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196Consent theory for libertariansSocial Philosophy and Policy 22 (1): 330-356. 2005.This paper argues that libertarian political philosophers, including Robert Nozick, have erred in neglecting the problem of political obligation and that they ought to embrace an actual consent theory of political obligation and state legitimacy. It argues as well that if they followed this recommendation, their position on the subject would be correct. I identify the tension in libertarian (and especially Nozick's) thought between its minimalist and its consensualist strains and argue that, on …Read more
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56Political philosophyOxford University Press. 2008.The most recent addition to the Fundamentals of Philosophy Series, Political Philosophy is a concise yet thorough and highly engaging introduction to the essential problems of the discipline. Organized topically and presented in a straightforward manner by an eminent political philosopher, A. John Simmons, it investigates the nature and basis of political authority and the structure and organization of political life. Each chapter focuses on a central problem, considers how it could be addressed…Read more
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277On the Territorial Rights of StatesNoûs 35 (s1): 300-326. 2001.When officials of some political society portray their state as legitimate - and when do they not! - they intend to be laying claim to a large body of rights, the rights in which their state's legitimacy allegedly consists. The rights claimed are minimally those that states must exercise if they are to retain effective control over their territories and populations in a world composed of numerous autonomous states. Often the rights states are trying to claim in asserting their legitimacy go far …Read more
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2Justification and Legitimacy: Essays on Rights and ObligationsLaw and Philosophy 22 (2): 195-216. 2003.A. John Simmons is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and creative of today's political philosophers. His work on political obligation is regarded as definitive and he is also internationally respected as an interpreter of John Locke. The characteristic features of clear argumentation and careful scholarship that have been hallmarks of his philosophy are everywhere evident in this collection. The essays focus on the problems of political obligation and state legitimacy as well as on h…Read more
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26Democracy’s Discontent: America in Search of a Public PhilosophyPhilosophical Review 107 (1): 133. 1998.As its subtitle indicates, Democracy’s Discontent is a study of the political philosophies that have guided America’s public life. The “search” Michael Sandel describes has, in his view, temporarily come to a disappointing resolution in America’s acceptance of a liberal “public philosophy” that “cannot secure the liberty it promises” and has left Americans “discontented” with their “loss of self-government and the erosion of community”. This theme is unlikely to surprise readers familiar with Sa…Read more
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196Associative political obligationsEthics 106 (2): 247-273. 1996.It is claimed by philosophers as diverse as Burke, Walzer, Dworkin, and MacIntyre that our political obligations are best understood as "associative" or "communal" obligations--that is, as obligations that require neither voluntary undertaking nor justification by "external" moral principles, but rather as "local" moral responsibilities whose normative weight derives entirely from their assignment by social practice. This paper identifies three primary lines of argument that appear to support su…Read more
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17Reasonable Expectations and Obligations: A Reply to PostowSouthern Journal of Philosophy 19 (1): 123-127. 1981.
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6Part 2. consent and governmentIn On the Edge of Anarchy: Locke, Consent, and the Limits of Society, Princeton University Press. pp. 57-98. 1995.
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355Moral Principles and Political ObligationsPrinceton University Press. 1979.Every political theorist will need this book . . . . It is more 'important' than 90% of the work published in philosophy."--Joel Feinberg, University of Arizona.
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145“Denisons” and “Aliens”: Locke's Problem of Political ConsentSocial Theory and Practice 24 (2): 161-182. 1998.Locke appears to be committed to the peculiar views that native-born residents and visiting aliens have the same political status (since both are tacit consenters) and that real political societies have very few "members" with full rights and duties (since only express consenters seem to be counted as "members"). Locke, however, also subscribes to a principle governing our understanding of the content of vague or inexplicit consent: such consent is consent to all and only that which is necessary…Read more
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49The Limits of Lockean Rights in Property (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 58 (4): 997-999. 1998.
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3Part 3. the limits of societyIn On the Edge of Anarchy: Locke, Consent, and the Limits of Society, Princeton University Press. pp. 99-192. 1995.
Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Social and Political Philosophy |
Philosophy of Law |
Value Theory |
Areas of Interest
History of Western Philosophy |