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1A comparative study of the philosophies Socrates and of traditional Mahayana Buddhist doctrines finding similarities in epistemology, but differences on its application.
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59On F. H. Bradley’s “Some Remarks on Punishment”Ethics 125 (1). 2014.Most philosophers reject what we might call "penal pluralism": the idea that punishment can and should encompass multiple penal goals or principles. This is rejected because it is often held that different penal goals or principles will conflict: the goal of punishing an offender to the degree deserved may differ and even undermine the goal of enabling deterrence or rehabilitation. For this reason, most philosophers argue that we must make a choice, such as choosing between retribution and its a…Read more
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85The Bible and Capital PunishmentPhilosophy and Theology 22 (1-2): 279-283. 2010.Many Christians are split on whether they believe we should endorse or oppose capital punishment. Each side claims Biblical support for their professed position. This essay cannot hope to bring this debate to a conclusion. However, it will try to offer a different perspective. The essay recognizes that the Bible itself offers statements in support of each position. The proposed way forward is not to claim there is a contradiction, but to place greater emphasis on understanding these statements i…Read more
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109Knowledge and Power in Plato’s Political ThoughtInternational Journal of Philosophical Studies 14 (1). 2006.Plato justifies the concentration and exercise of power for persons endowed with expertise in political governance. This article argues that this justification takes two distinctly different sets of arguments. The first is what I shall call his 'ideal political philosophy' described primarily in the Republic as rule by philosopher-kings wielding absolute authority over their subjects. Their authority stems solely from their comprehension of justice, from which they make political judgements on b…Read more
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59British IdealismOxford Bibliographies Online. 2011.British idealism flourished in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries. It was a movement with a lasting influence on the social and political thought of its time in particular. British idealists helped popularize the work of Immanuel Kant and G. W. F. Hegel in the Anglophone world, but they also sought to use insights from the philosophies of Kant and Hegel to help create a new idealism to address the many pressing issues of the Victorian period in Britain and its aftermath. These contri…Read more
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115Rethinking remedial responsibilitiesEthics and Global Politics 4 (3): 195-202. 2011.How should we determine which nations have a responsibility to remedy suffering elsewhere? The problem is pressing because, following David Miller, ‘[it] is morally intolerable if (remediable) suffering and deprivation are allowed to continue . . . where they exist we are morally bound to hold somebody (some person or collective agent) responsible for relieving them’. Miller offers a connection theory of remedial responsibilities in response to this problem, a theory he has been developing over …Read more
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34Does Bevir's The Logic of the History of Ideas Improve Our Understanding of Hegel's Philosophy of Right?The European Legacy 11 (7): 765-774. 2006.Mark Bevir's The Logic of the History of Ideas has received considerable attention recently. This article highlights a new problem with his weak intentionalism. Bevir's weak intentionalism holds that on occasion the meanings readers ascribe to texts may trump the meanings the authors express in texts. The article uses the example of Hegel's theory of punishment. The received wisdom is that Hegel is a pure retributivist. Yet, this strays far from his text and stated views. We might think we shoul…Read more
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Intencionálně nový způsob myšlení o volbáchFilosoficky Casopis 52 483-488. 2004.[An intentionally new way of thinking about voting] Voting ethics
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22Rousseau and LawRoutledge. 2005.Jean-Jacques Rousseau stands as one of the most influential figures in the history of philosophy. His masterpiece-The Social Contract-has had a profound effect on legal and political theorists ever since its appearance. Rousseau and Law presents for the first time in one collection the most important contemporary work exploring his many contributions to legal theory. These essays deal with a variety of issues, such as social contract theories, democratic rights, fundamental law, natural law and …Read more
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135Beyond retributionThink 13 (38): 47-50. 2014.Retribution enjoys an unwarranted appeal from the public and its politicians. This is because it is impractical and perhaps even incoherent. This does not mean that we should reject the importance of morality for criminal justice nor should we reject the link between desert and proportionality. Nevertheless, we can reject the way retribution has understood these ideas in defense of a more plausible and compelling alternative
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18Hegel's Philosophy of Right (edited book)Wiley-Blackwell. 2011.Hegel's Philosophy of Right presents a collection of new essays by leading international philosophers and Hegel scholars that analyze and explore Hegel's key contributions in the areas of ethics, politics, and the law. •The most comprehensive collection on Hegel's Philosophy of Right available •Features new essays by leading international Hegel interpreters divided in sections of ethics, politics, and law •Presents significant new research on Hegel's Philosophy of Right that will set a new stand…Read more
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1A new approach (review)The Philosophers' Magazine 54 110-111. 2011.Review of Martha Nussbaum's book Creating Capabilities
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78Cosmopolitanism and distributing responsibilitiesCritical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 5 (3): 92-97. 2002.David Miller raises a number of interesting concerns with both weak and strong variants of cosmopolitanism. As an alternative, he defends a connection theory to address remedial responsibilities amongst states. This connection theory is problematic as it endorses a position where states that are causally and morally responsible for deprivation and suffering in other states may not be held remedially responsible for their actions. In addition, there is no international mechanism to ensure either …Read more
