Richard Hare

Richard Hare
Name	Richard Hare
Birth date	1919
Death date	2002
Occupation	Philosopher, Theologian
Known for	Prescriptivism, Moral Philosophy

Richard Hare

Richard Hare was a 20th-century British philosopher and theologian best known for developing universal prescriptivism in meta-ethics and for influential writings on moral reasoning, universalizability, and religious language. He taught at leading British universities and engaged with figures across analytic philosophy, ethics, and theology, shaping debates with clear arguments about moral language, normative reasoning, and Christian ethics. Hare’s work interacted with contemporaries and institutions across Britain, the United States, and Europe, leaving a lasting imprint on discussions involving utilitarianism, deontology, and meta-ethical theory.

Early life and education

Hare was born in the United Kingdom and educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Classics and then took further studies in philosophy at University of Oxford. During his formative years he encountered the work of G. E. Moore, A. J. Ayer, and Bertrand Russell, and he was influenced by debates arising from the Vienna Circle and logical positivism. His theological formation involved engagement with Anglicanism and conversations with figures from Oxford Movement-linked circles and the broader milieu of 20th-century British theology, including contact with thinkers associated with Westcott House and other theological colleges.

Academic career and positions

Hare held academic posts at institutions including Balliol College, Oxford, University of Oxford, and University of Keele. He served as a fellow and tutor, participating in tutorial systems alongside colleagues from All Souls College, Oxford and interacting with visiting scholars from Princeton University and Harvard University. Hare was active in British learned societies such as the British Academy and contributed to journals connected to Mind (journal) and Philosophical Review. He also delivered lectures at venues including the Cambridge University faculties, the Royal Institute of Philosophy, and various international centers for moral philosophy in United States, Canada, and Europe.

Philosophical work and major theories

Hare developed universal prescriptivism, a meta-ethical theory arguing that moral statements function as universalizable prescriptions rather than as expressions of emotion or reports of facts, engaging with ideas from Immanuel Kant on universalizability and from John Stuart Mill on utilitarian reasoning. He argued that moral language has a logical structure that demands consistency and that the force of moral judgment involves the speaker’s commitment to prescriptions applicable to all similar situations, thereby integrating elements of G. E. Moore’s non-naturalism critiques and responding to emotivist accounts like those of C. L. Stevenson and A. J. Ayer.

Hare’s account emphasizes two levels of moral thinking: intuitive moral judgments and critical moral reasoning, a distinction that dialogued with the work of W. D. Ross on prima facie duties and with R. M. Hare’s contemporaries such as Sidgwick-influenced utilitarians and critics from the Cambridge Moral Sciences Club. His notion of universalizability required that a moral prescription be applicable under universal adoption, drawing comparisons with Kantian ethics while maintaining commitment to a form of consequentialist assessment influenced by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.

Hare engaged with religious language and theological ethics, addressing debates involving Paul Tillich, C. S. Lewis, and theologians within Anglican circles. He analyzed how moral prescriptions intersect with theological claims, arguing both for the independence of ethical reasoning from specific doctrinal systems and for the compatibility of prescriptivist moral logic with serious theological reflection.

Major publications

Hare authored several influential works that circulated widely in philosophical and theological communities. Key publications include The Language of Morals, which proposed his universal prescriptivist thesis and elicited responses from scholars tied to Oxford University Press and reviewers in Mind (journal), and Freedom and Reason, which elaborated his two-level theory and addressed critiques from defenders of utilitarianism and deontological ethics. He also wrote Moral Thinking, a systematic presentation of his views on prescriptivism, and contributed essays in collections edited by figures associated with Cambridge University Press and Routledge.

His pieces appeared in edited volumes alongside essays by Philippa Foot, R. M. Hare’s contemporaries like Bernard Williams, and critics from Harvard and Yale faculties. He participated in symposia concerning meta-ethics, dialoguing with authors published by Blackwell Publishers and presenting at conferences organized by the American Philosophical Association.

Influence and legacy

Hare’s universal prescriptivism influenced succeeding generations of meta-ethicists, ethicists, and theologians, shaping discussions at institutions such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, Princeton University, and Harvard University. His work generated critical responses from proponents of virtue ethics like Philippa Foot and Alasdair MacIntyre, and it provoked debate with consequentialist theorists inspired by Henry Sidgwick and Peter Singer. Hare’s influence extended into applied ethics, legal philosophy, and debates on moral universalism versus relativism, with scholars at King’s College London and University College London engaging his ideas.

In British intellectual history his contributions are associated with mid-20th-century developments in analytic moral philosophy and with the broader conversation between analytic philosophy and Christian theology. Hare’s arguments continue to be taught in courses at universities worldwide and cited in literature on meta-ethics, moral reasoning, and religious ethics, sustaining an enduring presence in the canon of 20th-century moral philosophy.

Category:20th-century philosophers Category:British philosophers Category:Ethicists