All Thinkers

G.E.M. Anscombe

Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe was a British philosopher. She was one of the most important philosophers writing in English in the 20th century. She was born on 18 March 1919 in Limerick, Ireland, where her father was stationed with the British Army. The family moved back to England soon after. She studied at Sydenham School in south London and then at St Hugh's College, Oxford, from 1937 to 1941. At Oxford she earned the highest degree in classics and philosophy. As a teenager, she read herself into Catholicism and converted, against her Anglican family's wishes. She remained a devout Catholic for the rest of her life. Her religion shaped her philosophy but did not limit it. She was also ferociously independent. As an Oxford undergraduate in 1939, she co-wrote a pamphlet arguing that Britain's entry into the Second World War was not justified. She kept this position even as most of her country and family disagreed. In 1942 she moved to Cambridge to study with Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century. He became her teacher and friend. She was one of very few students he trusted. When he died in 1951, he named her as one of his three literary executors. She translated his major work, Philosophical Investigations, from German into English in 1953. This translation became the standard English version and is still read today. She married the philosopher Peter Geach in 1941. They had seven children. She held positions at Oxford for almost twenty years, then moved to Cambridge in 1970 to take the chair in philosophy once held by Wittgenstein. She was a striking figure: she wore trousers and men's clothes in an era when this was unusual, smoked cigars, and did not take her husband's name. She died in Cambridge on 5 January 2001, aged 81.

Origin
England (born in Ireland)
Lifespan
1919-2001
Era
20th Century
Subjects
Philosophy Ethics Philosophy Of Action Analytic Philosophy Catholic Thought
Skills
Critical Thinking Ethical Thinking Cultural Heritage And Identity Research Skills Creative Expression
Why They Matter

Anscombe matters for three reasons. First, she changed moral philosophy. In 1958, she published a short essay called 'Modern Moral Philosophy'. It argued that much of the moral philosophy taught in English universities was empty. Its basic concepts, 'moral duty', 'moral obligation', 'moral right', made sense only inside a religious view of the world that most modern philosophers had abandoned. Without that background, these words floated in air. She called for a new kind of ethics, based on ancient Greek ideas of virtue and character. This essay helped start what is now called virtue ethics, one of the three main approaches in modern moral philosophy. Without Anscombe, the field would look very different.

Second, she wrote the book Intention (1957), which opened a whole new area of philosophy. The book asks: what is it to do something on purpose? How do we tell intentional action from other things that happen? Her answers shaped the philosophy of action for the next 60 years. The book is difficult but short. It is often described as one of the great works of 20th-century philosophy. Students and scholars still argue about its meaning.

Third, she was fearless in public life. In 1956, she stood up at Oxford and spoke against giving an honorary degree to Harry Truman, the former US President who had ordered the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She wrote a pamphlet called 'Mr Truman's Degree' that called him a murderer. She was almost alone in her opposition. She lost the vote. Her argument, that the intentional killing of innocents is murder whatever the reason, is still studied in ethics classes today. For students, she is a model of someone willing to take an unpopular moral stand and argue for it with full philosophical seriousness.

