Ted Honderich
Encyclopedia
Ted Honderich is a Canadian-born British philosopher, Grote Professor Emeritus
of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic, University College London
and Visiting Professor, University of Bath
. His work has been mainly about five things: determinism's truth and its consequences for our lives; the nature of consciousness
and its relation to the brain
; right and wrong in the contemporary world, in particular with respect to terrorism
; the supposed justifications of punishment
by the state; and the political tradition of conservatism
.
, qualifying as B.A. (Hons)
in Philosophy and English Literature, he came to University College London
to study under the Logical Positivist A. J. Ayer, graduating with a Ph.D.
in 1968. He has since lived in England and become a British citizen. After being a lecturer at the University of Sussex
he became Lecturer, Reader, Professor and then Grote Professor
at University College London. He was visiting professor at the City University of New York
and Yale
. He is author of many books and articles on such subjects as the correspondence theory of truth
, Russell's theory of descriptions, time
, causation
, Mill's On Liberty and against John Searle
on free will
and G.A. Cohen's defence of Marx's theory of history
. He has also edited several series of philosophy books.
He has been involved in controversy for his moral defence of Palestinian terrorism
, despite his justification of the founding and maintaining of Israel
in its original 1948 borders.
His papers in philosophical journals have been published in three volumes by Edinburgh University Press. He has appeared on radio and television, is the editor of The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, has written a philosophical autobiography and is Chairman of the Royal Institute of Philosophy
. He is married to Ingrid Coggin Honderich.
as well as other lawlike connections. This he uses to formulate three hypotheses of a deterministic philosophy of mind
. They are argued to be true, mainly on the basis of neuroscience. The clarity of determinism
is contrasted with the obscurity of the doctrines of free will
or origination.
The centuries-dominant philosophical traditions of determinism and freedom, Compatibilism
and Incompatibilism
, are examined. According to the first, determinism is consistent with our freedom and moral responsibility; according to the second, it is inconsistent with them. Honderich considers Compatibilism's argument that our freedom consists in voluntariness, doing what we desire and not being coerced; hence its conclusion that determinism and freedom can go together. He also examines Incompatibilism's argument that our freedom consists in origination or free will, our choosing without our choosing's being caused; hence the conclusion that determinism and freedom are inconsistent.
Honderich argues that both views are mistaken, since freedom as voluntariness and freedom as origination are each as fundamental to our lives. The real problem of the consequences of determinism is not choosing between the two traditional doctrines, but a more practical one: trying to give up what must be given up, since we do not have the power of origination. Honderich's rejection of both traditions has been taken up by other philosophers, many of whom find his criticisms decisive. The theory is summarised in his How Free Are You?: The Determinism Problem.
is a view near to physicalism
, and it is partly based on the proposition that the many existing theories of consciousness—which he divides up into two general categories, devout physicalism and spiritualism or Cartesian Dualism -- fail to satisfy a list of criteria for an adequate theory of consciousness. Physicalism reduces consciousness to nothing more than the physical. Spiritualism takes consciousness out of space and into mystery. Honderich's criteria of adequacy include taking account of the subjectivity
of consciousness, which rules out devout physicalism but is an attraction of spiritualism. Other criteria are the reality of consciousness and its causal interaction with the physical world. These rule out spiritualism and seem to demand physicalism. His Theory of Radical Externalism, once called 'Consciousness as Existence', gets going with the question, 'What does it seem for you to be conscious of the room you are now in?' Honderich's answer is that it is for the room in a way to exist, to exist in a specified sense. It is for things to be in space and time outside your head, a world of perceptual consciousness dependent both on an external sub-world and on you neurally. This analysis of perceptual consciousness issues in further analyses of reflective and affective consciousness. Honderich argues that the theory does best at satisfying the criteria, succeeds where both physicalism and dualism fail.
