J. L. Mackie
Encyclopedia
John Leslie Mackie was an Australia
n philosopher
, originally from Sydney
. He made significant contributions to the philosophy of religion
, metaphysics
, and the philosophy of language
, and is perhaps best known for his views on meta-ethics
, especially his defence of moral skepticism
.
He authored six books. His most widely known, Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong (1977), opens by boldly stating that "There are no objective values". It goes on to argue that because of this ethics must be invented, rather than discovered.
. His mother, Annie Burnett Duncan, was a schoolteacher, and his father, Alexander Mackie, was professor of education at the University of Sydney
as well as the principal of the Sydney Teachers College
, and was influential in the educational system of New South Wales
. He graduated from the University of Sydney in 1938 after studying under John Anderson
, sharing the medal in philosophy with eminent jurist Harold Glass
. Mackie received the Wentworth Travelling Fellowship to study Greats
at Oriel College, Oxford, where he graduated with a first
in 1940.
During World War II
he served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
in the Middle East and Italy. He was professor of philosophy at the University of Otago
in New Zealand from 1955 to 1959 and at the University of Sydney from 1959 to 1963. In 1963 he moved to the United Kingdom, becoming the inaugural holder of the chair of philosophy in the University of York
, a position he held until 1967 when he was instead elected a fellow of University College, Oxford
, where he served as praelector
. In 1974 he became a fellow of the British Academy
.
On 12 December 1981 he died of cancer in Oxford.
One of Mackie's daughters, Penelope Mackie
, also became a philosopher. She lectured in Philosophy at the University of Birmingham
from 1994 to 2004, and became Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nottingham
in 2007.
, philosophy of religion
, and metaphysics
. In meta-ethics, he took a position that he called moral skepticism
(though, arguably, it would be better termed "moral nihilism
"), arguing against the objective existence of right and wrong as intrinsically normative entities on fundamental grounds unsure what kinds of things such entities would be, if they existed.
His perhaps most widely known work, Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong, bluntly begins with the opening sentence "There are no objective values". He uses several arguments to support this claim that objective values are false. He argues that some aspects of moral thought are relative, and that objective morals require an absurd intrinsic action-guiding feature. Most of all, he thinks it is very unclear how objective values could supervene on features of the natural world (see the Argument from Queerness
). Fourth, he thinks it would be difficult to justify our knowledge of "value entities" or account for any links or consequences they would have. And, finally, he thinks it is possible to show that even without any objective values, people would still have reason to firmly believe in them (hence, he claims that it is possible for people to be mistaken or fooled into believing that objective values exist). The Times
called the book "a lucid discussion of moral theory which, although aimed at the general reader, has attracted a good deal of professional attention."
Concerning religion, he was well known for vigorously defending atheism
, and also arguing that the problem of evil
made untenable the main monotheistic
religions (see, for example, Mackie 1982). His criticisms of the free will
defence are particularly significant. He argued that the idea of human free will is no defense for those who wish to believe in an omnicompetent being in the face of evil and suffering, as such a being could have given us both free will and moral perfection, thus resulting in us choosing the good in every situation. Thus, Mackie's critique of free will theodicies
was based on his support for compatibilism
. In 1955 he published one of his most reprinted articles, "Evil and Omnipotence", summarizing his view that the simultaneous existence of evil and an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good God was "positively irrational". Mackie's views on this so-called logical problem of evil prompted Alvin Plantinga
to respond with his version of the Free Will Defense
.
In metaphysics, Mackie made significant contributions relating to the nature of causal relationships
, especially regarding conditional statements describing them (see, for example, Mackie 1974) and the notion of an INUS condition.
Upon being given a copy of Richard Dawkins
' The Selfish Gene
as a Christmas present, he in 1978 wrote an article in the journal Philosophy
praising the book and discussing how its ideas might be applied to moral philosophy. Philosopher Mary Midgley
responded in 1979 with "Gene-Juggling," an article arguing that The Selfish Gene was about psychological egoism
, rather than evolution
. This started a dispute between Mackie, Midgley and Dawkins that was still ongoing at the time of Mackie's death.
Anthologies
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, originally from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. He made significant contributions to the philosophy of religion
Philosophy of religion
Philosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy concerned with questions regarding religion, including the nature and existence of God, the examination of religious experience, analysis of religious language and texts, and the relationship of religion and science...
, metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, and the philosophy of language
Philosophy of language
Philosophy of language is the reasoned inquiry into the nature, origins, and usage of language. As a topic, the philosophy of language for analytic philosophers is concerned with four central problems: the nature of meaning, language use, language cognition, and the relationship between language...
, and is perhaps best known for his views on meta-ethics
Meta-ethics
In philosophy, meta-ethics is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments. Meta-ethics is one of the three branches of ethics generally recognized by philosophers, the others being normative ethics and applied ethics. Ethical...
