
1929 – 2020
Judith Jarvis Thomson was an American moral philosopher at MIT, renowned for her work in ethics and metaphysics. She is best known for her influential defense of abortion rights through the 'violinist' thought experiment and her extensive contributions to the theory of rights, action theory, and moral philosophy.
Developed the famous violinist thought experiment in 'A Defense of Abortion' (1971)
Made major contributions to the trolley problem literature, distinguishing killing from letting die
Authored 'The Realm of Rights' (1990), a systematic theory of rights
Contributed to action theory and the metaphysics of events in 'Acts and Other Events' (1977)
One of the first women to receive tenure in philosophy at a major US university (MIT)