Autor: W. R. Sorley

William Ritchie Sorley (1855–1935) was an influential British philosopher, primarily known for his work on ethics and the philosophy of science. Born in Scotland, Sorley studied moral sciences at the University of Cambridge, where he later became a lecturer and eventually held the prestigious Knightbridge Professorship of Moral Philosophy from 1900 until his retirement in 1933. A proponent of ethical naturalism, Sorley»s critical examination of the philosophical underpinnings of ethics culminated in his significant work «On the Ethics of Naturalism» (1885), where he navigated the complex terrain between naturalistic and non-naturalistic ethical theories. In his book, Sorley investigated the implications of evolutionary theory for ethics, attempting to reconcile the natural and moral orders without reducing ethical judgments to mere expressions of emotive or biological impulses. Sorley»s academic contributions extended into the study of the history of philosophy and the influence of British empiricism on ethical thought. His tenure at Cambridge saw him influence a number of pupils who would go on to become prominent philosophers in their own right. Sorley»s intellectual rigor and commitment to integrating philosophical discourse with practical ethical concerns mark him as a significant figure in the transition from 19th to 20th-century philosophy.