Background
George Edward Moore was born on November 4, 1873 in London, England, United Kingdom.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486437523/?tag=2022091-20
George Edward Moore was born on November 4, 1873 in London, England, United Kingdom.
After initial tutoring at home by his father, Moore was sent to a nearby day school, Dulwich College.
Excellence in these studies won him a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge, which he entered in 1892.
After completing his degree with a first, Moore won the annual fellowship prize with an essay on Immanuel Kant's ethics.
He taught in various American colleges and universities from 1940 t01944, subsequently returning to Cambridge.
Moore received the Order of Merit in 1951.
In many essentials Moore continued to be a realist, though on a number of points he became hesitant concerning the correctness of his earlier views.
In another influential paper, External and Internal Relations (1922), he subjected to painstaking scrutiny one of the basic assumptions of the Hegelian philosophy, namely, that no relations are purely external; in addition to exhibiting the unproved character of this assumption, he made a substantial contribution to the philosophy of logic. Moore's discussions of philosophical method have called attention to the importance of linguistic analyses in the solution of philosophical problems.
He also defended common-sense knowlege against the hostile criticism of many philosophers; and the distinction that he drew in this connection between understanding the meaning of such common-sense expressions as "the earth has existed for many years past, " and being able to give a correct analysis of their meaning, has proved to be salutary in many areas of philosophical discussion.
Moore is one of the most influential figures in contemporary Anglo-American philosophy, his influence being derived as much from the conception of philosophical method that he advocated and practiced as from the special philosophical doctrines with which his name is associated. He became Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University in 1925.
Moore had a passion for clarity and propriety of usage; he also insisted on the rights of common sense, not as the ultimate norm but as one important basis for criticism, not to be lightly dismissed.
His influential paper The Refutation of Idealism (1922) was an attack on subjectivistic theories of knowledge, such as Bishop Berkeley's theory, which maintain that the existence of things is dependent on their being perceived.
Quotations:
"I do not think that the world or the sciences would ever have suggested to me any philosophical problems.
What has suggested philosophical problems to me is things which other philosophers have said about the world or the sciences. "