Key Ideas
1
What It Means to Do Something On Purpose
2
'Modern Moral Philosophy' Is Empty
3
Wittgenstein's Translator
Key Quotations
"For men to choose to kill the innocent as a means to their ends is always murder."
— Mr Truman's Degree, 1956
This sentence is the heart of Anscombe's argument against Truman. She is making a straightforward moral claim. Killing innocent people on purpose, even to achieve some good goal, is always murder. There are no exceptions for war. There are no exceptions for the good consequences. There is no calculation that makes it right. For students, the sentence is clear but hard. Many would like to say there are always exceptions in real life. Anscombe is denying this. She is drawing a line. For her, some actions are absolutely forbidden regardless of the situation. Reading the whole pamphlet shows why she thought this, and lets students engage her argument seriously. You can disagree. But she has made the clear case.
"If you do give this honour, what Nero, what Genghis Khan, what Hitler, or what Stalin will not be honoured in the future?"
— Speech at Oxford Convocation, 1 May 1956
Anscombe is speaking to her Oxford colleagues. She is asking them to see the implications of what they are doing. If a man who ordered the killing of 200,000 civilians is given an honorary degree, then there is no longer any moral line. Any brutal ruler, if successful, could be honoured in the same way. The comparison to Hitler and Stalin was deliberately shocking. Her colleagues found it offensive. She meant them to. Her point was that the offense should attach not to her words but to the act of honouring Truman. For students, the quote is a classic example of rhetorical force in philosophical argument. Sometimes clear thinking requires willingness to say uncomfortable things out loud.
Using This Thinker in the Classroom
Critical Thinking When teaching students that a single action can be described in many ways
How to introduce
Ask students to describe something they did this morning in three different ways. Got on the bus. Started the journey to school. Paid the fare. Each description is true. Each captures something different. Anscombe's Intention made this observation the centre of a whole philosophy. Which description of an action is the 'right' one? It often depends on what the person meant to do. This is a useful starting point for thinking about intention in daily life.
Ethical Thinking When introducing students to ethical reasoning
How to introduce
Present Anscombe's position that some actions are always wrong, whatever the consequences. Present the opposite position that only consequences matter. Give a difficult example (such as the classic 'trolley problem'). Let students argue each side. There is no single correct answer, but engaging with both positions teaches students to think rather than just feel. Anscombe's clarity makes her a useful voice to include in any ethics class.
Further Reading

For a first introduction, Anscombe's essay 'Modern Moral Philosophy' (1958) is short and available online from many sources. Her pamphlet 'Mr Truman's Degree' (1956) is also short and widely available. Both can be read in under an hour. For context, Clare Mac Cumhaill and Rachael Wiseman's Metaphysical Animals (2022) tells the story of Anscombe and her three philosopher friends in a lively way. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Anscombe is excellent.

Key Ideas
1
Mr Truman's Degree
2
Consequentialism
3
The Return to Virtue Ethics
Key Quotations
"It is not profitable for us at present to do moral philosophy; that should be laid aside at any rate until we have an adequate philosophy of psychology."
— Modern Moral Philosophy, 1958
This is the opening line of Anscombe's famous essay. She is telling her colleagues to stop. Moral philosophy, as they are doing it, is not working. First, philosophers need a better understanding of how human minds actually function, what we now call philosophy of psychology or philosophy of mind. Only with that foundation can serious moral thinking proceed. This was a radical statement. Moral philosophy was a major academic field with many practitioners. Anscombe was saying they should mostly stop writing books. For intermediate students, the line is a model of philosophical directness. When you think a field has taken a wrong turn, say so. Do not hedge. Anscombe did not hedge. Her essay changed the field.
"Pumping poisoned water to the house of a murderer to kill him is, in one description, just pumping. In another description, it is murder."
— Paraphrased from Intention, 1957
Anscombe uses a version of this example throughout Intention. The same physical action, moving your arm up and down on a pump handle, can be described in many ways. Each description captures something real about what you are doing. But only some of these descriptions are what you intended. The pumping is automatic. The poisoning is the goal. Moral responsibility attaches to the description under which you acted intentionally. For intermediate students, this is a useful tool for thinking about responsibility. What you 'did' depends on how the action is described. Courts and moral judgements often turn on which description captures the real intention. Anscombe made this problem visible in a way it had not been before.
Using This Thinker in the Classroom
Ethical Thinking When discussing the ethics of war
How to introduce
Share Anscombe's Mr Truman's Degree pamphlet, or at least the key arguments. Ask students: is the deliberate killing of civilians in war always wrong? Can consequences ever justify it? This is a serious discussion. Students may reach different conclusions. That is fine. The goal is to engage with a real moral question with clear arguments on both sides. Anscombe's position is one of the sharpest defences of absolute limits in war.
Cultural Heritage and Identity When teaching about the women philosophers of Oxford in the 1940s
How to introduce
Introduce students to Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Iris Murdoch, and Mary Midgley, the four friends who became major British philosophers. The common picture of 20th-century philosophy as mostly male ignores them. Discuss why they are less famous than their male peers. War, gender barriers, and the structure of the academic world all played roles. Mac Cumhaill and Wiseman's 2022 book Metaphysical Animals is a good source for this story.
Research Skills When teaching students to read difficult prose
How to introduce
Give students a page of Anscombe's Intention. Let them struggle. Then read it aloud slowly, stopping to explain each move. Point out that the book is only 90 pages long and has been called one of the great works of 20th-century philosophy. Some great writing is not easy. Learning to sit with difficult prose rather than giving up is a skill. Anscombe rewards the effort, but only if you put it in.
Further Reading

