William David Ross

Provost of Oriel College, Oxford

Foundations of Ethics

In his series of lectures, Ross explores moral consciousness, pursuing a critical study of components from earlier moral theories and philosophical traditions. While he maintains some commonality with Plato, Aristotle, and Kant, he acknowledges that the most significant influences on his ethical ideas are two of the leading figures in early twentieth-century British moral philosophy: H.A. Prichard and G.E. Moore. He concludes that morally good people have specific voluntary actions, desires, and emotions, and permanently modify their character.

Biography

William David Ross was born on 15 April 1877 in Thurso, Scotland. A Scottish Aristotelian philosopher, he developed a new form of intuitionist ethics. Appointed Lecturer at Oriel College, Oxford in 1900, he was immediately elected Fellow of Merton College. Two years later, he became Fellow and Tutor of Philosophy at Oriel and acted as Deputy White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy in 1923 due to Professor John Stewart’s illness. In 1929, he was made Provost of Oriel, retiring in 1947, and he served as Vice-Chancellor from 1941 to 1944.

Delegate of Oxford University Press from 1922 to 1952, Ross was Fellow of the British Academy in 1927, and its President from 1936 to 1940. In honour of his war service, he was appointed OBE in 1918 and KBE in 1938. Notable works include Aristotle (1923), a translation of Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics (1925), The Right and the Good (1930), Alfred Edward Taylor 1869–1945 (1945), Plato’s Theory of Ideas (1951), The Development of Aristotle’s Thought (1957) and Kant’s Ethical Theory: A Commentary on the Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten (1954).

Published/Archival Resources

Published as Foundations of Ethics.