G. E. (George Edward) Moore

Born in London in 1873, George Edward Moore studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he became part of the circle that helped define modern analytic philosophy. He was closely associated with thinkers such as Bertrand Russell, and his careful, plain style made him one of the most influential philosophers of his generation.

Moore is best known for Principia Ethica (1903), a major work in moral philosophy, and for essays that defended common sense against sweeping skepticism. He argued that some everyday truths are more certain than elaborate philosophical theories that try to deny them, and that approach made him especially important in discussions of knowledge, language, and ethics.

He later returned to Cambridge as a professor and also served for many years as editor of the journal Mind. Moore died in 1958, but his work remained central to the development of British philosophy and continues to be read for its unusually direct way of asking hard questions.