The theory is expounded in On Consciousness and has been defended against 11 philosophers in an issue of The Journal of Consciousness Studies, republished as the book Radical Externalism: Honderich's Theory of Consciousness Discussed, edited by Anthony Freeman. The theory baffled most of the 11 philosophers. One contributor, E. J. Lowe, called it 'a genuinely new idea in the history of philosophy'.
of mental events on neural events. These psychoneural pairs, as Honderich calls them, are just effects of certain causal sequences, and are causes of our actions. This sort of physicalism, a predecessor to the notion of supervenience, has since been succeeded in Honderich's writings by the near-physicalism of Radical Externalism
. Radical Externalism holds that perceptual consciousness does not have a nomic sufficient condition in a head but only a necessary one. Honderich argues that reflective and affective consciousness are different again. He also argues that this is consistent with contemporary neuroscience
, rescues us from the argument from illusion
or brain in a vat
, and also from the dubious conclusions of sense-data theory and phenomenalism
.
than we have. Honderich concludes that the Principle of Humanity is better supported than any other sort of moral principle, on the basis of both consistency and certain facts. He takes it that non-consequentialist reasons are not really reasons at all, nor, he says, does the Principle grant any distinction between acts and omissions.
in 1948 and records what he describes as the bad lives of Palestinians as a result of what is called the neo-Zionist expansion of Israel since the 1967 war. Honderich asks whether those in the rich societies do wrong in doing nothing about bad lives. He considers natural morality
as well as our worked-out or philosophical moralities. Such outlooks as political realism and such ideologies as liberalism
and libertarianism
are also considered, as is what Honderich calls 'hierarchic democracy'. The Principle of Humanity is used to judge our moral responsibility for the many bad lives, which Honderich tells us is great. The Principle also condemns the terrorist killings of September 11 as hideous. The killings were not rational means to an end that was partly defensible. The West's subsequent attack on Afghanistan
is excused. But the taking from Palestinians of at least their freedom in the last fifth of their homeland, historic Palestine
, is condemned. Honderich writes: '...the Palestinians have had a moral right to their terrorism as certain as was the moral right, say, of the African people of South Africa against their white captors and the apartheid state'.
Honderich claims that we need to see the power of our societies as deadly. Americans, first of all, because of their unique power, need to think more carefully about their actions. He also argues that we should supplement our democracies with the transformations of the civil disobedience of Henry David Thoreau
, Martin Luther King, Jr.
, Bertrand Russell
, and those in Eastern Europe who brought down the wall.
His later book, Humanity, Terrorism, Terrorist War: Palestine, 9/11, Iraq, 7/7... begins by asking if analytic philosophy in considering large questions of right and wrong should proceed by embracing international law
, human rights
, just war theory or the like. Honderich, finding these means of judgement wanting, again takes up the Principle of Humanity. The book justifies and defends Zionism, defined as the creation of Israel in its original borders, but also reaffirms that Palestinians have had a moral right to their liberation—to terrorism within historic Palestine against what Honderich calls the ethnic cleansing of Neo-Zionism, the expansion of Israel beyond its original borders. After a further consideration of 9/11, there is an analysis of 10 reasons for what he calls 'our terrorist war' in Iraq. Honderich condemns the war as morally barbaric, given the foreseen and thus intentional killing of many innocents. In condemning the 7/7 terrorist attack on London
, Honderich considers the importance of horror to morality. He also argues that Tony Blair
and George W. Bush
are friends rather than enemies of terrorism. The book ends with a postscript on the charge of anti-semitism against critics of neo-Zionism—a charge Honderich says is principally a part of Neo-Zionism or at least something insufficiently detached from it.
In January 2011, Honderich wrote a letter to the Guardian on terrorism, in response to details released about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process:
by the state
. Most have to do with desert or retribution
, others with annulment or consent. All are found to be weak or worse. Honderich then argues that the strong tradition of punishment must have in it some real content or argument. This is found to be that punishment is justified by giving satisfaction to grievance-desires—doing no more than satisfying them. This, Honderich concludes, is the reality of retributivism, but it cannot be an effective justification of punishment. The Utilitarian prevention theory of punishment is also rejected, because it justifies certain victimizations. Mixed theories of punishment, drawing on backward-looking considerations as well as the notion of prevention, sometimes in terms of the reform
of offenders, are also found to be untenable. Robert Nozick's theory in particular is examined. Honderich's conclusion is that the long-running problem of the justification of punishment is now dead. Its justification must be in terms of its consequences—in discouraging and licensing certain kinds of behaviour. The live issue is determining what these are. Honderich's answer has to do with the Principle of Humanity. Punishment is or would be justified when it rationally takes forward the humanization of our societies. He argues, on the basis of this, that most punishments are in fact wrong.