For deeper reading, Intention (1957) is her masterpiece, though it is demanding. The three volumes of her Collected Philosophical Papers (Blackwell, 1981) gather her most important essays. Mary Geach and Luke Gormally have edited several thematic collections of her later work, including Human Life, Action and Ethics (2005) and Faith in a Hard Ground (2008). For her relationship with Wittgenstein, Ray Monk's Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius (1990) gives the context.

Key Ideas
1
The Oxford Women of Philosophy
2
Contraception and Abortion: The Hard Cases
3
Style and Difficulty
Key Quotations
"A quite mediocre person can do spectacularly wicked things without thereby becoming impressive."
— Mr Truman's Degree, 1956
Anscombe is attacking a common assumption. When a leader does something enormous, people often treat the leader as if the act made them important or impressive. Truman was often praised for his 'courage' in dropping the bombs. Anscombe replied: you do not become impressive by doing terrible things. You just become a person who did terrible things. A mediocre man who orders mass death is still a mediocre man, now also a murderer. The largeness of the act does not elevate the actor. For advanced students, this is a sharp corrective to the hero-worship that often follows powerful figures. The size of the consequences of someone's choices does not equal the size of their character. Many ordinary people, given the right chair and the right button, could do terrible things. This does not make them great.
"One can share in the guilt of a bad action by praise and flattery, as also by defending it."
— Mr Truman's Degree, 1956
Anscombe is explaining why she opposed the degree. She was not protesting atomic weapons themselves in that moment. She was protesting the specific act of honouring the man who had ordered their use. By praising him, she argued, Oxford would become partly responsible for his action. Guilt is not only for people who do bad things directly. It extends to those who cheer and defend. This is an uncomfortable idea. Most of us would prefer to think that guilt belongs only to the original actor. Anscombe says otherwise. For advanced students, the quote extends moral responsibility outward. Supporting, defending, celebrating a wrong action makes you part of it. This has implications for how we write, how we speak, and whom we honour.
Using This Thinker in the Classroom
Ethical Thinking When teaching students to engage with thinkers whose views they may reject
How to introduce
Anscombe held Catholic views on sexuality and abortion that many students today will strongly reject. Discuss with students: how do we read a major philosopher whose conclusions we disagree with? Do we dismiss the whole person? Do we separate the parts we agree with and reject the rest? This is a mature conversation. The honest answer is usually to engage seriously with her arguments, take them as challenges, and decide for ourselves. Disagreement with her is fine. Not reading her because you disagree is intellectually weak.
Critical Thinking When discussing moral courage in institutional settings
How to introduce
Anscombe stood up at Oxford and said her university was honouring a murderer. She lost the vote. Almost no one joined her. She wrote her pamphlet and kept her position for the rest of her life. Ask students: when is it right to speak up even when you know you will lose? What does it cost? What does silence cost? This is a serious discussion that applies to any institutional setting: schools, workplaces, families, governments.
Common Misconceptions
Common misconception

Anscombe was a pacifist.

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What to teach instead

She was not. She accepted that wars could be just. What she rejected was the deliberate killing of civilians and the demand for 'unconditional surrender' that often led to such killing. Her pamphlet against Truman criticises pacifism specifically as a harmful doctrine. Her position was traditional just war theory, which accepts some wars but with strict limits on how they can be fought. Calling her a pacifist misses the careful distinctions in her actual argument.

Common misconception

Her essay Modern Moral Philosophy was a simple attack on secular ethics.

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What to teach instead

It was more specific. She argued that certain concepts, especially 'moral duty' and 'moral obligation', made sense only against a background of divine command, and that philosophers who rejected that background could not coherently keep using those words. She suggested returning to Aristotelian virtue ethics, which is not especially religious. Many of the virtue ethicists inspired by her essay, including her friend Philippa Foot, were not religious at all. The essay is a clarifying argument about philosophical vocabulary, not a defence of religious ethics in general.

