Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe (March 18, 1919 – January 5, 2001) (known as Elizabeth Anscombe, published as G. E. M. Anscombe) was a British analytic philosopher, a theologian and a pupil of Ludwig Wittgenstein. She contributed extensively to the fields of ethics, especially to the modern revival of virtue ethics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of action, Logic, Semiotics, and language theory. Her 1958 article "Modern Moral Philosophy", introduced the term "consequentialism" into the English language. March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Analytic philosophy is the dominant philosophical movement of English-speaking countries, although one of its founders, Gottlob Frege, was German, and another, Ludwig Wittgenstein, was Austrian. ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (IPA: ) (April 26, 1889 – April 29, 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who contributed several ground-breaking works to modern philosophy, primarily on the foundations of logic, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of mind. ... Ethics is the branch of axiology – one of the four major branches of philosophy, alongside metaphysics, epistemology, and logic – which attempts to understand the nature of morality; to define that which is right from that which is wrong. ... In philosophy, the phrase virtue ethics refers to ethical systems that focus primarily on what sort of person one should try to be. ... Philosophy of mind is the philosophical study of the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, and consciousness. ... Philosophy of action is chiefly concerned with human action, intending to distinguish between activity and passivity, voluntary, intentional, culpable and involuntary actions, and related question. ... Logic (from Classical Greek λόγος (logos), originally meaning the word, or what is spoken, (but coming to mean thought or reason) is most often said to be the study of arguments, although the exact definition of logic is a matter of controversy amongst philosophers (see below). ... Semiotics - or semiology - is the study of signs, both individually and grouped in sign systems, and includes the study of how meaning is made and understood. ... Consequentialism is the belief that what ultimately matters in evaluating actions or policies of action are the consequences that result from choosing one action or policy rather than the alternative. ...

Life

Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe was born to Gertrude Elizabeth Anscombe and Alan Wells Anscombe, on March 18, 1919, in Limerick, Ireland (where her father had been posted as an officer in the British army). She graduated from Sydenham High School in 1937, and went on to read "Mods & Greats" (a course of study in classics, ancient history, and philosophy) at St Hugh's College of the University of Oxford, graduating with a First in 1941. During her first year as an undergraduate she converted to Roman Catholicism, and remained a devout Catholic thereafter. She was married to Peter Geach, also a Catholic convert and student of Wittgenstein, and also a distinguished British academic philosopher. They eventually had three sons and four daughters. March 18 is the 77th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (78th in leap years). ... Limerick (Irish: Luimneach) is a city and the county seat of County Limerick in the province of Munster, in the midwest of the Republic of Ireland. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... For other meanings, see Classics (disambiguation) Classics, particularly within the Western University tradition, when used as a singular noun, means the study of the language, literature, history, art, and other aspects of Greek and Roman culture during the time frame known as classical antiquity. ... Ancient history is the study of significant cultural and political events from the beginning of human history until the Early Middle Ages. ... These five broad types of question are called analytical or logical, epistemological, ethical, metaphysical, and aesthetic respectively. ... St Hughs College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Catholic (literally meaning: according to (kata-) the whole (holos) or more generally universal in Greek) is a religious term with a number of meanings: The term can refer to the notion that all Christians are part of one Church, regardless of denominational divisions. ... Peter Thomas Geach (born 1919) is one of the foremost contemporary British philosophers. ...

After graduating from Oxford, Anscombe was awarded a research fellowship for postgraduate study at Newnham College, Cambridge from 1942 to 1945. While studying at Cambridge she began to attend Ludwig Wittgenstein's lectures. She became an enthusiastic student, feeling that Wittgenstein's therapeutic method helped to free her from philosophical boggles in ways that her training in traditional systematic philosophy could not. As she wrote (in Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Mind, pp. vii-ix, quoted in Monk [1990] 497): Full name Newnham College Motto - Named after Its location in the village of Newnham Previous names Newnham Hall Established 1871 Sister College Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford Principal The Lady ONeill of Bengarve Location Sidgwick Avenue Undergraduates 396 Graduates 120 Homepage Boatclub A view of part of Newnham College. ... This article is about the year. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (IPA: ) (April 26, 1889 – April 29, 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who contributed several ground-breaking works to modern philosophy, primarily on the foundations of logic, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of mind. ...

For years, I would spend time, in cafés, for example, staring at objects saying to myself: "I see a packet. But what do I really see? How can I say that I see here anything more than a yellow expanse?" ... I always hated phenomenalism and felt trapped by it. I couldn't see my way out of it but I didn't believe it. It was no good pointing to difficulties about it, things which Russell found wrong with it, for example. The strength, the central nerve of it remained alive and raged achingly. It was only in Wittgenstein's classes in 1944 that I saw the nerve being extracted, the central thought 'I have got this, and I define "yellow" (say) as this' being effectively attacked.

After her fellowship at Cambridge ended, she was awarded a research fellowship at Somerville College, Oxford, but during the academic year of 1946-1947, she continued to travel to Cambridge once a week, together with her fellow student W. A. Hijab, to attend tutorials with Wittgenstein on the philosophy of religion. She became one of Wittgenstein's favorite students and one of his closest friends (Monk [1990] 497-498). Anscombe visited with Wittgenstein many times after he left Cambridge in 1947, and traveled to Cambridge in April 1951 to visit him on his deathbed. Wittgenstein named her, along with Rush Rhees and G. H. von Wright, as his literary executor, and after his death in 1951, she was responsible for editing, translating, and publishing many of Wittgenstein's manuscripts and notebooks. Full name Somerville College Motto Donec rursus impleat orbem Named after Mary Somerville Previous Names Somerville Hall Established 1879 Sister College Girton College Principal Dame Fiona Caldicott JCR President Simon Bruegger MCR President Allen Middlebro Location Woodstock Road, Oxford Undergraduates 396 Graduates 88 Homepage Boat Club Somerville College is one... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Philosophy of religion is the rational study of the meaning and justification of fundamental religious claims, particularly about the nature and existence of God (or gods, or the divine). ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Georg Henrik von Wright (June 14, 1916 – June 16, 2003) was a Finland-Swedish philosopher, who succeeded Ludwig Wittgenstein as professor at the University of Cambridge. ... A literary executor is a person with decision-making power in respect of the literary estate of an author who has died. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