. He argues that one has to do with eternal values and therefore with reform
rather than change, a view underpinning Edmund Burke's condemnation of the French Revolution
and all conservatives since. Other distinctions have to do with the right kind of political thinking and with human nature, with particular doctrines of incentive and reward, and with certain freedoms, including those of private property. Given these distinctions which set conservatism apart from other views, Honderich asks what underlies and brings these distinctions together. What is the rationale or underlying principle of conservatism? The answer he gives is not just that the conservative tradition is selfish. Its self-interest, he argues, does not distinguish it from other political traditions. What does distinguish it, Honderich concludes, is that it lacks a moral principle to defend its self-interest. It is unique in its amorality
. Conservatism was much discussed not only by political philosophers but also by politicians in 1990. It was enlarged as Conservatism: Burke, Nozick, Bush, Blair? in 2005, and includes Honderich's consideration of whether Britain's New Labour Party is truly in the conservative political tradition.
in Britain and the publisher of After the Terror, Edinburgh University Press, to have the £5,000 advance on royalties go to the charity, along with more money from the publishers. The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail suggested that Oxfam was taking money from a terrorist sympathizer, and it then declined the contributions, for which it was judged adversely in the British media. The book was published in a German translation. Micha Brumlik
, director of a holocaust centre and Professor of Pedagogy at Frankfurt University, demanded publicly that the book be withdrawn from sale by the publisher, Suhrkamp Verlag. Despite the declaration by the philosopher Jürgen Habermas
, who had recommended the translation, that the book was not anti-semitic, it was withdrawn from sale. Honderich demanded the dismissal of Brumlik from his professorship, for violation of academic principle. There was a media firestorm in Germany. The book was retranslated and republished by an antizionist Jewish publishing house, Melzer Verlag. Lesser controversies have included an imputation of anti-semitism by a student newspaper in London, against which Honderich took successful legal action. There have been attacks by Palestinians on Honderich's justification of Zionism too, including disruptions at meetings.
, and in particular made the objection that on certain assumptions the view is epiphenomenalist. The papers are reprinted in Mental Causation and the Metaphysics of Mind, edited by Neil Campbell. Earlier journal papers are about Austin's correspondence theory of truth
, causation
, time
, Russell's theory of descriptions
, and John Stuart Mill's essay On Liberty. Honderich's philosophical autobiography, Philosopher: A Kind of Life, is a personal and general picture of English academic life over several decades. An encyclopedia edited by him, The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, is in its second edition.
Emeritus
Emeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic, University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
and Visiting Professor, University of Bath
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
. His work has been mainly about five things: determinism's truth and its consequences for our lives; the nature of consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
and its relation to the brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
; right and wrong in the contemporary world, in particular with respect to terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
; the supposed justifications of punishment
Punishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
by the state; and the political tradition of conservatism
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
.
Biography
Honderich was born Edgar Dawn Ross Honderich on 30 January 1933 in Baden, Ontario, Canada. An undergraduate at the University of TorontoUniversity of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, qualifying as B.A. (Hons)
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Philosophy and English Literature, he came to University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
to study under the Logical Positivist A. J. Ayer, graduating with a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1968. He has since lived in England and become a British citizen. After being a lecturer at the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
he became Lecturer, Reader, Professor and then Grote Professor
Grote Chair of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic
The Grote Chair of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic is an endowed chair at University College London.-Origin:Along with Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind and Logic was one of two Philosophy chairs established at the founding of University College London...
at University College London. He was visiting professor at the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
and Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
. He is author of many books and articles on such subjects as the correspondence theory of truth
Truth
Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...
, Russell's theory of descriptions, time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
, causation
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...
, Mill's On Liberty and against John Searle
John Searle
John Rogers Searle is an American philosopher and currently the Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley.-Biography:...
on 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...
and G.A. Cohen's defence of Marx's theory of history
Marx's theory of history
The Marxist theory of historical materialism understands society as fundamentally determined by the material conditions at any given time - this means the relationships which people enter into with one another in order to fulfill their basic needs, for instance to feed and clothe themselves and...
. He has also edited several series of philosophy books.
He has been involved in controversy for his moral defence of Palestinian terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, despite his justification of the founding and maintaining of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in its original 1948 borders.