Common misconception

Anscombe was a conservative or reactionary figure.

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What to teach instead

This is a simplification. She took some positions that conservatives support (on abortion and contraception) and others that many conservatives would not (her opposition to the bombing of Japan, her argument that Truman was a murderer, her early opposition to Britain entering the Second World War). She also did not fit traditional female roles: she wore trousers, smoked cigars, did not take her husband's name, and worked as a full-time philosopher with seven children. She was a serious Catholic with strong views. Her specific combinations of views do not map onto left-right political categories.

Common misconception

Her philosophy is only relevant to Catholics.

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What to teach instead

Her Catholicism shaped her motivation but does not make her arguments only for Catholics. Her book Intention is a secular analytic philosophy text widely used in the philosophy of action. Modern Moral Philosophy has been enormously influential on non-religious virtue ethicists. Her Truman pamphlet uses general moral reasoning, not religious authority, as its main argument. Atheist and secular readers have engaged deeply with her work for decades. Treating her as a 'Catholic philosopher' only misses most of her contribution.

Intellectual Connections
Develops
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Anscombe was Wittgenstein's student, friend, literary executor, and translator. She translated his Philosophical Investigations into English, the standard version still read today. Her own philosophical style, compressed and demanding, shows his influence. But she was not a simple follower. She applied Wittgensteinian tools to ethics and philosophy of action, areas Wittgenstein himself largely avoided. She is one of the most creative readers of Wittgenstein, and arguably the one who brought his thinking most fully into English-speaking ethical philosophy.
Develops
Thomas Aquinas
Anscombe drew heavily on the Catholic philosophical tradition, especially Aquinas. Her just war arguments use Thomistic categories of intention, proportion, and discrimination. Her virtue ethics returns to the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition Aquinas had built. She updated Aquinas for modern analytic philosophy, showing that a tradition nearly 700 years old could still speak to current problems. For readers interested in how religious traditions can engage with modern secular philosophy, Anscombe's relationship to Aquinas is a good case study.
In Dialogue With
Hannah Arendt
Anscombe and Arendt were near-contemporaries who both wrote on the ethics of political violence. Both examined the Second World War carefully. Arendt's analysis of totalitarian evil and the 'banality of evil' complements Anscombe's insistence that ordinary people can do 'spectacularly wicked things without becoming impressive'. They approached these questions from different traditions: Arendt from continental political theory, Anscombe from analytic philosophy and Catholic thought. Reading them together gives students two major 20th-century women philosophers on the problem of evil.
In Dialogue With
Simone Weil
Weil and Anscombe were both serious Christian thinkers (though Weil never formally converted) who refused to let their faith soften their political criticism. Both opposed war crimes and both thought carefully about moral responsibility in violent times. Weil died in 1943 and Anscombe began writing soon after. They did not know each other's work well, but they belong to a shared tradition of 20th-century women philosophers who combined deep religion with sharp political analysis.
Complements
John Rawls
Anscombe and Rawls represented very different approaches to ethics in the 20th century. Rawls built elaborate systematic theories of justice. Anscombe wrote short, demanding essays attacking systematic theorising. Rawls worked within a broadly secular liberal tradition. Anscombe worked within a Catholic one. They rarely engaged directly, but their contrast defines much of the landscape of late-20th-century Anglo-American ethics. Reading them together shows two major ways ethics was done in their time.
Influenced
Michel Foucault
Foucault did not engage with Anscombe directly, but his concerns about how language shapes action and identity share some ground with her Intention. More importantly, the broader conversation about what it means to act, to intend, and to be responsible, which became a major theme in late-20th-century thought on both sides of the English Channel, was shaped by Anscombe's work. Not every influence is direct. Anscombe set terms of discussion that others, including Foucault, could not avoid.
Further Reading

For research-level engagement, Anthony Kenny's writings on Anscombe are authoritative and accessible. Roger Teichmann's The Philosophy of Elizabeth Anscombe (Oxford, 2008) is a careful study. Michael Thompson's Life and Action extends her approach into contemporary philosophy. Constantine Sandis and John Hyman's edited volume on Intention is a good source of current scholarship. The journal Philosophical Investigations regularly publishes work engaging with Anscombe's positions.