Margaret Gilbert (born 1942) is a British philosopher who contributed to the foundations of the analytic philosophy of social phenomena. She also made substantial contributions to the fields of political philosophy, the philosophy of law, and ethics. She is a Distinguished Professor and the Abraham I. Melden Chair in Moral Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine.
Life
Gilbert was born in the United Kingdom, the second and youngest child of Peter Gilbert, a north London jeweler, and his wife Miriam. The original family name Goldberg was Anglicised to Gilbert. All four of her grandparents had been born in the Pale of Settlement in Tsarist Russia (modern Poland and Lithuania).
She obtained a "double first" B.A. degree in Classics and Philosophy from Cambridge University and a B.Phil. and D.Phil. degree in Philosophy from Oxford University. From 1983 until 2006, she taught at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, where she was Professor of Philosophy, and became Professor Emerita. As of Fall 2006, she holds the Abraham I. Melden Chair in Moral Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine. She has been a visiting teacher and researcher at many academic institutions including Princeton University, the Institute for Advanced Study, the University of Pennsylvania, Indiana University, Wolfson College, Oxford, Technische Universität Dresden, King's College London, and the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences, and regularly gives invited lectures in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. Gilbert was married to philosopher Saul Kripke and is the sister of British historian Sir Martin Gilbert. In 2016, Margaret Gilbert was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2019 she was awarded the Lebowitz Prize for Philosophical Achievement and Contribution by Phi Beta Kappa in conjunction with the American Philosophical Association.
Works
In her book On Social Facts (1989) Gilbert presented novel accounts of a number of central social phenomena in the context of critical reflections on proposals by the founders of sociology Émile Durkheim, Georg Simmel, and Max Weber and others, including the philosopher David Lewis. The phenomena discussed include social conventions, social groups in a central sense of the term, group languages, collective belief, and acting together. Gilbert argued that these were all 'plural subject phenomena'. In a summary passage she wrote, with allusion to Rousseau, that "One is willing to be the member of a plural subject if one is willing, at least in relation to certain conditions, to put one's own will into a 'pool of wills' dedicated, as one, to a single goal (or whatever it is that the pool is dedicated to)" (p.18). If two or more people have openly expressed such willingness in relation to a particular goal, in conditions of common knowledge, then the pertinent pool of wills is set up. In other words, the people concerned constitute the plural subject of the goal. As an alternative to talking of a pool of wills Gilbert refers also to joint commitment as when she writes: "the wills of the parties are jointly committed" (p.198). In later work she has preferred the language of joint commitment. Gilbert compares the plural subject to the singular subject and argues, with allusion to Durkheim, that "In order for individual human beings to form collectivities, they must take on a special character, a 'new' character, insofar as they need not, qua human beings, have that character. Moreover, humans must form a whole or unit of a special kind...a plural subject" (p.431).
In subsequent writings Gilbert continued the development and application of her plural subject theory. Each of the essay collections Living Together (1996), Sociality and Responsibility (2000) and Marcher Ensemble (in French) (2003) is composed of relevant papers authored by Gilbert.
In her book A Theory of Political Obligation (2006; 2008) Gilbert offered a new perspective on a classical problem in political philosophy, generally known as 'the' problem of political obligation. As Gilbert makes clear in her book, there are many versions of this problem. She addresses the question whether there is something about one's being the member of a particular society that means one is obligated to uphold the political institutions of that society. Unlike most contemporary writers on the subject, she does not insist that the obligation in question is a matter of moral requirement. Gilbert argues that there are obligations of a different sort, and that these that are a function of membership in a political society construed as membership in a particular kind of plural subject constituted, as are all plural subjects, by a joint commitment.
Other topics Gilbert has addressed in one or more of her publications include agreements and promises, authority, collective emotions, collective responsibility, personal decisions and intentions, marital love, mutual recognition, patriotism, rights (in particular claim-rights), shared attention, shared values, social rules, and social unity.
Gilbert's essay collection Joint Commitment (2014) contains eighteen recent papers that together address most of the topics in the above list along with several others that Gilbert argues can be illuminated by an appeal to joint commitment.
Gilbert's book Rights and Demands (2018) is the first extended treatment of demand-rights, a class of rights that, she argues, are apt to be considered rights par excellence. To have a demand-right is to have the standing to demand an action of someone. That person is, correspondingly, obligated to the right-holder to perform the act in question. Seeking to answer the question "How are demand rights possible?" Gilbert argues for two main theses. First, joint commitment is a ground of demand-rights. Second, joint commitment may well be their only ground. In this connection Gilbert asks whether there are demand-rights whose existence can be demonstrated by moral argument without invoking a joint commitment, and finds wanting existing arguments to the effect that there are. She also argues against the possibility of accruing demand-rights through the existence of a given legal system or other institution without the involvement of a joint commitment. The final chapter of the book applies its findings to the topic of human rights.