His papers in philosophical journals have been published in three volumes by Edinburgh University Press. He has appeared on radio and television, is the editor of The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, has written a philosophical autobiography and is Chairman of the Royal Institute of Philosophy
Royal Institute of Philosophy
The Royal Institute of Philosophy, founded in 1925, is a charity organisation based in London that offers lectures and conferences on philosophical topics. The Institute is not committed to any particular philosophical school, method or ideology...
. He is married to Ingrid Coggin Honderich.
Determinism and freedom
In A Theory of Determinism: The Mind, Neuroscience and Life-Hopes, Honderich expounds a theory of causationCausation
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...
as well as other lawlike connections. This he uses to formulate three hypotheses of a deterministic philosophy of mind
Philosophy of mind
Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness and their relationship to the physical body, particularly the brain. The mind-body problem, i.e...
. They are argued to be true, mainly on the basis of neuroscience. The clarity of determinism
Determinism
Determinism is the general philosophical thesis that states that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen. There are many versions of this thesis. Each of them rests upon various alleged connections, and interdependencies of things and...
is contrasted with the obscurity of the doctrines of 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...
or origination.
The centuries-dominant philosophical traditions of determinism and freedom, 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...
and Incompatibilism
Incompatibilism
Incompatibilism is the view that a deterministic universe is completely at odds with the notion that people have a free will. Strictly speaking, there is a dichotomy between determinism and free will where philosophers must choose one or the other...
, are examined. According to the first, determinism is consistent with our freedom and moral responsibility; according to the second, it is inconsistent with them. Honderich considers Compatibilism's argument that our freedom consists in voluntariness, doing what we desire and not being coerced; hence its conclusion that determinism and freedom can go together. He also examines Incompatibilism's argument that our freedom consists in origination or free will, our choosing without our choosing's being caused; hence the conclusion that determinism and freedom are inconsistent.
Honderich argues that both views are mistaken, since freedom as voluntariness and freedom as origination are each as fundamental to our lives. The real problem of the consequences of determinism is not choosing between the two traditional doctrines, but a more practical one: trying to give up what must be given up, since we do not have the power of origination. Honderich's rejection of both traditions has been taken up by other philosophers, many of whom find his criticisms decisive. The theory is summarised in his How Free Are You?: The Determinism Problem.
Consciousness
Honderich's theory of the nature of consciousnessConsciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
is a view near to physicalism
Physicalism
Physicalism is a philosophical position holding that everything which exists is no more extensive than its physical properties; that is, that there are no kinds of things other than physical things...
, and it is partly based on the proposition that the many existing theories of consciousness—which he divides up into two general categories, devout physicalism and spiritualism or Cartesian Dualism -- fail to satisfy a list of criteria for an adequate theory of consciousness. Physicalism reduces consciousness to nothing more than the physical. Spiritualism takes consciousness out of space and into mystery. Honderich's criteria of adequacy include taking account of the subjectivity
Subjectivity
Subjectivity refers to the subject and his or her perspective, feelings, beliefs, and desires. In philosophy, the term is usually contrasted with objectivity.-Qualia:...
of consciousness, which rules out devout physicalism but is an attraction of spiritualism. Other criteria are the reality of consciousness and its causal interaction with the physical world. These rule out spiritualism and seem to demand physicalism. His Theory of Radical Externalism, once called 'Consciousness as Existence', gets going with the question, 'What does it seem for you to be conscious of the room you are now in?' Honderich's answer is that it is for the room in a way to exist, to exist in a specified sense. It is for things to be in space and time outside your head, a world of perceptual consciousness dependent both on an external sub-world and on you neurally. This analysis of perceptual consciousness issues in further analyses of reflective and affective consciousness. Honderich argues that the theory does best at satisfying the criteria, succeeds where both physicalism and dualism fail.
The theory is expounded in On Consciousness and has been defended against 11 philosophers in an issue of The Journal of Consciousness Studies, republished as the book Radical Externalism: Honderich's Theory of Consciousness Discussed, edited by Anthony Freeman. The theory baffled most of the 11 philosophers. One contributor, E. J. Lowe, called it 'a genuinely new idea in the history of philosophy'.
