Living the Truth: On the Relevance of Elizabeth Anscombe's Thought Today

Join the Collegium Institute for a special luncheon with Prof. Jennifer Frey (University of South Carolina) to discuss the life and legacy of Elizabeth Anscombe.

Elizabeth Anscombe was one of the most important and influential analytic philosophers of the twentieth century. One of the last lectures she delivered was titled "Doing the Truth." In it, she set out to identify and clarify a specifically practical mode of truth as the proper goal of a specifically practical mode of reasoning and knowledge.  This talk will explore how Anscombe understands practical truth by relating it to her influential theory of the intentionality of action; its ultimate suggestion is that "doing the truth" just is living a good human life--i.e., knowingly performing actions in accordance with true judgments of right practical reasoning.  The person who achieves this truth is virtuous, someone who can stand as an exemplar (or rule and measure) for those who seek the truth but have not yet realized it in their lives.

April 25, 2019 – 12:00 pm-1:30

Cafe 58, Irvine Auditorium, University of Pennsylvania