[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-40287-en":3,"doc-seo-40287-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},40287,4398048950312,"Violet","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/400002538284de19e3c?_k=1778320343897328908",2,"Literature","The Grammar of Goodness: An Interview with Philippa Foot","An interview with Philippa Foot, focusing on her approach to philosophical inquiry and her views on moral judgment. Foot explains why philosophers should give “seductive but ridiculous” thoughts their day in court, using analogies and her own example of puzzlement about the phrase “if I were you.” The conversation also traces her intellectual formation and why the revelations of concentration camps drew her toward moral philosophy.","The Grammar of Goodness  \nAn Interview with Philippa Foot  \nHRP: AT THE BEGINNING OF NATURAL Goodness, you recall an intervention of Wittgenstein’s at a seminar at which a speaker realized that what he was about to say was, though seductive, clearly ridiculous. The speaker was trying to hit on something more sensible, and Wittgenstein said: “No. Say what you want to say! Be crude, and then we shall get on.” Why do you think this is good advice for philosophers?  \nFoot: I begin Natural Goodness with this remark, since I have found it excellent advice. Whenever I find myself tempted to pass over a weird thought, I try to do the opposite, and give this thought its day in court. So I advise people to stick with their seductive but really ridiculous  \nthoughts, because one may well strike gold just there.  \nHRP: How do you mean “strike gold”?  \nFoot: I think an analogy may help, though one must always be careful with  \nPhilippa Foot is Griffin Professor, Emerita, at UCLA and an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College at Oxford. Foot describes her career as oneof slow progress in developing a distinctive line ofthought on the nature of moral judgment and the rationality of acting morally. Asked to characterize herself as a philosopher, she says,”I’m not clever at all. I’m a dreadfully slow thinker, really. But I do have a good nose for what is important. And though the best philosophers combine cleverness and depth, I prefer a good nose over cleverness any day.“ She is also known for her writing on medical ethics. Her articles on these topics are collected in Virtues and Vices and Moral Dilemmas. The recently published Natural Goodness is her first book. This interview was conducted at Oxford by Alex Voorhoeve of University College London in September 2002. Alex Voorhoeve’s work was supported by the Mind Association Research Studentship 2002-2003.  \nTHE HARVARD REVIEW OF PHILOSOPHY XI 2003  \nanalogies. If one is talking with a therapist, and one finds oneself about to say something disreputable, the last thing one should do is to say something respectable instead. It is the same in a way with our philosophical thinking: the philosophical interest is where the trouble is. And that is why we should focus on the odd or crude thought that we actually had. At the beginning of Natural Goodness, I give the example of being puzzled by the expression “if I were you.” I remember when I was a child someone saying “I’d take my medicine if I were you!,” and thinking “no you wouldn’t, for I’m not going to take it!” I later realized that my puzzlement at this expression was due toa philosophical entanglement.  \nPerhaps it is because of this peculiar nature of philosophical questions that philosophy is very difficult to explain to non-philosophers. You know, Wittgenstein said that one lesson in philosophy is as useful as one lesson in piano playing, and I think that’s right!  \nHRP: How did you become interested in philosophy, and how did you come to study it?  \nFoot: I had no formal education as a child. I lived in the sort of milieu where there was a lot of hunting, shooting, and fishing, and where the girls simply did not go to college. But one of my governesses, who herself actually had a degree, said,“you could go to university, you know.” And so I decided to work for it. I was extremely ignorant, which is not surprising because most governesses weren’t themselves highly educated, and they were supposed tobe able to teach you everything! Anyway, I took some correspondence coursesand to my surprise was accepted by Somerville. I had put in for Somerville because I had heard that it was a college that was intellectually but not socially snobby, and I was working my way out of this socially snobby background. I decided to do the course in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics because I wanted to do something theoretical. I couldn’t do mathematics, by lack of education and talent. So I thought economics and philosophy would be the theoretical subjects I","cbCaivXNgcfvucP2","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivXNgcfvucP2","pdf",68087,5,1,13,"English","en",105,"# The Grammar of Goodness\n## Wittgenstein and the value of crude thoughts\n## Foot’s career and key works\n## Natural Goodness and philosophical puzzlement\n## Becoming a philosopher and focusing on moral philosophy","[{\"question\":\"Why does Philippa Foot recommend sticking with seductive but ridiculous thoughts?\",\"answer\":\"She argues that such thoughts may contain genuine insight. Philosophical progress can start where the trouble is, so giving odd or crude ideas careful attention can “strike gold.”\"},{\"question\":\"What is the “if I were you” example used to illustrate?\",\"answer\":\"Foot recalls being puzzled as a child by the expression “if I were you,” later linking that puzzlement to a philosophical entanglement. It serves as an example of how philosophical interest arises from questions that feel tangled or disorienting.\"},{\"question\":\"How did historical events influence Foot’s turn to moral philosophy?\",\"answer\":\"After returning to Oxford in 1945, Foot was confronted by news about the concentration camps. She found it shattering and concluded that simplistic accounts of morality as mere attitude expressions could not capture what was at stake.\"}]",1783309195,20,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":28},"the-grammar-of-goodness-an-interview-with-philippa-foot","",{"@graph":36,"@context":85},[37,53,68],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,47,50],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":11},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-grammar-of-goodness-an-interview-with-philippa-foot/40287/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":41,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-19","2026-07-06",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"Why does Philippa Foot recommend sticking with seductive but ridiculous thoughts?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"She argues that such thoughts may contain genuine insight. Philosophical progress can start where the trouble is, so giving odd or crude ideas careful attention can “strike gold.”","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"What is the “if I were you” example used to illustrate?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"Foot recalls being puzzled as a child by the expression “if I were you,” later linking that puzzlement to a philosophical entanglement. It serves as an example of how philosophical interest arises from questions that feel tangled or disorienting.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"How did historical events influence Foot’s turn to moral philosophy?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"After returning to Oxford in 1945, Foot was confronted by news about the concentration camps. 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