Mind and brain
Honderich's Union Theory of mind and brain is defended in A Theory of Determinism. The Union Theory takes it as possible that conscious events like our choices and decisions are in a way subjective but are nevertheless physical rather than near-physical events. They stand in a kind of lawlike connection with neural events, sometimes called the supervenienceSupervenience
In philosophy, supervenience is a kind of dependency relationship. For example, mental states might depend on physical brain states. This dependency is typically held to obtain between sets of properties. A classic example is that mental states of pain supervene on 'C-fibers firing'...
of mental events on neural events. These psychoneural pairs, as Honderich calls them, are just effects of certain causal sequences, and are causes of our actions. This sort of physicalism, a predecessor to the notion of supervenience, has since been succeeded in Honderich's writings by the near-physicalism of Radical Externalism
Externalism
Externalism is a group of positions in the philosophy of mind which hold that the mind is not only the result of what is going on inside the nervous system but also of what either occur or exist outside the subject. It is often contrasted with internalism which holds that the mind emerges out of...
. Radical Externalism holds that perceptual consciousness does not have a nomic sufficient condition in a head but only a necessary one. Honderich argues that reflective and affective consciousness are different again. He also argues that this is consistent with contemporary neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
, rescues us from the argument from illusion
Argument from illusion
The argument from illusion is an argument for the existence of sense-data. It is posed as a criticism of direct realism. Naturally occurring illusions best illustrate the argument's points, a notable example concerning a stick: I have a stick, which appears to me to be straight, but when I hold it...
or brain in a vat
Brain in a vat
In philosophy, the brain in a vat is an element used in a variety of thought experiments intended to draw out certain features of our ideas of knowledge, reality, truth, mind, and meaning...
, and also from the dubious conclusions of sense-data theory and phenomenalism
Phenomenalism
Phenomenalism is the view that physical objects do not exist as things in themselves but only as perceptual phenomena or sensory stimuli situated in time and in space...
.
The Principle of Humanity
Honderich argues that the Principle of Humanity is that what is right always consists in what, according to the best available knowledge and judgement, are actually rational steps, effective and not self-defeating ones rather than pretences, to the end of getting and keeping people out of bad lives. Bad lives are defined as those deprived of six fundamental human goods: a decent length of life, bodily well-being, freedom and power in various settings, respect and self-respect, the goods of relationship, and the goods of culture. It is a consequentialist principle, but not the principle of utility, nor just the claim that the ends justify the means. Honderich argues that the principle is fundamental to but not the whole of a morality of humanity. This, he claims, includes certain policies of equality and inequality and certain practices, one being a better democracyDemocracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
than we have. Honderich concludes that the Principle of Humanity is better supported than any other sort of moral principle, on the basis of both consistency and certain facts. He takes it that non-consequentialist reasons are not really reasons at all, nor, he says, does the Principle grant any distinction between acts and omissions.
International right and wrong, democracy, terrorism
Following 9/11, Honderich published After the Terror. The book first lays out some of the facts of bad lives and good lives, both in Africa and in rich countries. With respect to bad lives, Honderich argues that our omissions have resulted in 20 million years of possible living-time lost by a certain sample of Africans. He also considers the creation of IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1948 and records what he describes as the bad lives of Palestinians as a result of what is called the neo-Zionist expansion of Israel since the 1967 war. Honderich asks whether those in the rich societies do wrong in doing nothing about bad lives. He considers natural morality
Natural morality
Natural morality describes a form of morality that is based on how humans evolved, rather than a morality acquired from societal norms or religious teachings.Charles Darwins theory of evolution is central to the acceptance of a natural morality....
as well as our worked-out or philosophical moralities. Such outlooks as political realism and such ideologies as liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and libertarianism
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
are also considered, as is what Honderich calls 'hierarchic democracy'. The Principle of Humanity is used to judge our moral responsibility for the many bad lives, which Honderich tells us is great. The Principle also condemns the terrorist killings of September 11 as hideous. The killings were not rational means to an end that was partly defensible. The West's subsequent attack on Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
is excused. But the taking from Palestinians of at least their freedom in the last fifth of their homeland, historic Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, is condemned. Honderich writes: '...the Palestinians have had a moral right to their terrorism as certain as was the moral right, say, of the African people of South Africa against their white captors and the apartheid state'.
