Marcus George Singer
Marcus George Singer (January 4, 1926 – February 21, 2016) was an American philosopher. His works include Generalization in Ethics – An Essay in the Logic of Ethics, with the Rudiments of a System of Moral Philosophy (1961).[1]
Personal life
Marcus George Singer was born in 1926 in
His brilliance manifested at a young age, with insatiable curiosity, quick wittedness, an interest in right and wrong. He served in the US Army Airforce to fight fascism in WW II - the war ended before he was sent to a front, but living through that time of evil profoundly influenced his thinking and actions. His family lost family in Germany and throughout Europe. His brother-in-law Lawrence Cane[2] served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, fighting against Franco in Spain and was blacklisted as a Communist thinker (See 'Fighting Fascism in Spain: The World War II Letters of An American Veteran of the Spanish Civil War.' MG Singer persisted in focusing on moral philosophy and ethics despite it being out of fashion in philosophical circles. In later years, he explained what he did as 'teaching people how to think for themselves', one of the most important endeavors one can do.
MG Singer served as Chairman of the UW Philosophy Department 1963–1968, during the Vietnam War Years. He served as the president of the American Philosophical Association, Central Division, from 1985 until 1986.[2] He gave generously to support civil liberties, free thought, environmental and social justice, wildlife protection, indigenous peoples' rights, the right to clean air, water, soil, food for all, among other issues. He taught that to keep silent in the face of evil, especially that perpetrated by the culture around one, is to be complicit in that evil. His latest works focused on Evil, and a History of the UW Philosophy Department (to be published in the next year.)
Works
Singer's early work describes a moral philosophy which has become known as the generalization argument. He further refines this philosophy in later works. Similar to
According to his profile in the Encyclopedia of Ethics, Singer's "writings also include important work on the moral philosophies of" John Stuart Mill and Henry Sidgwick.[3] Singer's views of utilitarianism have also been noted as some of the most influential of modern ethicists.[5]
His latest work as Emeritus Professor focused on Evil in the world. More to come from Debra Singer, who is Literary Executor of his works.
References
Sources
- ISBN 0-202-30883-9
- Ross, Jacob Joshua (1994), The Virtues of the Family, New York: The Free Press, ISBN 0-02-927385-4
- Timmons, Mark (2001), Becker, Lawrence C.; Becker, Charlotte B. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Ethics: P–W (2 ed.), Routledge, ISBN 0-415-93673-X