W. D. Ross

Sir William David Ross (15 April 1877 – 5 May 1971), known as David Ross but usually cited as W. D. Ross, was a Scottish Aristotelian philosopher, translator, WWI veteran, civil servant, and university administrator. His best-known work is *The Right and the Good* (1930), in which he developed a pluralist, deontological form of intuitionist ethics in response to G. E. Moore's consequentialist form of intuitionism. Ross also critically edited and translated a number of Aristotle's works, such as his 12-volume translation of Aristotle together with John Alexander Smith, and wrote on other Greek philosophy. He was born in Thurso, Scotland, and educated at the University of Edinburgh and Balliol College, Oxford. After serving in World War I, he held several prominent academic positions at Oxford University, including White's Professor of Moral Philosophy and Provost of Oriel College. Ross's ethical theory emphasizes the existence of multiple, self-evident moral duties (prima facie duties) that may sometimes conflict, with the actual right action determined by the weightiest of these duties in a given situation. He argued against reducing moral obligations solely to the consequences of actions, advocating instead for a pluralistic view of moral values and obligations. His work has been influential in contemporary moral philosophy.