Elizabeth Anscombe

Intention, published in 1957, reshaped analytic philosophy of action by asking what it means to act intentionally. It influenced later work on practical reasoning, intention, and agency.

In her 1958 essay Modern Moral Philosophy, Anscombe criticized modern moral theories for using obligation language without a coherent lawgiver framework. The essay also helped revive interest in virtue ethics and introduced the term consequentialism.

Anscombe studied with Wittgenstein and became one of his literary executors. She translated his Philosophical Investigations into English, making her central to the reception of his later philosophy.

Anscombe publicly opposed Oxford giving Truman an honorary degree because of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Her protest reflected her Catholic moral commitments and her interest in intention, responsibility, and killing.