Mary Midgley
| Mary Midgley | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Mary Scrutton 13 September 1919 London |
| Residence | Newcastle, U.K. |
| Education |
Literae Humaniores (1942), Somerville College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Philosopher |
| Known for | Moral philosophy, animal rights, philosophy of science, ethology, evolution |
| Notable work | Beast and Man (1978), Animals And Why They Matter (1983), Evolution as a Religion (1985), Science as Salvation (1992) |
| Spouse(s) | Geoffrey Midgley (m. 1950) |
| Awards | Honorary D. Litt (1995), Durham University; Honorary DCL (2008), Newcastle University |
Mary Beatrice Midgley (née Scrutton; born 13 September 1919) is an English moral philosopher. She was a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Newcastle University and is known for her work on science, ethics and animal rights. She wrote her first book, Beast And Man (1978), when she was in her fifties. She has since written over 15 other books, including Animals And Why They Matter (1983), Wickedness (1984), The Ethical Primate (1994), Evolution as a Religion (1985), and Science as Salvation (1992). She has been awarded honorary doctorates by Durham and Newcastle universities. Her autobiography, The Owl of Minerva, was published in 2005.
Midgley strongly opposes reductionism and scientism, and any attempts to make science a substitute for the humanities—a role for which it is, she argues, wholly inadequate. She has written extensively about what philosophers can learn from nature, particularly from animals. A number of her books and articles have discussed philosophical ideas appearing in popular science, including those of Richard Dawkins. She has also written in favour of a moral interpretation of the Gaia hypothesis. The Guardian has described her as a fiercely combative philosopher and the UK's "foremost scourge of 'scientific pretension.'"
Midgley was born in London to Lesley and Tom Scrutton. Her father was a curate in Dulwich, and later chaplain of King's College, Cambridge. He was the son of the eminent judge Sir Thomas Edward Scrutton. She was raised in Cambridge, Greenford, and Ealing, and educated at Downe House School in Cold Ash, Berkshire (originally based in Down House, the former home of Charles Darwin), where she developed her interest in classics and philosophy:
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