In the course of Rights and Demands Gilbert engages with the work of central figures in contemporary rights theory such as H. L. A. Hart, Joseph Raz and Judith Thomson, and with prominent human rights theorists such as Charles Beitz and Alan Buchanan. She argues that promises and agreements - both commonly understood to ground demand-rights - are constituted by joint commitments, rejecting promise theorists' standard assumption that the obligations most closely associated with promises are a matter of moral requirement.
Gilbert's work has influenced a number of theorists outside philosophy including that of developmental psychologist Michael Tomasello.
Selected publications
Books
- On Social Facts, London, New York: Routledge, (1989, Reprinted 1992)
- Living Together: Rationality, Sociality, and Obligation, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, MD. (1996)
- Sociality and Responsibility: New Essays in Plural Subject Theory, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, MD. (2000)
- Marcher ensemble: Essais sur les fondements des phénomènes collectifs, Presses universitaires de France: Paris, France, (2003)
- A Theory of Political Obligation: Membership, Commitment, and the Bonds of Society, Oxford University Press: Oxford (2006)(2008)
- Joint Commitment: How We Make the Social World, Oxford University Press: New York (2014).
- Il Noi Collettivo: Impegno Congiunto e Mondo Sociale, Raffaelo Cortina: Milano (2015).
- Rights and Demands: A Foundational Inquiry, Oxford University Press: Oxford (2018).
See also
- Collective intentionality
References
- Focusing on Rights: An Interview with Margaret Gilbert Retrieved 27 April 2018
- Stoffmann, Judy (20 February 2015). "Obituary: Churchill biographer Sir Martin Gilbert immersed himself in history]". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- "Sir Martin Gilbert, historian – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 4 February 2015. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017.
- "Interview with Martin GilbertYuli Kosharovsky". kosharovsky.com. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- "Margaret Gilbert Professor of Philosophy". Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- "Faculty profile at the University of California, Irvine". Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "Newly Elected Fellows". members.amacad.org. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- "2019 Lebowitz Prize Awarded to Philosophers Bratman and Gilbert". 27 June 2019.
- Rescorla, Michael (2019), "Convention", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2019 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 22 October 2019
- "See sections 2.3, 4.1, and 5 of 'Political Obligation'". Retrieved 27 April 2018.
External links
Margaret Gilbert born 1942 is a British philosopher who contributed to the foundations of the analytic philosophy of social phenomena She also made substantial contributions to the fields of political philosophy the philosophy of law and ethics She is a Distinguished Professor and the Abraham I Melden Chair in Moral Philosophy at the University of California Irvine LifeGilbert was born in the United Kingdom the second and youngest child of Peter Gilbert a north London jeweler and his wife Miriam The original family name Goldberg was Anglicised to Gilbert All four of her grandparents had been born in the Pale of Settlement in Tsarist Russia modern Poland and Lithuania She obtained a double first B A degree in Classics and Philosophy from Cambridge University and a B Phil and D Phil degree in Philosophy from Oxford University From 1983 until 2006 she taught at the University of Connecticut Storrs where she was Professor of Philosophy and became Professor Emerita As of Fall 2006 she holds the Abraham I Melden Chair in Moral Philosophy at the University of California Irvine She has been a visiting teacher and researcher at many academic institutions including Princeton University the Institute for Advanced Study the University of Pennsylvania Indiana University Wolfson College Oxford Technische Universitat Dresden King s College London and the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences and regularly gives invited lectures in the United States Europe and elsewhere Gilbert was married to philosopher Saul Kripke and is the sister of British historian Sir Martin Gilbert In 2016 Margaret Gilbert was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences In 2019 she was awarded the Lebowitz Prize for Philosophical Achievement and Contribution by Phi Beta Kappa in conjunction with the American Philosophical Association WorksIn her book On Social Facts 1989 Gilbert presented novel accounts of a number of central social phenomena in the context of critical reflections on proposals by the founders of sociology Emile Durkheim Georg Simmel and Max Weber and others including the philosopher David Lewis The phenomena discussed include social conventions social groups in a central sense of the term group languages collective belief and acting together Gilbert argued that these were all plural subject phenomena In a summary passage she wrote with allusion to Rousseau that One is willing to be the member of a plural subject if one is willing at least in relation to certain conditions to put one s own will into a pool of wills dedicated as one to a single goal or whatever it is that the pool is dedicated to p 18 If two or more people have openly expressed such willingness in relation to a particular goal in conditions of common knowledge then the pertinent pool of wills is set up In other words the people concerned constitute the plural subject of the goal As an alternative to talking of a pool of wills Gilbert refers also to joint commitment