Marcus George Singer

Marcus George Singer (January 4, 1926 – February 21, 2016) was an American philosopher. He was born in New York City. His father, David Singer, a lawyer, died when Singer was nine. His mother, Esther Kobre Singer, was a pianist and typist of braille books. Singer enlisted in the US Army Air Corps Reserves in 1943 and served in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1944 to 1945 as an aerial engineer and pilot trainee. After the war, he attended the University of Illinois, graduating with High Honors in Philosophy and Phi Beta Kappa in 1948. He earned his Ph.D. in Philosophy at Cornell University in 1952. Singer then accepted a teaching position at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he taught until 1994. He was married to Blanche Ladenson Singer for nearly 70 years. He died in 2016 after a chronic illness. Singer was known for his curiosity, humor, and enthusiasm. He had two daughters, Karen and Debra, and one grandchild, Isaac. His friend, Claudia Card, also a philosophy professor at UW-Madison, pre-deceased him. Singer's early work focused on the generalization argument in ethics, arguing that an action is ethical if it would be acceptable for anyone in a similar situation. This is similar to Immanuel Kant's universalizability principle. His 1961 book, "Generalization in Ethics – An Essay in the Logic of Ethics, with the Rudiments of a System of Moral Philosophy," was a significant study of this topic. His writings also covered the moral philosophies of John Stuart Mill and Henry Sidgwick, and his views on utilitarianism were influential. In his later years, Singer's work focused on the concept of 'Evil' in the world. He also served as Chairman of the UW Philosophy Department from 1963 to 1968 and as president of the American Philosophical Association, Central Division, from 1985 to 1986. He was a supporter of civil liberties, free thought, environmental and social justice, and other causes, believing that silence in the face of evil makes one complicit.