Honderich claims that we need to see the power of our societies as deadly. Americans, first of all, because of their unique power, need to think more carefully about their actions. He also argues that we should supplement our democracies with the transformations of the civil disobedience of Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
, and those in Eastern Europe who brought down the wall.
His later book, Humanity, Terrorism, Terrorist War: Palestine, 9/11, Iraq, 7/7... begins by asking if analytic philosophy in considering large questions of right and wrong should proceed by embracing international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, just war theory or the like. Honderich, finding these means of judgement wanting, again takes up the Principle of Humanity. The book justifies and defends Zionism, defined as the creation of Israel in its original borders, but also reaffirms that Palestinians have had a moral right to their liberation—to terrorism within historic Palestine against what Honderich calls the ethnic cleansing of Neo-Zionism, the expansion of Israel beyond its original borders. After a further consideration of 9/11, there is an analysis of 10 reasons for what he calls 'our terrorist war' in Iraq. Honderich condemns the war as morally barbaric, given the foreseen and thus intentional killing of many innocents. In condemning the 7/7 terrorist attack on London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Honderich considers the importance of horror to morality. He also argues that Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
are friends rather than enemies of terrorism. The book ends with a postscript on the charge of anti-semitism against critics of neo-Zionism—a charge Honderich says is principally a part of Neo-Zionism or at least something insufficiently detached from it.
In January 2011, Honderich wrote a letter to the Guardian on terrorism, in response to details released about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process:
Punishment
In Punishment: The Supposed Justifications, Honderich surveys and analyses 14 traditional, backward-looking reasons for the justification of punishmentPunishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
by the state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
. Most have to do with desert or retribution
Retributive justice
Retributive justice is a theory of justice that considers that punishment, if proportionate, is a morally acceptable response to crime, with an eye to the satisfaction and psychological benefits it can bestow to the aggrieved party, its intimates and society....
, others with annulment or consent. All are found to be weak or worse. Honderich then argues that the strong tradition of punishment must have in it some real content or argument. This is found to be that punishment is justified by giving satisfaction to grievance-desires—doing no more than satisfying them. This, Honderich concludes, is the reality of retributivism, but it cannot be an effective justification of punishment. The Utilitarian prevention theory of punishment is also rejected, because it justifies certain victimizations. Mixed theories of punishment, drawing on backward-looking considerations as well as the notion of prevention, sometimes in terms of the reform
Reform
Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....
of offenders, are also found to be untenable. Robert Nozick's theory in particular is examined. Honderich's conclusion is that the long-running problem of the justification of punishment is now dead. Its justification must be in terms of its consequences—in discouraging and licensing certain kinds of behaviour. The live issue is determining what these are. Honderich's answer has to do with the Principle of Humanity. Punishment is or would be justified when it rationally takes forward the humanization of our societies. He argues, on the basis of this, that most punishments are in fact wrong.
Conservatism
Honderich's book Conservatism begins with a general inquiry into the distinctions between British and American conservatismConservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
. He argues that one has to do with eternal values and therefore with reform
Reform
Reform means to put or change into an improved form or condition; to amend or improve by change of color or removal of faults or abuses, beneficial change, more specifically, reversion to a pure original state, to repair, restore or to correct....
rather than change, a view underpinning Edmund Burke's condemnation of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and all conservatives since. Other distinctions have to do with the right kind of political thinking and with human nature, with particular doctrines of incentive and reward, and with certain freedoms, including those of private property. Given these distinctions which set conservatism apart from other views, Honderich asks what underlies and brings these distinctions together. What is the rationale or underlying principle of conservatism? The answer he gives is not just that the conservative tradition is selfish. Its self-interest, he argues, does not distinguish it from other political traditions. What does distinguish it, Honderich concludes, is that it lacks a moral principle to defend its self-interest. It is unique in its amorality
Amorality
Amorality is an absence of, indifference towards, or disregard for moral beliefs. Any entity that is not sentient may be considered amoral. In addition, it can be argued that sentient but non-human creatures, like dogs, have no concept of morality and are therefore amoral...
. Conservatism was much discussed not only by political philosophers but also by politicians in 1990. It was enlarged as Conservatism: Burke, Nozick, Bush, Blair? in 2005, and includes Honderich's consideration of whether Britain's New Labour Party is truly in the conservative political tradition.
