Murphy, Jeffrie

Introduction

In his most recent book, Punishment and the Moral Emotions, Jeffrie Murphy describes his own work this way:

I am essentially an essayist with, at any given time, a forty-page attention span…I think mainly in terms of the big picture, not of details, and I generally paint impressionistically in rather broad strokes. In each essay I conduct a conversation with myself and share that conversation with others in the hope that they might find their own thinking stimulates by mine. (2012, 222, emphasis original)

Murphy’s works reflects the “big picture” style of philosophy. He thoughtfully and fearlessly tackles large, rich topics without too much concern for neat boundaries and fine distinctions. His writing is conversational, humorous, often passionate, and always entertaining. He much prefers to think of philosophy as, quoting Richard Rorty, “advancing the conversation” (2012, 222). The result is less systematic but important and interesting work that has influenced the...