was German Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Fellow of All Souls College in Oxford. He has held a number of academic positions in Cambridge and London, and was Guest Professor at universities that have included Harvard en Princeton. His most important contributions deal with ethics, but Williams has also written about personal identity, character and the history of philosophy. He has been a member of several government committees and for several years a member of the board at the English National Opera. Williams’ publications include Making Sense of Humanity (1995), Morality (1993), Shame and Necessity (1993), Descartes. The Project of Pure Inquiry (1988), Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy (1985) and Moral Luck (1981).