Controversy
Honderich has been involved in controversy since the publication of his book After the Terror in 2002. Honderich arranged with OxfamOxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
in Britain and the publisher of After the Terror, Edinburgh University Press, to have the £5,000 advance on royalties go to the charity, along with more money from the publishers. The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail suggested that Oxfam was taking money from a terrorist sympathizer, and it then declined the contributions, for which it was judged adversely in the British media. The book was published in a German translation. Micha Brumlik
Micha Brumlik
Micha Brumlik is professor of education at the Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. From October 2000 to 2005 he was director of the Fritz Bauer Institute for the Study and Documentation of the History of the Holocaust.-Books :* Die Gnostiker * Schrift, Wort, Ikone Wege aus dem...
, director of a holocaust centre and Professor of Pedagogy at Frankfurt University, demanded publicly that the book be withdrawn from sale by the publisher, Suhrkamp Verlag. Despite the declaration by the philosopher Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theory on the concepts of 'communicative rationality' and the 'public sphere'...
, who had recommended the translation, that the book was not anti-semitic, it was withdrawn from sale. Honderich demanded the dismissal of Brumlik from his professorship, for violation of academic principle. There was a media firestorm in Germany. The book was retranslated and republished by an antizionist Jewish publishing house, Melzer Verlag. Lesser controversies have included an imputation of anti-semitism by a student newspaper in London, against which Honderich took successful legal action. There have been attacks by Palestinians on Honderich's justification of Zionism too, including disruptions at meetings.
Other writings
Honderich wrote a number of papers in criticism of Donald Davidson's Anomalous MonismAnomalous monism
Anomalous monism is a philosophical thesis about the mind-body relationship. It was first proposed by Donald Davidson in his 1970 paper Mental events. The theory is twofold and states that mental events are identical with physical events, and that the mental is anomalous, i.e. under their mental...
, and in particular made the objection that on certain assumptions the view is epiphenomenalist. The papers are reprinted in Mental Causation and the Metaphysics of Mind, edited by Neil Campbell. Earlier journal papers are about Austin's correspondence theory of truth
Correspondence theory of truth
The correspondence theory of truth states that the truth or falsity of a statement is determined only by how it relates to the world, and whether it accurately describes that world...
, causation
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...
, time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
, Russell's theory of descriptions
Theory of descriptions
The theory of descriptions is the philosopher Bertrand Russell's most significant contribution to the philosophy of language. It is also known as Russell's Theory of Descriptions...
, and John Stuart Mill's essay On Liberty. Honderich's philosophical autobiography, Philosopher: A Kind of Life, is a personal and general picture of English academic life over several decades. An encyclopedia edited by him, The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, is in its second edition.
Selected publications
- Radical Externalism: Honderich's Theory of Consciousness Discussed, Anthony Freeman, Ed., Imprint Academic, 2006. ISBN 1-84540-068-2.
- Humanity, Terrorism, Terrorist War: Palestine, 9/11, Iraq, 7/7London: Continuum, 2006. ISBN 0-8264-9116-2.
- Punishment, the Supposed Justifications Revisited, Pluto Press, 2005. Revised edition.
- On Determinism and Freedom, Edinburgh University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-7486-1841-4.
- Conservatism: Burke, Nozick, Bush, Blair?, Pluto Press, 2005. Enlarged edition. ISBN 0-7453-2129-1.
- On Consciousness, Edinburgh University Press, 2004. Collected papers. ISBN 0-7486-1842.
- Terrorism for Humanity: Inquiries in Political Philosophy, Pluto Press, 2004. Revised and retitled edition. ISBN 0-7453-2133.
- On Political Means and Social Ends, Edinburgh University Press, 2003. Collected papers. ISBN 0-7486-1840-6
- After the terror. Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-7735-2734-6. Revised and expanded edition.
- How free are you? The Determinism Problem. 2nd ed. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-19-925197-5.
- Philosopher : a kind of life. London : Routledge, 2001. ISBN 0-415-23697-5.
- A Theory of Determinism: The Mind, Neuroscience and Life-Hopes, Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-824469. Republished in two paperbacks: Mind and Brain and The Consequences of Determinism
- Three Essays on Political Violence, Blackwells, Political Violence, Cornell University Press, 1976. ISBN 0-631-117040-5. Original terrorism book, later revised in several editions.