Anscombe remained at Somerville College from 1946 to 1970. As a young philosophy don, she soon acquired a reputation as a formidable debater; her 1948 debate with C. S. Lewis (over the argument for the existence of God in the third chapter of his book Miracles) was said by friends such as George Sayer and Derek Brewer to be so humiliating for Lewis that he abandoned theological argument and turned entirely to devotional writing and children's literature. Anscombe objected to the portrayal of the debate by some of Lewis's friends, and did not remember any hard feelings expressed by Lewis at either the debate or the pleasant dinner they shared together a few weeks later; but whatever Lewis's feelings were, it seemed quite clear to many present (including Lewis) that Anscombe's scrutiny had weakened his arguments, and Lewis substantially rewrote the third chapter of Miracles to take Anscombe's criticisms into account [1] [2]. She was also known for her willingness to face fierce public controversy in the name of her Catholic faith. In 1956, while a research fellow at Oxford University, she protested against Oxford's decision to grant an honorary degree to Harry S. Truman, who she denounced as a mass murderer for his use of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She scandalized liberal colleagues with articles defending the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion and contraception, and she underwent arrest twice while protesting outside an abortion clinic in Britain. 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Clive Staples Lewis (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar, born into a Protestant family in Belfast, though mostly resident in England. ... Theology is reasoned discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, word or reason). It also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... // Basic Characteristics There is some debate as to what constitutes childrens literature. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the thirty-fourth Vice President (1945) and the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–53), succeeding to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... Main keep of Hiroshima Castle The city of Hiroshima (広島市; -shi) is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chugoku region of western Honshu, the largest of Japans islands. ... Nagasaki at night, 2003 Megane-bashi (Spectacles Bridge) Nagasaki listen ▶(?) (長崎市; -shi, literally long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture located on the south-western coast of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four mainland islands of Japan. ...

Anscombe was elected Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University in 1970, where she served until her retirement in 1986. In her later years, Anscombe suffered from heart disease, and was nearly killed by an automobile accident in 1996. She spent her last years in the care of her family in Cambridge. She died at the age of eighty-one, with her husband and four of their children at her bedside, on January 5, 2001. A professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) (prof for short) is a senior teacher, lecturer and researcher, usually in a college or university. ... These five broad types of question are called analytical or logical, epistemological, ethical, metaphysical, and aesthetic respectively. ... REDIRECT [1] ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of the Cambridgeshire area (1904) The city of Cambridge is an old English university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire. ...

Work

In 1942 Anscombe became a postgraduate student at the University of Cambridge, where she met Ludwig Wittgenstein, of whom she became one of the foremost interpreters. She wrote a substantial introduction (1959) to his pre-war Tractatus. Her translation of his other master work, Philosophical Investigations (1953), remains the standard edition in English; she also translated several of his other, lesser works. Her own books include Intention (1957) and three volumes of collected papers, published in 1981: From Parmenides to Wittgenstein; Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Mind; and Ethics, Religion and Politics. She was for many years the Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge, a position to which she was elected in 1970. This article is about the year. ... The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with one of the most selective sets of entry requirements in the United Kingdom. ... Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (IPA: ) (April 26, 1889 – April 29, 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who contributed several ground-breaking works to modern philosophy, primarily on the foundations of logic, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of mind. ... Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is the only book-length work published by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein in his lifetime. ... Philosophical Investigations, along with the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, is one of the two major works by Ludwig Wittgenstein. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Anscombe is credited with having coined the term "consequentialism". In her 1958 essay "Modern Moral Philosophy", Anscombe wrote, "The denial of any distinction between foreseen and intended consequences, as far as responsibility is concerned, was not made by Sidgwick in developing any one 'method of ethics'; he made this important move on behalf of everybody and just on its own account; and I think it plausible to suggest that this move on the part of Sidgwick explains the difference between old-fashioned Utilitarianism and the consequentialism, as I name it, which marks him and every English academic moral philosopher since him." Consequentialism is the belief that what ultimately matters in evaluating actions or policies of action are the consequences that result from choosing one action or policy rather than the alternative. ... 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Henry Sidgwick Henry Sidgwick (May 31, 1838–August 28, 1900) was an English philosopher. ... Utilitarianism (from the Latin utilis, useful) is a theory of ethics based on quantitative maximization of some good for society or humanity. ...

Anscombe also coined the term brute facts, as opposed to institutions. The term had a major role to play in John Searle's philosophy and speech act theory. Brute facts are opposed to institutional facts, in that they do not require the context of an institution to occur. ... John Searle is a philosopher at UC Berkeley. ... A speech act is best described as in saying something, we do something, such as when a minister says, I now pronounce you husband and wife, or an action performed by means of language, such as describing something (), asking a question (Is it snowing?), making a request or order (Could...

Further reading

• G. E. M. Anscombe: Contraception and Chastity

• The Anscombe Society

Sources

• The Guardian (January 11, 2001): Obituary: Elizabeth Anscombe
• First Things (May 2001, 11-13): G.E.M. Anscbome: Living the Truth
• Frequently Asked Questions about C.S. Lewis: "Were Lewis's proofs of the existence of God from Miracles refuted by Elizabeth Anscombe?"
• Monk, Ray (1990/1991): Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 0140159959.