Philippa Foot

Philippa Ruth Foot (née Bosanquet; 3 October 1920 – 3 October 2010) was an English philosopher and one of the founders of contemporary virtue ethics. Her work was inspired by Aristotelian ethics. Along with Judith Jarvis Thomson, she is credited with inventing the trolley problem. Foot was educated at Somerville College, Oxford, where she later held various academic positions throughout her life. She also held visiting professorships in the United States. Her philosophical work focused on ethics, particularly a critique of non-cognitivism and a revival of virtue ethics. She explored the relationship between morality and human reasons, and her book "Natural Goodness" presented a novel approach linking practical reason to the concept of species-typical functioning. Foot was an atheist and was once married to the historian M. R. D. Foot. She died on her 90th birthday.