Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe FBA (/ˈænskəm/; 18 March 1919 – 5 January 2001), usually cited as G. E. M. Anscombe or Elizabeth Anscombe, was a British[1] analytic philosopher. She wrote on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of action, philosophical logic, philosophy of language, and ethics. She was a prominent figure of analytical Thomism, a Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford, and a professor of philosophy at the University of Cambridge.
Anscombe was a student of Ludwig Wittgenstein and became an authority on his work and edited and translated many books drawn from his writings, above all his Philosophical Investigations. Anscombe's 1958 article "Modern Moral Philosophy" introduced the term consequentialism into the language of analytic philosophy, and had a seminal influence on contemporary virtue ethics.[2] Her monograph Intention (1957) was described by Donald Davidson as "the most important treatment of action since Aristotle".[3][4] It is "widely considered a foundational text in contemporary philosophy of action" and has also had influence in the philosophy of practical reason."[5]
Anscombe was born to Gertrude Elizabeth (née Thomas) and Captain Allen Wells Anscombe, on 18 March 1919, in Limerick, Ireland, where her father had been stationed with the Royal Welch Fusiliers during the Irish War of Independence.[6] Both her mother and father were involved with education. Her mother was a headmistress and her father went on to head the science and engineering side atDulwich College.[7]
Anscombe attended Sydenham High School and then, in 1937, went on to read literae humaniores ('Greats') at St Hugh's College, Oxford. She was awarded a Second Class in her honour moderations in 1939 and (albeit it with reservations on the part of her Ancient History examiners[8]) a First in her degree finals in 1941.[7]
While still at Sydenham High School, Anscombe converted to Catholicism. During her first year at St Hugh's, she was received into the church, and was a practising Catholic thereafter.[7]
In 1941 she married Peter Geach. Like her, Geach was a Catholic convert who became a student of Wit