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Reason and romance: The world's most cerebral marriage

prospectmagazine.co.uk · 4,989 words · saved by 1 readers

In the 1980s there was a seminar held regularly in the wood-panelled Old Library at All Souls College in Oxford. It was known informally as “Star Wars.” Four giants of moral and political philosophy would take turns to lead the discussion and spend the best part of two hours sparring with each other at one end of the room, which would be packed mostly with eager, awestruck postgraduate students. I was one of them and attended for a term. The four philosophers were Derek Parfit, Amartya Sen, Ronald Dworkin and GA “Jerry” Cohen, all of them in their scholarly prime. In 1982, Janet Radcliffe-Richards, who had just moved to Oxford, decided to go along to see for herself what everyone agreed was the best show in town—dazzling, preening intellectual pyrotechnics. She was then in her late thirties, and a lecturer in philosophy at the Open University. She had recently published a book entitled The Sceptical Feminist. Sen, who would go on to win a Nobel Prize in economics, already knew Radcli

Reason and romance: The world's most cerebral marriage Professors of philosophy Janet Radcliffe-Richards and Derek Parfit. © Mark Allan Philosophy From the August 2014 issue Reason and romance: The world's most cerebral marriage Derek Parfit and Janet Radcliffe-Richards believe that philosophy should guide behaviour. Their marriage shows that it can By David Edmonds July 17, 2014 In the 1980s there was a seminar held regularly in the wood-panelled Old Library at All Souls College in Oxford. It was known informally as “Star Wars.” Four giants of moral and political philosophy would take turns t

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