Annette Baier
contemporaryAnalytic Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, Humean Ethics1929 – 2012
Annette Baier (1929–2012) was a New Zealand moral philosopher and professor at the University of Pittsburgh, widely regarded as one of the most important feminist philosophers of the twentieth century. She made foundational contributions to the philosophy of trust, moral psychology, and Hume scholarship, arguing that mainstream ethics had systematically neglected relationships of dependency, care, and the moral experience of women. Her work challenged Kantian autonomy-centered ethics in favor of a more naturalistic, sentiment-based moral theory rooted in the Humean tradition.
Notable Achievements
1
Developed a landmark philosophical account of trust in 'Trust and Antitrust' (1986), now foundational in the ethics of trust literature
2
Authored 'A Progress of Sentiments' (1991), a major reinterpretation of Hume's Treatise as a unified moral philosophy
3
Advanced feminist critique of male-biased moral theory in 'Moral Prejudices' (1994)
4
First woman elected president of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association
5
Contributed to moral psychology by centering emotion, care, and inter-dependence against purely rationalist ethical frameworks