He became known as a supporter of women in academia; the American philosopher Martha Nussbaum wrote that he was "as close to being a feminist as a powerful man of his generation could be".[5] He was also famously sharp in conversation. Oxford philosopher Gilbert Ryle once said of him that he "understands what you're going to say better than you understand it yourself, and sees all the possible objections to it, all the possible answers to all the possible objections, before you've got to the end of your sentence."[6]