Sissela Bok (born Myrdal; 2 December 1934) is a Swedish-born American philosopher and ethicist, the daughter of two

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winners:

Gunnar Myrdal Karl Gunnar Myrdal ( ; ; 6 December 1898 – 17 May 1987) was a Swedish economist and sociologist. In 1974, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences along with Friedrich Hayek for "their pioneering work in the theory of money an ...

who won the Economics prize with

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek (8 May 1899 – 23 March 1992) was an Austrian-born British academic and philosopher. He is known for his contributions to political economy, political philosophy and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobe ...

in 1974, and Alva Myrdal who won the

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in 1982. She is considered one of the premier American moral philosophers of the latter part of the 20th century.Sissela Ann Bok

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Biography

Bok received her B.A. and M.A. in psychology from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

in 1957 and 1958, and her Ph.D. in philosophy from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1970. She worked at Simmons University (1971–72), the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (1975–82),

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

(1985–92), and the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health (1993–2022). Bok is married to Derek Bok, former president (1971–1991, interim 2006–2007) of Harvard. Her daughter, Hilary Bok, is also a philosopher. Her brother, Jan Myrdal, was a political writer and journalist. Bok was awarded the Orwell Award in 1978 for '' Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life''. Bok was awarded the Courage of Conscience award on 24 April 1991 "for her contributions to peacemaking strategies in the tradition of her mother."

Books

* '' Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life'' (Pantheon Books, 1978; Vintage paperback editions, 1979, 1989, 1999). * ''Secrets: on the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation'' (Pantheon Books, 1982; Vintage paperback editions, 1984, 1989). * ''A Strategy for Peace: Human Values and the Threat of War'' (Pantheon Books, 1989; Vintage paperback edition, 1990). * ''Alva Myrdal: A Daughter's Memoir'' (Addison-Wesley, 1991; paperback edition 1992). * ''Common Values'' (University of Missouri Press, 1995; paperback edition 2002). * ''Mayhem: Violence as Public Entertainment'' (Perseus, 1998; paperback edition 1999). * ''Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide'', with Gerald Dworkin and Ray Frey (Cambridge University Press, 1998). * ''Exploring Happiness: From Aristotle to Brain Science'' (

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, 2010).

References

External links

*
The Pursuits of Happiness - Lowell Lecture
October 2003

on PBS' NewsHour "Mayhem" as Entertainment" 1998

Alumni Bulletin, Harvard University Extension School, Vol. 37, Fall 2003, pp. 3–11.
"Rethinking the WHO Definition of Health"
Working Paper, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Vol. 14, No. 7 October 004
Sissela Bok: Honesty in Public Life (Real Audio from WETS FM)

at alumni.ecolint.net * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bok, Sissela 1934 births 20th-century American philosophers Continental philosophers American ethicists Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health faculty Living people Swedish emigrants to the United States American women philosophers 21st-century American philosophers Swedish women writers American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers Fellows of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 21st-century American women