, especially his defence of moral skepticism
Moral skepticism
"Moral skepticism" denotes a class of metaethical theories all members of which entail that no one has any moral knowledge. Many moral skeptics also make the stronger, modal, claim that moral knowledge is impossible...
.
He authored six books. His most widely known, Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong (1977), opens by boldly stating that "There are no objective values". It goes on to argue that because of this ethics must be invented, rather than discovered.
Life
John Leslie Mackie was born 25 August 1917 in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. His mother, Annie Burnett Duncan, was a schoolteacher, and his father, Alexander Mackie, was professor of education at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
as well as the principal of the Sydney Teachers College
Sydney Teachers College
The Sydney Teachers College was a tertiary education institution that trained school teachers in Sydney, Australia. It existed from 1906 until 1981, when it became a part of the Sydney Institute of Education which in turn joined the Faculty of Education at the University of Sydney in...
, and was influential in the educational system of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. He graduated from the University of Sydney in 1938 after studying under John Anderson
John Anderson (philosopher)
John Anderson was a Scottish-born Australian philosopher who occupied the post of Challis Professor of Philosophy at Sydney University in the years 1927-1958. He founded the empirical brand of philosophy known as Australian realism...
, sharing the medal in philosophy with eminent jurist Harold Glass
Harold Glass
Rear Admiral the Honorable Justice Harold Hyam Glass AO, RFD, RAN, QC, was a former judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, judge of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and Judge Advocate General for the Royal Australian Navy .-Early life and military service:Glass was born in Sydney on 21...
. Mackie received the Wentworth Travelling Fellowship to study Greats
Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores is the name given to an undergraduate course focused on Classics at Oxford and some other universities.The Latin name means literally "more humane letters", but is perhaps better rendered as "Advanced Studies", since humaniores has the sense of "more refined" or "more learned",...
at Oriel College, Oxford, where he graduated with a first
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
in 1940.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers is a corps of the British Army that has responsibility for the maintenance, servicing and inspection of almost every electrical and mechanical piece of equipment within the British Army from Challenger II main battle tanks and WAH64 Apache...
in the Middle East and Italy. He was professor of philosophy at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
in New Zealand from 1955 to 1959 and at the University of Sydney from 1959 to 1963. In 1963 he moved to the United Kingdom, becoming the inaugural holder of the chair of philosophy in the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
, a position he held until 1967 when he was instead elected a fellow of University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
, where he served as praelector
Praelector
A praelector is a traditional role at the colleges of the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. The role differs between the two universities.At Cambridge, a praelector is a fellow of a college...
. In 1974 he became a fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
.
On 12 December 1981 he died of cancer in Oxford.
Character and family
Mackie is said to have been capable of expressing total disagreement in such a genial way that the person being addressed might mistake the comment for a compliment. This personal style is exemplified by the following words from the preface to Mackie's Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong (1977, p. 3):One of Mackie's daughters, Penelope Mackie
Penelope Mackie
Penelope Mackie is a philosopher and Associate Professor in the department of philosophy at the University of Nottingham, and is head of the department...
, also became a philosopher. She lectured in Philosophy at the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
from 1994 to 2004, and became Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
in 2007.
Work
Mackie was most well known for his contributions to the fields of meta-ethicsMeta-ethics
In philosophy, meta-ethics is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments. Meta-ethics is one of the three branches of ethics generally recognized by philosophers, the others being normative ethics and applied ethics. Ethical...
, philosophy of religion
Philosophy of religion
Philosophy of religion is a branch of philosophy concerned with questions regarding religion, including the nature and existence of God, the examination of religious experience, analysis of religious language and texts, and the relationship of religion and science...
, and metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
. In meta-ethics, he took a position that he called moral skepticism
Moral skepticism
"Moral skepticism" denotes a class of metaethical theories all members of which entail that no one has any moral knowledge. Many moral skeptics also make the stronger, modal, claim that moral knowledge is impossible...
(though, arguably, it would be better termed "moral nihilism
Moral nihilism
Moral nihilism is the meta-ethical view that nothing is moral or immoral. For example, a moral nihilist would say that killing someone, for whatever reason, is neither inherently right nor inherently wrong...
"), arguing against the objective existence of right and wrong as intrinsically normative entities on fundamental grounds unsure what kinds of things such entities would be, if they existed.
His perhaps most widely known work, Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong, bluntly begins with the opening sentence "There are no objective values". He uses several arguments to support this claim that objective values are false. He argues that some aspects of moral thought are relative, and that objective morals require an absurd intrinsic action-guiding feature. Most of all, he thinks it is very unclear how objective values could supervene on features of the natural world (see the Argument from Queerness
Argument from queerness
"The Argument from Queerness" is a term used in the philosophical study of ethics first developed by J. L. Mackie in his book Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong ISBN 0-14-013558-8...
