Timo Airaksinen (born 25 April 1947 in

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

in the Discipline of Social and Moral Philosophy at

Helsinki University The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Tsar Al ...

. By longstanding tradition in the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

, the philosophy faculty is divided into two major areas, the practical and the theoretical. He graduated from the

University of Turku The University of Turku (, shortened ''UTU'') is a multidisciplinary public university with eight faculties located in the city of Turku in southwestern Finland. The university also has campuses in Rauma and Pori and research stations in Kevo ...

in 1971 and defended his doctoral dissertation ''The Hegelianism of Bradley and McTaggart'' in 1975. He specializes in

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

and

social philosophy Social philosophy is the study and interpretation of society and social institutions in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations. Social philosophers emphasize understanding the social contexts for political, legal, moral and cultur ...

ethics of technology The ethics of technology is a sub-field of ethics addressing ethical questions specific to the technology age, the transitional shift in society wherein personal computers and subsequent devices provide for the quick and easy transfer of informa ...

, the

history of philosophy The history of philosophy is the systematic study of the development of philosophical thought. It focuses on philosophy as rational inquiry based on argumentation, but some theorists also include myth, religious traditions, and proverbial lor ...

, and education. He has written on a wide range of topics dealing with these issues, from the thinking of

Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered to be one of the founders ...

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade ( ; ; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814) was a French writer, libertine, political activist and nobleman best known for his libertine novels and imprisonment for sex crimes, blasphemy and pornography ...

. Airaksinen also regularly contributes to public debate in Finland and has had a column in the newspaper

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

. Timo Airaksinen is a member of the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...

s of the leading Finnish philosophical journal Acta Philosophica Fennica and of the yearbook

Berkeley Studies ''Berkeley Studies'' (''Berkeley Newsletter'' until December 2007) is an annual on-line academic journal established in 1977. It publishes scholarly articles on anything related to George Berkeley. The journal also gives news of the last events in ...

. Also he was the vice-president of the International Berkeley Society.

Selection of Airaksinen's works in English

* ''Ethics of coercion and authority. A philosophical study of social life'', 1988 . * ''Of glamor, Sex and De Sade'', 1991 . * ''The Philosophy of the Marquis de Sade'', 1995 . * ''The Philosophy of H. P. Lovecraft. The route to horror'', 1999 . * "Hobbes on the passions and powerlessness", ''Hobbes Studies'', 6/1993, pp. 80–104. * "Service and Science in Professional Life", ''Ethics and the Professions'', 1994, pp. 1–13

References

Atheist philosophers Finnish atheists Finnish philosophers Academic staff of the University of Helsinki 1947 births Living people People from Vaasa George Berkeley scholars University of Turku alumni {{Finland-philosopher-stub