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person1965–present

Gilbert Harman

Disciplines:
philosophy
ethics
cognitive science
princeton

Summary

American philosopher at Princeton who works on ethics, cognitive science, and philosophy of language — known for his arguments for moral relativism and for his work on the relationship between moral philosophy and empirical psychology.

Core Contribution

Argued for moral relativism on empirical grounds — moral judgments are implicitly relative to a social contract — and made the connection between empirical psychology and moral philosophy central to metaethics.

Notable Works & Achievements

Thought

The Nature of Morality

Change in View

Historical Influences

Quine Rawls

Intellectual Lineage

Princeton University

Contemporaries & Peers

Rawls Nagel

Minds Influenced

Metaethics Moral philosophy Jonathan Bi

Intellectual Posterity

The Nature of Morality Moral relativism arguments

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