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Torbjorn Tannsjo Biography

Torbjörn Tännsjö (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈtuːrbjœɳ ˈtɛnˈɧøː]; born 1946 in Västerås) is a Swedish professor of philosophy and public intellectual. He has held a chair in Practical Philosophy at Stockholm University since 2002 and he is Affiliated Professor of Medical Ethics at Karolinska Institute. Tännsjö was Associate Professor of Philosophy at Stockholm University from 1976 to 1993 and Research Fellow in Political Philosophy at the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences between 1993 and 1995. Thereafter, he was a professor of Practical Philosophy at Göteborg University 1995-2001.

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Torbjorn Tannsjo Quotes

When I was in my late teens I was already interested in philosophy.

Already, Late, Philosophy, Teens

Even where people in different cultures agree they may all have gone wrong.

Culture, Cultures, Different, People

Moral nihilism comes with a price we can now see.

Moral, Nihilism, Price, See

The best explanation why people agree is that they have converged on true answers.

Agree, Answers, Explanation, People

The democratic thought is based on that 'ordinary people' are suitable to rule themselves.

Based, Democracy, Ordinary, People, Rule, Thought

It is true (independently of our conceptualisation) that it is wrong to inflict pain on a sentient creature for no reason (she doesn't deserve it, I haven't promised to do it, it is not helpful to this creature or to anyone else if I do it, and so forth). But if this is a truth, existing independently of our conceptualisation, then at least one moral fact (this one) exists and moral realism is true. We have to accept this, I submit, unless we can find strong reasons to think otherwise.

Creature, Pain, Realism, Strong, Submit, Thinking

I want to think that there are better ways of obviating murder than to resort to capital punishment, but I realise that this may be wishful thinking on my part.

May, Punishment, Think, Thinking, Wishful

You should not take the content of your intuitive response as evidence until you have submitted your psychological reaction to what I call cognitive psychotherapy. You should do what you can to learn as much as possible about the origin of your reaction.

Possible, Psychological, Reactions, Response, Should

The perspective that many today are beginning to see as fully realistic is that democracy in our country, and in our part of the world, will suffer the same fate as the Swedish monarchy did before. The democracy is beeing emptied of all power political content at the same time as the forms remain, treated with reverence and preservasion.

Country, Fate, Part, Perspective, Power, Same

I look at the most promising putative moral theories. I construct crucial thought experiments in areas where they give conflicting advice. I confront their conflicting advice with my own moral sensitivity, my moral intuition. I take the theory that can best explain the content of my intuitions as gaining inductive support through an inference to the best explanation.

Advice, Giving, Intuitions, Support, Theories, Thought

You are only allowed to treat the content of your intuition as evidence if the intuition stays after you have exposed it to cognitive psychotherapy; in some cases you have to reject it even if it does indeed stay.

Cases, Doe, Intuition, Reject, Treats

One way of submitting your moral intuitions in relation to some issue to cognitive therapy is to learn more about how people in other cultures think about it.

Cultures, Issues, Learn, Other Cultures, Relation, Thinking

I have been brought up in a culture where capital punishment is indeed anathema. I have always thought of myself as a principled opponent to capital punishment. However, when thinking about how the topic is handled in other cultures, in particular the American, Russian and Chinese ones, I have realised that my own tack on the issue was utterly superficial.

Culture, Issues, Other Cultures, Particular, Realised, Thinking

It is obvious, I think, that national democracy withers. This has to do with globalisation.

Democracy, National, Obvious, Think, Thinking

We should not accept moral nihilism unless we find strong arguments to do so.

Arguments, Moral, Nihilism, Strong

Are there any good arguments in defence of moral nihilism? I think not.

Arguments, Defence, Moral, Nihilism, Thinking

It is of note that for a long time moral nihilism was a kind of unquestioned default position in analytic moral philosophy.

Kind, Long, Nihilism, Note, Philosophy

I wanted to know what it means to know something, whether we can know at all, and, if so, how.

Know, Knows, Mean, Wanted

We can be certain that, if there are conflicting views in different cultures, some of these views must be false. This may help us to transcend our own narrow cultural horizon.

Culture, Different, Help, Horizon, Views

In many European countries we have populist indirect democratic systems. The people elect, in a proportionate manner, a parliament. The parliament with all its parties is representative of the political opinions among the citizens. It is reasonable to claim that the people rule itself through the political institutions.

Countries, Country, Parties, Party, Political Opinions, Reasonable

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