- Punishment, the Supposed Justifications, Hutchinson, Harcourt Brace, 1969, ISBN 09-096900-6, various later editions.
Edited books
- The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 1995. New Edition 2005. ISBN 0-19-926479-1
- The Philosophers: Introducing Great Western Thinkers, excerpts from The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-19-823861-4
- A. J. Ayer: Writings on Philosophy, 6 volumes, Palgrave Macmillan Archive Press, 2005. ISBN 1-4039-1744-2.
- Morality and Objectivity: A Tribute to J. L. Mackie, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985. ISBN 0-7100-9991-6.
- Philosophy Through Its Past, Penguin, 1984.
- Philosophy As It Is, co-edited with Myles BurnyeatMyles BurnyeatMyles Fredric Burnyeat CBE FBA is an English classicist and philosopher.-Life:Educated at Bryanston School and King’s College, Cambridge, Burnyeat was a student of Bernard Williams at University College London....
, Allen Lane, Penguin. ISBN 0-7139-1184-0. - Social Ends and Political Means, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1976. ISBN 0-7100-8370.
- Essays on Freedom of Action, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1973. ISBN 0-7100-7392-5.
Articles
- A. J. Ayer, Psychoneural Pairs, Review of A Theory of Determinism, London Review of Books, May 19, 1988.
- Daniel DennettDaniel DennettDaniel Clement Dennett is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the Co-director of...
, Coming to Terms With the Determined, Review of A Theory of Determinism, Times Literary Supplement, November 4–10, 1988. - Harold Brown, Tim Crane, James Garvey, Ted Honderich, Stephen Law, E. J. Lowe, Derek Matravers, Paul Noordhof, Ingmar Persson, Stephen Priest, Barry C. Smith, Paul Snowdon, Excerpts from articles by 12 philosophers in Radical Externalism, edited by Anthony Freeman, 2006.
- Jonathan GloverJonathan GloverJonathan Glover is a British philosopher known for his studies on ethics. He was educated at Tonbridge School, later going on to Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was a fellow and tutor in philosophy at New College, Oxford. He currently teaches ethics at King's College London...
, Justifying Punishment, Review of Punishment, The Supposed Justifications, Inquiry, June 1, 1970. - Enoch PowellEnoch PowellJohn Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
, Sing a Song of Tories, Prejudiced and Wry, Review of Conservatism, The Independent, July 1, 1990. - Richard WolinRichard WolinRichard Wolin is an intellectual historian.He is Distinguished Professor of History at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he has worked since 2000...
, Are Suicide Bombings Morally Defensible? The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 24, 2003. - Reply to Richard Wolin The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 10, 2003.
- Alexander CockburnAlexander CockburnAlexander Claud Cockburn is an American political journalist. Cockburn was brought up in Ireland but has lived and worked in the United States since 1972. Together with Jeffrey St. Clair, he edits the political newsletter CounterPunch...
, World-Famous Philosopher Honderich Hit with "Anti-Semite" Slur in Germany; Habermas and Suhrkamp Cut and Run, CounterPunch, August 13, 2003. - Paul de Rooij, Ted Honderich: A Philosopher in the Trenches, CounterPunch, December 4, 2002.
- On Being Persona Non Grata to Palestinians, Too, CounterPunch, February 19/20, 2005.
- Paul de Rooij, Why Ted Honderich is Wrong on All Counts, CounterPunch, February 28, 2005. (replies to Honderich's Feb. 19, 2005 article).
- 'The Real Friends of Terror' and 'No Excuses for Terror', A Look at Two Television Programmes, with transcripts
- Catherine WilsonCatherine WilsonCatherine Wilson was a British woman who was hanged for one murder, but was generally thought at the time to have committed six others. She worked as a nurse and poisoned her victims after encouraging them to leave her money in their wills...
, Review of Philosopher: A Kind of Life, Philosophy, October 2003. - John CraceJohn CraceJohn Crace may refer to:*John Dibblee Crace, British interior designer*John Gregory Crace , English interior designer*Sir John Gregory Crace, British rear admiral*John Crace , British journalist...
, Philosophy with Attitude, interview The Guardian, March 22, 2003.