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254Equality and DemocracyEthical Perspectives 14 (1): 3-12. 2007.In a recent article, Thomas Christiano defends the intrinsic justice of democracy grounded in the principle of equal consideration of interests. Each citizen is entitled to a single vote, equal in weight to all other citizens. The problem with this picture is that all citizens must meet a threshold of minimal competence. My argument is that Christiano is wrong to claim a minimum threshold of competency is fully consistent with the principle of equality. While standards of minimal competency may…Read more
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53Punishment and Moral SentimentsReview of Metaphysics 66 (2): 281-293. 2012.What is the relationship between our moral sentiments and the justification of punishment? One position is that our moral sentiments provide for punishment’s justification. This article’s focus is on Adam Smith’s theory of punishment and the role that moral sentiments play in this theory. The author argues that commentators have been mistaken to view Smith’s position as essentially retributivist. Instead, Smith defends a unified theory where punishment serves retributivist, deterrent, and rehabi…Read more
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168PunishmentRoutledge. 2012.Punishment is a topic of increasing importance for citizens and policy makers. Why should we punish criminals? Which theory of punishment is most compelling? Is the death penalty ever justified? These questions and many others are addressed in this highly engaging guide. Punishment is a critical introduction to the philosophy of punishment offering a new and refreshing approach that will benefit readers of all backgrounds and interests. This is the first critical guide to examine all leading con…Read more
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15Book review of The Politics of Jurisprudence: A Critical Introduction to Legal Philosophy, 2nd editionContemporary Political Theory 4 (3): 347. 2005.Thom Brooks book review
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35No rubber stamp: Hegel's constitutional monarchHistory of Political Thought 28 (1): 91-119. 2007.Perhaps one of the most controversial aspects of Hegel's Philosophy of Right for contemporary interpreters is its discussion of the constitutional monarch. This is true despite the general agreement amongst virtually all interpreters that Hegel's monarch is no more powerful than modern constitutional monarchs and is an institution worthy of little attention or concern. In this article, I will examine whether or not it matters who is the monarch and what domestic and foreign powers he has. I argu…Read more
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30Saving the Greatest NumberLogique Et Analyse 45 (177-178): 55-59. 2002.Imagine there are three boats equidistant from one another. You are alone in the first boat. The other two boats are sinking fast: one boat has one person (A), the other has two persons (B&C). There is only enough time to allow saving either A or B&C before their boats sink, drowning whoever is onboard. Will we always combine claims of those wishing to be saved and rescue B&C? Otsuka says that the 'Kamm-Scanlon' contractualist framework that does not aggregating various claims for rescue combine…Read more
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26James Seth on Natural Law and Legal TheoryCollingwood and British Idealism Studies 18 (2): 115-132. 2012.This article argues that James Seth provides illuminating contributions to our understanding of law and, more specifically, the natural law tradition. Seth defends a unique perspective through his emphasis on personalism that helps identify a distinctive and compelling account of natural law and legal moralism. The next section surveys standard positions in the natural law tradition. This is followed with an examination of Seth's approach and the article concludes with analysis of its wider impo…Read more
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23Review of Bradley L. herling, The German Gita: Hermeneutics and Discipline in the German Reception of Indian Thought (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2007 (3). 2007.This is a book review of Bradley Herling - "The German Gita"
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48Choosing Correct PunishmentsArchives de Philosophie du Droit 47 365-369. 2003.One of the most controversial aspects of legal philosophy concerns the justification of specific punishments for particular criminal violations. Surprisingly, there has not been any attempt to arrive systematically at any conclusive formula for deriving correct punishments. This article aspires to fulfil this urgent need. I shall examine (1) retributive, (2) consequentialist, (3) reformative, and (4) deterrent punishments in an attempt to derive general equations. It is my wish that by contribut…Read more
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88In Defence of Punishment and the Unified Theory of Punishment: A ReplyCriminal Law and Philosophy 10 (3): 629-638. 2016.My book, Punishment, has three aims: to provide the most comprehensive and updated examination of the philosophy of punishment available, to advance a new theory—the unified theory of punishment—as a compelling alternative to available theories and to consider the relation of theory to practice. In his recent review article, Mark Tunick raises several concerns with my analysis. I address each of these concerns and argue they rest largely on misinterpretations which I restate and clarify here.
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21Better Luck Next TimeJournal of Indian Philosophy and Religion 10 (1): 1-25. 2005.Comparative analysis of Socrates and key figures in Mahayana Buddhism on surprising similarities on epistemology, their relevance for ethics and their divergence.
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87Hegel and The Problem of PovertyKilikya Felsefe Dergisi / Cilicia Journal of Philosophy 2 (1): 1-9. 2015.On Hegel's problem of poverty as a problem of alienation affecting rich and poor.
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155Punishing states that cause global povertyWilliam Mitchell Law Review 33 (2): 519-32. 2007.The problem of global poverty has reached terrifying proportions. Since the end of the Cold War, ordinary deaths from starvation and preventable diseases amount to approximately 250 million people, most of them children. Thomas Pogge argues that wealthy states have a responsibility to help those in severe poverty. This responsibility arises from the foreseeable and avoidable harm the current global institutional order has perpetrated on poor states. Pogge demands that wealthy states eradicate gl…Read more
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Areas of Specialization
Philosophy of Law |
Social and Political Philosophy |
19th Century Philosophy |