G. E. Moore
Good cannot be defined by anything else: equating 'good' with 'pleasant' is a mistake.
Life
British philosopher (1873-1958), professor at Cambridge and one of the founders of analytic philosophy. He argued that "good" names a simple property that cannot be defined by another, and he defended common sense against scepticism. He matters for the questions on morality and knowledge.
Main works
Argues that good is indefinable and that defining it by pleasure or nature is a mistake.
Claims that we know with certainty many ordinary truths.
Proves that external things exist by showing his two hands.
In his own words
« If I am asked ‘What is good?’ my answer is that good is good, and that is the end of the matter. Or if I am asked ‘How is good to be defined?’ my answer is that it cannot be defined, and that is all I have to say about it. »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceWe know with certainty many ordinary truths, such as 'here is a hand', more surely than any philosophical argument against them.
Moore, A Defence of Common Sense (1925) ; Proof of an External World (1939)
We should act to produce the most good, though good itself is not defined by pleasure (ideal consequentialism).
Moore, Principia Ethica (1903)
'Good' names a simple, non-natural property that really exists and can be known by intuition.
Moore, Principia Ethica (1903)