Judith Jarvis Thomson

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For the playwright, see Judith Thompson.

Judith Jarvis Thomson
Cambridge University (BA, MA)
Columbia University (PhD
)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1962; div. 1980)​
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolAnalytic philosophy
Doctoral studentsKathrin Koslicki
Notable ideas
The trolley problem, ethics concerning abortion

Judith Jarvis Thomson (October 4, 1929 – November 20, 2020) was an American philosopher who studied and worked on ethics and metaphysics. Her work ranges across a variety of fields, but she is most known for her work regarding the thought experiment titled the trolley problem and her writings on abortion. She is credited with naming, developing, and initiating the extensive literature on the trolley problem first posed by Philippa Foot which has found a wide range use since.[1] Thomson also published a paper titled "A Defense of Abortion", which makes the argument that the procedure is morally permissible even if it is assumed that a fetus is a person with a right to life. She was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2019.

Early life and education

Thomson was born in New York City, on October 4, 1929. Her mother Helen (Vostry) Jarvis[2] (1898-1935) was an English teacher, and her father Theodore Richard Jarvis[3] (1896-1984) was an accountant.[4] Helen died from cancer when Judith was six, and on January 29, 1938 Theodore married Gertrude Rubin[5] (1902-1982). Gertrude was Jewish and had two children.[4]

Thomson’s parents placed no religious pressure on her, but she officially converted to Judaism at age fourteen, when she was confirmed at Temple Israel in Manhattan.[4]

Thomson graduated from

MA from Cambridge in 1956, and a PhD from Columbia University in 1959.[4] All of her degrees were in philosophy.[4]

In 1960, Thomson began teaching at Barnard College.[6] In 1962, she married James Thomson, who was a visiting professor at Columbia University. Judith and James spent the 1962–1963 academic year at Oxford, after which they moved to Boston. Judith taught for a year at Boston University and, in 1964, was appointed to the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she was Laurence S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy. James was also appointed a professor of philosophy at MIT. The Thomsons divorced in 1980; they remained colleagues until James's death in 1984.[4]

Career

Thomson was a visiting professor at the

Fulbright Foundation (1950–1951), the American Association of University Women (1962–1963), the National Endowment for the Humanities (1978–1979, 1986–1987), the Guggenheim Foundation (1986–1987), and the Center for Advanced Study in Oslo, Norway (1996). In 1989, Thomson was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 1992–1993 she served as president of the American Philosophical Association (APA), Eastern Division. In 1999, she gave the Tanner Lectures on Human Values at Princeton University; her lecture was titled "Goodness and Advice".[7] Thomson taught at MIT for the majority of her career, remaining there as professor emerita.[6]

In 2012, Thomson was awarded the Quinn Prize by the American Philosophical Association.[8]

In 2015, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cambridge,[9] and in 2016 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Harvard University.[10] In 2016, she was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.[11]

Thomson died on November 20, 2020, at the age of 91.[12][13] She was buried beside her former husband in Mount Auburn Cemetery.[14]

Philosophical views

Thomson's main areas of research were moral philosophy and

meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics
.

"

anti-abortion circles to have changed the way in which abortion is debated.[17]

In regards to ethical theories, Thomson was opposed to consequentialist, hedonist, and subjectivist perspectives.[18][19] Her work relied on specific elements of deontological argumentation.[20]

In metaphysics, Thomson focused on questions regarding the relationship between actions and events, and between time and physical parts.[21]

She also made significant contributions on the topic of privacy.[22]

Selected publications

See also

References

  1. ISBN 9780691154022
    . "Philippa Foot set Trolleyology going, but it was Judith Jarvis Thomson, a philosopher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who delivered its most high-voltage jolt. Struck by Foot's thought experiment she responded with not one but two influential articles on what she labeled The Trolley Problem."
  2. ^ Helen Vostry (September 26, 1898 - December 30, 1935)
  3. ^ (February 28, 1896 - February 6, 1984) - Theodore's name was originally Isidor Jarvitz. On May 22, 1912 he legally changed his name to Isidor Yavis. Then, at some time later, he started using the name "Theodore Jarvis". The name "Theodore" was an Americanized version of the name Isidor, and the surname "Jarvis" consisted of the letters "Jar" (the first three letters of the surname Jarvitz) combined with the letters "vis" (the last three letters of the surname Yavis). For documents supporting these statements please see: (1) https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GDFC-NPX and (2) https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MC-NLCV?i=106&cc=1999177&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQYMG-FVN2
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Gendler, Tamar S. (February 27, 2009). "Judith Jarvis Thomson". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  5. ^ Gertrude Rubin (September 9, 1902 - November 13, 1982)
  6. ^ a b Byrne, Alex. "Professor Emerita Judith Jarvis Thomson, highly influential philosopher, dies at 91". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  7. ^ Thomson, Judith Jarvis (March 1999). "Goodness and Advice" (PDF). Tanner Lectures on Human Values. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  8. ^ "American Philosophical Association honors Judith Jarvis Thomson". MIT School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. 2012.
  9. ^ "Honorary Degrees 2015". University of Cambridge. 2015.
  10. ^ "Honorary Degrees". 2016.
  11. ^ "Professor Judith Thomson FBA". The British Academy. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020.
  12. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  13. ISSN 1423-3967
    . Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  14. ^ "Professor Emerita Judith Jarvis Thomson, highly influential philosopher, dies at 91". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  15. ^ McGrath, Sarah (2005). "Thomson, Judith Jarvis (1929—)". Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  16. ^ Burgis, Ben (November 30, 2020). "Judith Jarvis Thomson (1929–2020)". Jacobin. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  17. doi:10.5840/ncbq201616460
    .
  18. JSTOR 3506252
    – via JSTOR.
  19. JSTOR 2660325
    – via JSTOR.
  20. OCLC 61151356.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  21. ISBN 978-0-19-975466-3, archived from the original
    on March 11, 2021, retrieved March 11, 2021
  22. JSTOR 2265075
    .

External links


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