Peter Unger
 |
This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2008) |
 |
This article relies on references to primary sources. (January 2008) |
Peter K. Unger (born 1942) is a contemporary American philosopher and professor at New York University. His main interests lie in the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and the philosophy of mind. He attended Swarthmore College at the same time as David Lewis, earning a B.A. in philosophy in 1962,[1] and Oxford University, where he studied under A. J. Ayer[2] and earned a doctorate in 1966.[3]
Unger has written a defense of profound philosophical skepticism and claims that many philosophical questions cannot be definitively answered. In the field of applied ethics, he argues that one has a moral duty to make large donations to life-saving charities (such as Oxfam and UNICEF) if one can, even if one has to beg, borrow, or steal in the process. Unger, moreover, has also used the paradox of the heap to argue for mereological nihilism, which entails that he, along with all other composite objects, does not exist.
Selected publications
Books
- Ignorance: A Case for Scepticism (Oxford University Press, 1975 and 2002) ISBN 0-19-824417-7
- Philosophical Relativity (Blackwell and Minnesota, 1984; Oxford, 2002) ISBN 0-19-515553-X
- Identity, Consciousness and Value (Oxford, 1990) ISBN 0-19-507917-5
- Living High and Letting Die: Our Illusion of Innocence (Oxford, 1996) ISBN 0-19-510859-0
- All the Power in the World (Oxford, 2006) ISBN 0-19-515561-0
- Philosophical Papers, Volume 1 (Oxford, 2006) ISBN 0-19-515552-1
- Philosophical Papers, Volume 2 (Oxford, 2006) ISBN 0-19-530158-7
Articles
- "I do not Exist", in Perception and Identity, G. F. MacDonald (ed.), London: Macmillan, 1979.
- "The Problem of the Many", Midwest Studies in Philosophy, vol. 5 (1980), pp. 411‑467.
- "Free Will and Scientiphicalism", Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, vol. 65 (2002).
- "The Survival of the Sentient", Philosophical Perspectives, vol. 14 (2000).
References
- ^ "Swarthmore College :: Philosophy :: Department Alumni with PHIL Ph.D.s". Swarthmore College. 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
- ^ "UPI Article: Thinking about life: Peter Unger". UPI. 2001. Retrieved 2011-12-12.
- ^ "NYU > Philosophy > Unger, Peter". New York University. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
