H. J. McCloskey
Born1925
Died2000
EducationUniversity of Melbourne
OccupationPhilosopher

Henry John McCloskey (1925–2000) was an Australian moral philosopher and writer.

McCloskey was Professor of Philosophy at La Trobe University in Melbourne.[1] After graduating from the University of Melbourne, he had appointments at the University of Western Australia and the University of Melbourne before taking up a chair at La Trobe. He was president of the Australasian Association of Philosophy in 1978.[1] McCloskey is known for his sheriff scenario, a thought experiment he used to criticize "extreme" utilitarianism, or what later came to be known as act utilitarianism.

He was married to Mary Agnes McCloskey.[2] McCloskey was an atheist. He argued that the problem of evil provides conclusive evidence against theism.

McCloskey was a noted critic of animal rights.[3][4] McCloskey stated that animals cannot have moral rights but they can be given legal rights.[5]

Selected publications

Articles

Books

  • Morality Without Religion (1961)
  • The Problem of Liberalism (1965)
  • Utilitarian and Retributive Punishment (1967)
  • Meta-ethics and Normative Ethics (1969)
  • The Political Philosophy of Liberalism (1973)
  • John Stuart Mill: A Critical Study (1971)
  • God and Evil (1974)
  • Ecological Ethics and Politics (1983)

References

  1. 1 2 "Professor John McCloskey". Rationalist Society of Australia. Rationalist Society of Australia. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  2. "Mary Agnes McCloskey". Legacy.com. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  3. Regan, Tom (1976). "McCloskey on Why Animals Cannot Have Rights". The Philosophical Quarterly. 26 (104): 251–257. doi:10.2307/2219017. JSTOR 2219017.
  4. Burch, Robert W. (1977). "Animals, Rights, and Claims". The Southwestern Journal of Philosophy. 8 (2): 53–59. doi:10.5840/swjphil19778225. JSTOR 43155153.
  5. Nelson, John O. (1987). "Brute Animals and Legal Rights". Philosophy. 62 (240): 171–177. doi:10.1017/S0031819100064019. JSTOR 3750794. S2CID 159507180.


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