truths are more certain than skeptical theories that try to deny them.
Though his prose could be careful to the point of severity, Moore’s work had a lasting effect because it treated philosophical problems with unusual honesty and precision. For readers coming to him now, he remains an important guide to the questions of ethics, certainty, and philosophical method.