). Fourth, he thinks it would be difficult to justify our knowledge of "value entities" or account for any links or consequences they would have. And, finally, he thinks it is possible to show that even without any objective values, people would still have reason to firmly believe in them (hence, he claims that it is possible for people to be mistaken or fooled into believing that objective values exist). The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
called the book "a lucid discussion of moral theory which, although aimed at the general reader, has attracted a good deal of professional attention."
Concerning religion, he was well known for vigorously defending atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
, and also arguing that the problem of evil
Problem of evil
In the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is the question of how to explain evil if there exists a deity that is omnibenevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient . Some philosophers have claimed that the existences of such a god and of evil are logically incompatible or unlikely...
made untenable the main monotheistic
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
religions (see, for example, Mackie 1982). His criticisms of the free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
defence are particularly significant. He argued that the idea of human free will is no defense for those who wish to believe in an omnicompetent being in the face of evil and suffering, as such a being could have given us both free will and moral perfection, thus resulting in us choosing the good in every situation. Thus, Mackie's critique of free will theodicies
Theodicy
Theodicy is a theological and philosophical study which attempts to prove God's intrinsic or foundational nature of omnibenevolence , omniscience , and omnipotence . Theodicy is usually concerned with the God of the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, due to the relevant...
was based on his support for compatibilism
Compatibilism
Compatibilism is the belief that free will and determinism are compatible ideas, and that it is possible to believe both without being logically inconsistent. It may, however, be more accurate to say that compatibilists define 'free will' in a way that allows it to co-exist with determinism...
. In 1955 he published one of his most reprinted articles, "Evil and Omnipotence", summarizing his view that the simultaneous existence of evil and an all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good God was "positively irrational". Mackie's views on this so-called logical problem of evil prompted Alvin Plantinga
Alvin Plantinga
Alvin Carl Plantinga is an American analytic philosopher and the emeritus John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. He is known for his work in philosophy of religion, epistemology, metaphysics, and Christian apologetics...
to respond with his version of the Free Will Defense
Plantinga's free will defense
Alvin Plantinga's version of the free will defense is an attempt to refute the logical problem of evil, the argument that to posit the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, wholly good god in an evil world constitutes a logical contradiction...
.
In metaphysics, Mackie made significant contributions relating to the nature of causal relationships
Causation
Causation may refer to:* Causation , a key component to establish liability in both criminal and civil law* Causation in English law defines the requirement for liability in negligence...
, especially regarding conditional statements describing them (see, for example, Mackie 1974) and the notion of an INUS condition.
Upon being given a copy of Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
' The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene is a book on evolution by Richard Dawkins, published in 1976. It builds upon the principal theory of George C. Williams's first book Adaptation and Natural Selection. Dawkins coined the term "selfish gene" as a way of expressing the gene-centred view of evolution as opposed to the...
as a Christmas present, he in 1978 wrote an article in the journal Philosophy
Philosophy (journal)
Philosophy is the scholarly journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy. It is designed to be intelligible to the non-specialist reader and has been in continuous publication for over 80 years. It is published by Cambridge University Press and is currently edited by Anthony O'Hear.-See also:* ...
praising the book and discussing how its ideas might be applied to moral philosophy. Philosopher Mary Midgley
Mary Midgley
Mary Midgley, née Scrutton , is an English moral philosopher. She was a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Newcastle University and is known for her work on science, ethics and animal rights. She wrote her first book, Beast And Man: The Roots of Human Nature , when she was in her fifties...
responded in 1979 with "Gene-Juggling," an article arguing that The Selfish Gene was about psychological egoism
Psychological egoism
Psychological egoism is the view that humans are always motivated by self-interest, even in what seem to be acts of altruism. It claims that, when people choose to help others, they do so ultimately because of the personal benefits that they themselves expect to obtain, directly or indirectly,...
, rather than evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. This started a dispute between Mackie, Midgley and Dawkins that was still ongoing at the time of Mackie's death.
Publications
Books- Truth, Probability, and Paradox (1973), Oxford University PressOxford University PressOxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, ISBN 0-19-824402-9. - The Cement of the Universe: A Study of Causation (1974), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-824642-0.
- Problems from Locke (1976), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-824555-6.
- Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong (1977), Viking Press, ISBN 0-14-013558-8.
- Hume's Moral Theory (1980), Routledge Keegan & Paul, ISBN 0-7100-0525-3.
- The Miracle of Theism: Arguments for and Against the Existence of God (1982), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-824682-X.
Anthologies
- Logic and Knowledge: Selected Papers, Volume I (1985), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-824679-X.
- Persons and Values: Selected Papers, Volume II (1985), Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-824678-1.