Georg Henrik von Wright

(1) Norm and Action (2) The Varieties of Goodness

In his first series of lectures, von Wright introduces the ideas of action and change into the system of formal logic, focusing on the idea of norms. He carefully considers the informal language used to discuss norms and the hierarchical structures that formulate them. His second series suggests that a full understanding of the varieties of goodness is essential to understanding morality. Producing a groundwork for the study of ethics, he lists the different uses of the term ‘good’.

Biography

Georg Henrik von Wright was born on 14 June 1916 in Helsinki, Finland. One of the most prominent European philosophers of the twentieth century, he is best known for his connection to Wittgenstein as his student, colleague, and literary executor. Appointed Lecturer at the University of Helsinki in 1943, he took over Wittgenstein’s chair as Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge in 1948. After Wittgenstein’s death, von Wright resumed his professorship at Helsinki. He was elected Andrew D White Professor at Cornell University in 1965 and travelled between the US and Finland. 

Elected Member of learned academic and societies in Europe and North America, he was made Honorary Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1983. He was awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Forschungspreis and the gold medal of the Swedish Academy in 1986. He played a central role in the development of deontic logic, and his publications include The Problem of Induction (1941), Logical Studies (1957), An Essay on Deontic Logic (1968), Explanation and Understanding (1971), and Freedom and Determination (1980). He also edited posthumous publications for Wittgenstein.

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