Geoffrey Scarre is a

moral philosopher Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

and professor of philosophy at the

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

. His research focuses on a cluster of topics in

applied ethics Applied ethics refers to the practical aspect of moral considerations. It is ethics with respect to real-world actions and their moral considerations in the areas of private and public life, the professions, health, technology, law, and leadersh ...

and moral philosophy broadly construed, including

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

forgiveness Forgiveness, in a psychological sense, is the intentional and voluntary process by which one who may initially feel victimized or wronged, goes through a change in feelings and attitude regarding a given offender, and overcomes the impact of th ...

courage Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...

, the ethics of archaeology, and

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...

, with a special interest in the philosophy of

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

. He is the director of th
Centre for the Ethics of Cultural Heritage

Published works

*''Utilitarianism'' (London:

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 1996) *''After Evil: Responding to Wrongdoing'' (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004) *''Mill's On Liberty: A Reader's Guide'' (New York: Continuum, 2007) *''Death'' (Stocksfield: Acumen, 2007) *''On Courage'' (London: Routledge, 2010)

Edited books

*''Moral Philosophy and the Holocaust'', with

Eve Garrard Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac language, Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories de ...

(Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003) *''The Ethics of Archaeology: Philosophical Perspectives on Archaeological Practice'', with

Chris Scarre Christopher John Scarre, FSA is an academic and writer in the fields of archaeology, pre-history and ancient history. He is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Durham and was head of its archaeology department 2010-2013. Early life Sca ...

(Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 2006) *

Journal papers

*"Should we fear death?", ''

European Journal of Philosophy ''The European Journal of Philosophy'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of philosophy published quarterly by Wiley-Blackwell. It was established by Mark Sacks in 1993 and the current editor-in-chief is Joseph K. Schear. Editorial Committee Th ...

'', 5 (1997) *"Understanding the moral phenomenology of the Third Reich", ''

Ethical Theory and Moral Practice ''Ethical Theory and Moral Practice'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of philosophy, established in 1998 and published five times a year by Springer Science+Business Media. It publishes articles in English, focusing on ethics and ...

'', 1 (1998) *"Interpreting the categorical imperative", ''

British Journal for the History of Philosophy The ''British Journal for the History of Philosophy'' (BJHP) is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal of the British Society for the History of Philosophy, publishing articles on the history of philosophy. It is widely regarded as one of the l ...

'', 6 (1998) *"On caring about one's posthumous reputation", ''

American Philosophical Quarterly The ''American Philosophical Quarterly'' (APQ) is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering philosophy. It was established in 1964 by Nicholas Rescher and is published quarterly by University of Illinois Press under license with North American Phil ...

'', 38 (2001) *"Corporal punishment", ''Ethical Theory and Moral Practice'', 6 (2003) *"Archaeology and respect for the dead", ''

Journal of Applied Philosophy The ''Journal of Applied Philosophy'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Society for Applied Philosophy and edited by Elizabeth Brake (Rice University). It covers a broad spectrum of issues in all a ...

'', 20 (2003) *"Excusing the inexcusable? Moral responsibility and ideologically-motivated wrongdoing", ''

Journal of Social Philosophy The ''Journal of Social Philosophy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of social philosophy covering work of normative and practical significance concerning social and political life. It was established in 1970 by the North American Soc ...

'', 36 (2005) *"Corrective justice and reputation", ''

Journal of Moral Philosophy The ''Journal of Moral Philosophy'' is a peer-reviewed journal of moral, political, and legal philosophy with an international focus. It publishes articles in all areas of normative philosophy, including pure and applied ethics, as well as moral, ...

'', 3 (2006)

External links

Durham University staff profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarre, Geoffrey Academics of Durham University Moral philosophers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people