as when she writes the wills of the parties are jointly committed p 198 In later work she has preferred the language of joint commitment Gilbert compares the plural subject to the singular subject and argues with allusion to Durkheim that In order for individual human beings to form collectivities they must take on a special character a new character insofar as they need not qua human beings have that character Moreover humans must form a whole or unit of a special kind a plural subject p 431 In subsequent writings Gilbert continued the development and application of her plural subject theory Each of the essay collections Living Together 1996 Sociality and Responsibility 2000 and Marcher Ensemble in French 2003 is composed of relevant papers authored by Gilbert In her book A Theory of Political Obligation 2006 2008 Gilbert offered a new perspective on a classical problem in political philosophy generally known as the problem of political obligation As Gilbert makes clear in her book there are many versions of this problem She addresses the question whether there is something about one s being the member of a particular society that means one is obligated to uphold the political institutions of that society Unlike most contemporary writers on the subject she does not insist that the obligation in question is a matter of moral requirement Gilbert argues that there are obligations of a different sort and that these that are a function of membership in a political society construed as membership in a particular kind of plural subject constituted as are all plural subjects by a joint commitment Other topics Gilbert has addressed in one or more of her publications include agreements and promises authority collective emotions collective responsibility personal decisions and intentions marital love mutual recognition patriotism rights in particular claim rights shared attention shared values social rules and social unity Gilbert s essay collection Joint Commitment 2014 contains eighteen recent papers that together address most of the topics in the above list along with several others that Gilbert argues can be illuminated by an appeal to joint commitment Gilbert s book Rights and Demands 2018 is the first extended treatment of demand rights a class of rights that she argues are apt to be considered rights par excellence To have a demand right is to have the standing to demand an action of someone That person is correspondingly obligated to the right holder to perform the act in question Seeking to answer the question How are demand rights possible Gilbert argues for two main theses First joint commitment is a ground of demand rights Second joint commitment may well be their only ground In this connection Gilbert asks whether there are demand rights whose existence can be demonstrated by moral argument without invoking a joint commitment and finds wanting existing arguments to the effect that there are She also argues against the possibility of accruing demand rights through the existence of a given legal system or other institution without the involvement of a joint commitment The final chapter of the book applies its findings to the topic of human rights In the course of Rights and Demands Gilbert engages with the work of central figures in contemporary rights theory such as H L A Hart Joseph Raz and Judith Thomson and with prominent human rights theorists such as Charles Beitz and Alan Buchanan She argues that promises and agreements both commonly understood to ground demand rights are constituted by joint commitments rejecting promise theorists standard assumption that the obligations most closely associated with promises are a matter of moral requirement Gilbert s work has influenced a number of theorists outside philosophy including that of developmental psychologist Michael Tomasello Selected publicationsBooks On Social Facts London New York Routledge 1989 Reprinted 1992 Living Together Rationality Sociality and Obligation Rowman and Littlefield Lanham MD 1996 Sociality and Responsibility New Essays in Plural Subject Theory Rowman and Littlefield Lanham MD 2000 Marcher ensemble Essais sur les fondements des phenomenes collectifs Presses universitaires de France Paris France 2003 A Theory of Political Obligation Membership Commitment and the Bonds of Society Oxford University Press Oxford 2006 2008 Joint Commitment How We Make the Social World Oxford University Press New York 2014 Il Noi Collettivo Impegno Congiunto e Mondo Sociale Raffaelo Cortina Milano 2015 Rights and Demands A Foundational Inquiry Oxford University Press Oxford 2018 See alsoCollective intentionalityReferencesFocusing on Rights An Interview with Margaret Gilbert Retrieved 27 April 2018 Stoffmann Judy 20 February 2015 Obituary Churchill biographer Sir Martin Gilbert immersed himself in history The Globe and Mail Retrieved 11 August 2020 Sir Martin Gilbert historian obituary The Daily Telegraph 4 February 2015 Archived from the original on 18 September 2017 Interview with Martin GilbertYuli Kosharovsky kosharovsky com Retrieved 23 October 2019 Margaret Gilbert Professor of Philosophy Archived from the original on 9 August 2011 Retrieved 28 January 2013 Faculty profile at the University of California Irvine Retrieved 27 April 2018 Newly Elected Fellows members amacad org Retrieved 22 October 2019 2019 Lebowitz Prize Awarded to Philosophers Bratman and Gilbert 27 June 2019 Rescorla Michael 2019 Convention in Zalta Edward N ed The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Summer 2019 ed Metaphysics Research Lab Stanford University retrieved 22 October 2019 See sections 2 3 4 1 and 5 of Political Obligation Retrieved 27 April 2018 External linkshttp www faculty uci edu profile cfm faculty id 5365
