PHILOSOPHER

Judith Jarvis Thomson

1929 - 2020

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Judith Jarvis Thomson (October 4, 1929 – November 20, 2020) was an American philosopher who studied and worked on ethics and metaphysics. Her work ranges across a variety of fields, but she is most known for her work regarding the thought experiment titled the trolley problem and her writings on abortion. She is credited with naming, developing, and initiating the extensive literature on the trolley problem first posed by Philippa Foot which has found a wide range use since. Thomson also published a paper titled "A Defense of Abortion", which makes the argument that the procedure is morally permissible even if it is assumed that a fetus is a person with a right to life. Read more on Wikipedia

Her biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Judith Jarvis Thomson is the 1,205th most popular philosopher (down from 1,186th in 2019), the 9,725th most popular biography from United States (down from 8,067th in 2019) and the 71st most popular American Philosopher.

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Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Judith Jarvis Thomson ranks 1,205 out of 1,267Before her are Bernard Lonergan, John Peckham, James Burnham, Hermann Lietz, David Benatar, and Sara Danius. After her are Michael Novak, Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Alister McGrath, George Henry Lewes, R. C. Sproul, and Paul Kurtz.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1929, Judith Jarvis Thomson ranks 479Before her are Irwin I. Shapiro, Ferdinand Oyono, Ali Mirzaei, Jan Hertl, Richard Bass, and Harry Blanchard. After her are Goffredo Parise, Utpal Dutt, Aulis Rytkönen, Ahmed Kathrada, Carlos Torres, and Gabriel Ochoa Uribe. Among people deceased in 2020, Judith Jarvis Thomson ranks 627Before her are Miguel Jones, Gregory Areshian, Seydou Diarra, Adam Musiał, Christian Poncelet, and Dimitar Largov. After her are Tom Heinsohn, Vladislav Krapivin, Li Wenliang, Juan José Pizzuti, Spencer Davis, and Hadi Khosroshahi.

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Judith Jarvis Thomson ranks 9,727 out of 20,380Before her are Edward Givens (1930), Howard Deutch (1950), Warren Kealoha (1903), Tadd Dameron (1917), Ashley Graham (1987), and Franklin Graham (1952). After her are Robert F. Overmyer (1936), Anna J. Harrison (1912), Jimmy Garrison (1934), David Hess (1936), Herbert Boyer (1936), and Steven Mnuchin (1962).

Among PHILOSOPHERS In United States

Among philosophers born in United States, Judith Jarvis Thomson ranks 71Before her are Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1787), Alexander Berzin (1944), William Alston (1921), Marshall Berman (1940), Robert Brandom (1950), and James Burnham (1905). After her are Michael Novak (1933), R. C. Sproul (1939), Paul Kurtz (1925), David Ray Griffin (1939), Charles Hartshorne (1897), and Gary L. Francione (1954).