John Skorupski (born 19 September 1946) is a British

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

whose main interests are

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

ethics 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 m ...

and

moral philosophy 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 ...

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

, and the

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

of 19th and 20th century

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. He is best known for his work on

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 ...

and his study of normativity, ''The Domain of Reasons''. His most recent publication is Being and Freedom: on Late Modern Ethics in Europe.

Career

Skorupski was educated at

St Benedict's School, Ealing From The Smallest Beginnings , established = 1902 (Renamed 1948) , closed = , type = Independent day school , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic , president = , head_label ...

. He studied philosophy and economics at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, from which he received both an MA and a PhD. *1971–72 Visiting Lecturer at the University of Ife, Nigeria (now

Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal government-owned university that is located in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife ...

) *1974 Visiting Professor at the

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

(the University of Louvain), Belgium *1974–76 Research Fellow at

Swansea University , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...

(University of Wales, Swansea) *1976–84 Lecturer at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

*1984–90 Professor of Philosophy at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

*1990–present Professor of Moral Philosophy at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. Skorupski was President of the

Aristotelian Society The Aristotelian Society for the Systematic Study of Philosophy, more generally known as the Aristotelian Society, is a philosophical society in London. History Aristotelian Society was founded at a meeting on 19 April 1880, at 17 Bloomsbury Squar ...

in 1990–91. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for the Study of Political Thought of the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

, Kraków, in 1991, and was named Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

in 1992. He was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

in 2023.

Publications

; Books * ''Symbol and Theory: A Philosophical Study of Theories of Religion in Social Anthropology''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975. * ''John Stuart Mill''. London: Routledge, 1989. * ''English-Language Philosophy 1750–1945''. (OPUS History of Western Philosophy, vol. 6) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. * ''Virtue and Taste: Essays in Memory of Flint Schier''. Edited by John Skorupski and Dudley Knowles. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1993. * ''Cambridge Companions to Philosophy: John Stuart Mill''. Edited by John Skorupski. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. * ''Ethical Explorations''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. * ''Why Read Mill Today?'' London: Routledge, 2006. * ''The Domain of Reasons.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. * ''Being and Freedom: on Late Modern Ethics in Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. ; Papers
Buckpassing about goodness
In

Philosophical Papers Dedicated to

Wlodek Rabinowicz Wlodek Rabinowicz (Włodzimierz Rabinowicz, born on 14 January 1947) is a Polish-Swedish philosopher and Professor Emeritus at Lund University. Rabinowicz's areas of expertise include ethics, normativity, decision theory and utilitarianism. From 1 ...

'', ed. T. Rønnow-Rasmussen, B. Petersson, J. Josefsson and D. Egonsson, 2007.

References

External links

Skorupski's homepage at St Andrews
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skorupski, John 1946 births Living people 20th-century British philosophers 21st-century British philosophers Analytic philosophers Academics of the University of Sheffield Philosophy academics Presidents of the Aristotelian Society Academic staff of Obafemi Awolowo University People educated at St Benedict's School, Ealing Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge British people of Polish descent Fellows of the British Academy