Sissela Bok (b.1934,) née Myrdal, is a Swedish-American philosopher and ethicist known for her contributions to moral philosophy, public ethics, and human rights. The daughter of Nobel laureates Gunnar and Alva Myrdal, she has shaped discussions on truth, secrecy, and violence in society.
Bok earned her B.A. and M.A. in psychology from George Washington University (1957, 1958) and her PhD in philosophy from Harvard (1970.) She has held academic positions at Harvard, Brandeis University, and the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.
Her influential books include Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life (1978,) examining the ethics of deception; Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation (1982,) exploring privacy and transparency; A Strategy for Peace: Human Values and the Threat of War (1989,) advocating peacebuilding; Common Values (1995,) discussing universal moral principles; and Mayhem: Violence as Public Entertainment (1998,) critiquing media violence. Her later work, Exploring Happiness: From Aristotle to Brain Science (2010,) examines the philosophy and psychology of happiness.
Bok has received numerous honors, including the Orwell Award (1978) and the Courage of Conscience Award (1991) for her contributions to ethics and peace studies.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Sissela Bok
While all deception requires secrecy, all secrecy is not meant to deceive.
—Sissela Bok
Topics: Deception
Leave a Reply