Margaret MacDonald

Margaret MacDonald was a British analytic philosopher born in London on April 9, 1903. Abandoned as a child, she received her education at University College London, earning a first-class degree in philosophy in 1932 and a PhD in 1934, supervised by Susan Stebbing. She continued her studies at Girton College, Cambridge, as a Pfeiffer Research Fellow, where she studied under G.E. Moore and was part of Ludwig Wittgenstein's inner circle of students. MacDonald and Alice Ambrose secretly took notes during Wittgenstein's lectures, which were later published. Her career included teaching philosophy at St Hilda's College, Oxford, and later at Bedford College, London. During World War II, she worked in the Board of Trade. MacDonald also lectured on Ethics for the Home Office staff. Her early academic contributions involved critiques of contemporary philosophical works. She later shifted her focus to aesthetics, exploring the connections between language and art. In political philosophy, she authored the influential article "Natural Rights," challenging the notion that natural rights are grounded in natural law. Her essays were recognized for their significance, with two being reprinted in "Logic and Language" (1951). MacDonald's philosophical approach was influenced by Wittgenstein, and her work is thought to have informed Gilbert Ryle's philosophy. She co-founded the philosophy journal *Analysis* and served as its editor from 1948 until her death. Margaret MacDonald passed away in London on January 7, 1956, after undergoing heart surgery.