Roger Stephen Crisp (born 23 March 1961) is fellow and tutor in philosophy at St. Anne's College, Oxford. He holds the university posts of

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

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 ...

and Uehiro Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy. His work falls principally within the field of

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, concer ...

, in particular

metaethics In metaphilosophy and ethics, meta-ethics is the study of the nature, scope, and meaning of moral judgment. It is one of the three branches of ethics generally studied by philosophers, the others being normative ethics (questions of how one ought ...

, normative ethics, and

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 ...

. In addition, he is chairman of the Management Committee of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.

Education

Originally from Brentwood, Essex, Crisp began his higher education at St. Anne's College, Oxford in 1979, where he read Literae Humaniores. He was amongst the first male cohort to study at this previously all-female college. He was taught by, amongst others,

Margaret Howatson Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

Gabriele Taylor E. Gabriele Taylor (born 11 October 1927) is a British philosopher and university teacher. She was fellow and tutor in philosophy at St Anne's College, Oxford, until her retirement in 1996. She notably taught the philosophers Roger Crisp and Const ...

Iris Murdoch Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her ...

, and

Peter Derow Peter Sidney Derow (11 April 1944 – 9 December 2006) was Hody Fellow and Tutor in Ancient History at Wadham College, Oxford and University Lecturer in Ancient History from 1977 to 2006. As a scholar he was most noted for his work on Hellenist ...

. In 1983 he commenced the B.Phil., and from 1985 until 1988 he worked on his D.Phil., writing his thesis on

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 chara ...

Career

In 1986 Crisp began his first academic post, as a junior lecturer in philosophy at Magdalen College, Oxford; he returned to St Anne's for two years beginning in 1987 as a lecturer in philosophy, before taking up a lecturing post at

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

in 1988–1989. In 1989–1991 he moved to

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

, as a

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars spa ...

Research Fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

and Honorary Junior Research Fellow. In 1991 he returned to St Anne's to take up a permanent post as Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy, succeeding

. For the first time in his career, Crisp temporarily left Oxford and spent the academic year 2010–2011 at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

to explore his interest in the moral philosophy of

Henry Sidgwick Henry Sidgwick (; 31 May 1838 – 28 August 1900) was an English utilitarian In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected i ...

. Arguably Crisp's most significant work to date is ''Reasons and the Good'' (2006), in which he advances some novel approaches to the oldest questions in ethics. The central thesis of this work is that a fundamental issue in normative ethics is what ultimate reasons might underlie our actions; Crisp argues that the best exposition of such reasons will not employ moral concepts. Other major works include a translation of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

's '' Nicomachean Ethics'', and the ''Routledge Guidebook to

Mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

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 chara ...

''. He was editor of the ''Oxford Handbook of the History of Ethics'' (2013).

Personal life

Crisp is married with two daughters; Elizabeth and Harriet. Aside from his work, his interests include bluegrass guitar and

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

Select publications

This is a selection of Crisp's recent publications. For an exhaustive list download the PDF file on his page on th
Oxford University Philosophy Faculty website

Books

* * * *

Edited books

* * * * * * *

Chapters in books

* * *

Journal articles

* * *

Podcast

* *

Conference papers

References

External links

Roger Crisp's page on the Oxford University Philosophy Faculty website
* ttp://www.practicalethicsnews.com/practicalethics/roger_crisps_posts/ Roger Crisp's posts on an Oxford University practical ethics website {{DEFAULTSORT:Crisp, Roger 1961 births 20th-century British non-fiction writers 20th-century British philosophers 20th-century essayists 21st-century British non-fiction writers 21st-century British philosophers 21st-century essayists Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford Analytic philosophers British ethicists British male essayists Fellows of St Anne's College, Oxford Fellows of University College, Oxford Living people Moral philosophers Philosophers of education Philosophers of ethics and morality Philosophy academics Philosophy writers