Peter Unger - Definition and Overview

Peter Unger is a modern philosopher, and professor at New York University. His main interests lie in the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and the philosophy of mind.

He would probably acknowledge that much of his writing is far from "common sense" - he has written a defense of profound philosophical skepticism, and claims that many philosophical questions cannot be definitively answered; while in the field of applied ethics, he argues that one has a moral duty to make large donations to life-saving charities such as Oxfam if one can, and that it may be permissible to commit murder to save lives (though he denies being a utilitarian).

Books

• Ignorance: A Case for Scepticism (Oxford, 1975 and 2002)
• Philosophical Relativity (Blackwell and Minnesota, 1984; Oxford, 2002)
• Identity, Consciousness and Value (Oxford, 1990)
• Living High and Letting Die: Our Illusion of Innocence (Oxford, 1996)

External link

• Page at NYU (http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/philo/faculty/unger/)