The men who dominated British philosophy from the 1920s to the 1950s all agreed: there is a strict dichotomy between facts and values. The world itself contains only facts, values arise only from our own subjective judgements. But four brilliant women philosophers disagreed. Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley and Iris Murdoch thought the image of the world devoid of value was wrong. They would go on to change the field of moral philosophy forever, writes Benjamin J.B. Lipscomb.

Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Mary Midgley and Iris Murdoch met in Oxford as undergraduates and supported and inspired one another for the rest of their lives. I recently published a book about the interweaving lives and work of this extraordinary quartet of twentieth-century philosophers. When my publisher proposed a subtitle that referenced how they revolutionized ethics, I hesitated. Had these four revolutionized ethics? (Has anyone?)