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person1970s-2014

Michael Stocker

Disciplines:
ethics
psychology/moral psychology

Summary

American philosopher who identified the problem of moral schizophrenia in modern ethics and developed an account of plural and conflicting values in moral life.

Core Contribution

The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories (1976): modern ethical theories (utilitarianism, Kantianism) require that we be motivated by abstract moral principles rather than by love for particular people — this is schizophrenic because genuine love and friendship require particular motivation, not universal. Plural and Conflicting Values: a systematic account of irreducible moral conflict.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • The schizophrenia argument: if you visit a sick friend in hospital and he thanks you, and you say 'I came because it was my duty' — you have missed what makes friendship valuable. Moral theories that require universal impartiality cannot accommodate genuine human relationships.

Notable Works & Achievements

The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories

Plural and Conflicting Values

Historical Influences

Bernard Williams Philippa Foot

Intellectual Lineage

Analytic Ethics

Contemporaries & Peers

Bernard Williams Susan Wolf

Minds Influenced

Moral Psychology

Intellectual Posterity

Moral Psychology Particular Relationships in Ethics

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Michael Stocker

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