Bernard Williams
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| - | Sir '''Bernard Arthur Owen Williams''' [[British Academy|FBA]] ([[September 21]], [[1929]] – [[June 10]], [[2003]]) was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[moral philosopher]]. He is known for [[Jim and the Indians]] (from ''[[Utilitarianism: For and Against]]'' with [[J.J.C. Smart]] (1973)). | + | '''Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams''', [[Fellow of the British Academy|FBA]] (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English [[Ethics|moral philosopher]]. His publications include ''Problems of the Self'' (1973), ''[[Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy]]'' (1985), ''Shame and Necessity'' (1993), and ''[[Truth and Truthfulness]]'' (2002). He was knighted in 1999. |
| - | ===Critique of utilitarianism=== | + | |
| - | {{further|Act utilitarianism|Rule utilitarianism|Preference utilitarianism}} | + | |
| - | Williams set out the case against [[utilitarianism]] –a [[Consequentialism|consequentialist]] position the simplest version of which is that actions are right only insofar as they promote the greatest happiness of the greatest number – in ''Utilitarianism: For and Against'' (1973) with [[J. J. C. Smart]]. One of the book's [[thought experiment]]s involves Jim, a botanist doing research in a South American country led by a brutal dictator. Jim finds himself in a small town facing 20 captured Indian rebels. The captain who has arrested them says that if Jim will kill one, the others will be released in honour of Jim's status as a guest, but if he does not, they will all be killed. Simple [[act utilitarianism]] would favour Jim killing one of the men.<ref>J. J. C. Smart, Bernard Williams, ''Utilitarianism: For and Against'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973, 98–99.</ref> | + | |
| - | Williams argued that there is a crucial distinction between a person being killed by Jim, and being killed by the captain because of an act or omission of Jim's. The captain, if he chooses to kill, is not simply the medium of an effect ''Jim'' is having on the world. He is the moral actor, the person with the intentions and projects. The utilitarian loses that distinction, turning us into empty vessels by means of which consequences occur. Williams argued that moral decisions must preserve our psychological identity and integrity.<ref>Smart and Williams 1973, 109ff.</ref><ref>Daniel Markovits, "The architecture of integrity," in Daniel Callcut (ed.), ''Reading Bernard Williams'', Abingdon: Routledge, 2009.</ref> We should reject any system that reduces moral decisions to a few algorithms.<ref>Williams, ''Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'', 117.</ref> | + | He is known for [[Jim and the Indians]] (from ''[[Utilitarianism: For and Against]]'' with [[J.J.C. Smart]] (1973)). |
| == See == | == See == | ||
| - | *''[[Truth and Truthfulness]]'' (2002). | + | *''[[Truth and Truthfulness]]'' (2002) |
| + | *[[Committee on Obscenity and Film Censorship]] | ||
| + | *"[[The Williams Report on Obscenity and Film Censorship]]" | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
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Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams, FBA (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English moral philosopher. His publications include Problems of the Self (1973), Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy (1985), Shame and Necessity (1993), and Truth and Truthfulness (2002). He was knighted in 1999.
He is known for Jim and the Indians (from Utilitarianism: For and Against with J.J.C. Smart (1973)).
[edit]
See
- Truth and Truthfulness (2002)
- Committee on Obscenity and Film Censorship
- "The Williams Report on Obscenity and Film Censorship"
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