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40On Political Morality and the Conditions for Warranted Self-RespectThe Journal of Ethics 21 (4): 335-349. 2017.In my recent book Liberalism with Excellence, I have expounded at length a conception of warranted self-respect. That conception, which draws heavily though far from uncritically on the scattered passages about self-respect in the writings of John Rawls, is central to my defense of a variety of liberalism that combines and transfigures certain aspects of Rawlsianism and perfectionism. However, it is also central to the positions taken in some earlier books of mine on capital punishment and tortu…Read more
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17Book Review: Ordered Liberty: Rights, Responsibilities, and Virtues, by James E. Fleming and Linda C. McClainOrdered Liberty: Rights, Responsibilities, and Virtues, by FlemingJames E.McClainLinda C.Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 2013. 371 + vii pp (review)Political Theory 42 (3): 367-370. 2014.
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16Liberalism with ExcellenceOxford University Press. 2017.During the past several decades, political philosophers have frequently clashed with one another over the question whether governments are morally required to remain neutral among reasonable conceptions of excellence and human flourishing. Whereas the numerous followers of John Rawls have maintained that a requirement of neutrality is indeed incumbent on every system of governance, other philosophers -- often designated as 'perfectionists' -- have argued against the existence of such a requireme…Read more
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10Another Look at the Problem of the Unexpected ExaminationDialogue 38 (3): 491-502. 1999.RÉSUMÉ: Les philosophes, au cours des cinquante dernières années, se sont efforcés de démontrer qu’un professeur peut, d’une manière cohérente et exacte, annoncer à ses étudiants qu’un examen surprise aura lieu lors d’une journée non spécifiée d’une période donnée, le problème étant qu’une telle annonce peut sembler s’annuler ellemême lorsqu’elle est soumise à une induction régressive. Deux grandes approches, l’une épistémique et l’autre logique, one été développées à ce propos. Le présent artic…Read more
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270Liberty and dominationIn Cécile Laborde & John W. Maynor (eds.), Republicanism and Political Theory, Wiley-blackwell. pp. 31--57. 2008.
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21[Book review] John Locke and the origins of private property, philosophical explorations of individualism, community, and equality (review)In Stephen Everson (ed.), Ethics: Companions to Ancient Thought, Vol. 4, Cambridge University Press. pp. 109--1. 1998.
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61Another Look at the Problem of the Unexpected ExaminationDialogue 38 (3): 491-. 1999.RÉSUMÉ: Les philosophes, au cours des cinquante dernières années, se sont efforcés de démontrer qu’un professeur peut, d’une manière cohérente et exacte, annoncer à ses étudiants qu’un examen surprise aura lieu lors d’une journée non spécifiée d’une période donnée, le problème étant qu’une telle annonce peut sembler s’annuler ellemême lorsqu’elle est soumise à une induction régressive. Deux grandes approches, l’une épistémique et l’autre logique, one été développées à ce propos. Le présent artic…Read more
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117On the unavoidability of actions: Quentin Skinner, Thomas Hobbes, and the modern doctrine of negative libertyInquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 44 (3). 2001.During the past few decades, Quentin Skinner has been one of the most prominent critics of the ideas about negative liberty that have developed out of the writings of Isaiah Berlin. Among Skinner?s principal charges against the contemporary doctrine of negative liberty is the claim that the proponents of that doctrine have overlooked the putative fact that people can be made unfree to refrain from undertaking particular actions. In connection with this matter, Skinner contrasts the present-day t…Read more
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39Supervenience As an Ethical PhenomenonAmerican Journal of Jurisprudence 50 (1): 173-224. 2005.All or virtually all moral philosophers agree that moral properties supervene on natural properties; that is, two actions or situations cannot differ in their moral properties unless there are differences in their natural properties that account for the moral difference between them. Virtually all moral philosophers also believe that supervenience is a conceptual or logical feature of moral discourse and judgments. While accepting that supervenience is a fundamental feature of morality, this ess…Read more
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18Rights, wrongs, and responsibilities (edited book)Palgrave. 2001.In this wide-ranging investigation of leading issues in contemporary legal and political philosophy, distinguished philosophers and legal theorists tackle issues such as the rights of animals, the role of public-policy considerations in legal reasoning, the appropriateness of compensation as a means of rectifying mishaps and misdeeds, the extent of individuals' responsibility for the consequences of their choices, and the culpability of failed attempts to commit crimes.
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41Objectivity and the Rule of LawCambridge University Press. 2007.What is objectivity? What is the rule of law? Are the operations of legal systems objective? If so, in what ways and to what degrees are they objective? Does anything of importance depend on the objectivity of law? These are some of the principal questions addressed by Matthew H. Kramer in this lucid and wide-ranging study that introduces readers to vital areas of philosophical enquiry. As Kramer shows, objectivity and the rule of law are complicated phenomena, each comprising a number of distin…Read more
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303Freedom: a philosophical anthology (edited book)Blackwell. 2007.Edited by leading contributors to the literature, Freedom: An Anthology is the most complete anthology on social, political and economic freedom ever compiled. Offers a broad guide to the vast literature on social, political and economic freedom. Contains selections from the best scholarship of recent decades as well as classic writings from Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Kant among others. General and sectional introductions help to orient the reader. Compiled and edited by three important contrib…Read more
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23Why The Axioms and Theorems of Arithmetic are not Legal NormsOxford Journal of Legal Studies 27 (3): 555-562. 2007.Ronald Dworkin has long criticized legal positivists for their efforts to distinguish between legal and non-legal standards of conduct that are incumbent on people. Recently, Dworkin has broached this criticism in his hostile account of the debates between Incorporationist Legal Positivists and Exclusive Legal Positivists. Specifically, he has maintained that Incorporationists cannot avoid the unpalatable conclusion that the axioms and theorems of arithmetic are legal norms. This article shows w…Read more
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106The Purgative Rationale for the Death Penalty: Replies to Steiker and DanaherCriminal Law and Philosophy 9 (2): 379-394. 2015.This article defends my 2011 book “The Ethics of Capital Punishment” against the thoughtful critiques written by Carol Steiker and John Danaher respectively. It does not attempt to respond to every point of contention in the two critiques, but concentrates instead on a few of the main points from each of them
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53Scrupulousness Without Scruples: A Critique of Lon Fuller and His DefendersOxford Journal of Legal Studies 18 (2): 235-263. 1998.Lon Fuller is best known among legal philosophers for his efforts to highlight the intrinsically moral nature of law. To show that his efforts come to nought, the present essay ponders not only the ideas advanced by Fuller himself, but also some of the defences of him that have been mounted in recent years. Those defences centre on his notion of reciprocity, according to which the officials in a genuine legal system have effectively undertaken to respect die confines of the mandates which they a…Read more
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2Freedom and the rule of lawIn Jerzy Stelmach & Bartosz Brożek (eds.), The normativity of law, Copernicus Center Press. 2011.
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18Retributivism in the Spirit of FinnisIn John Keown & Robert P. George (eds.), Reason, morality, and law: the philosophy of John Finnis, Oxford University Press. pp. 167. 2013.
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21A Debate over RightsMind 109 (436): 954-956. 2000.The authors of this book engage in essay form in a lively debate over the fundamental characteristics of legal and moral rights. They examine whether rights fundamentally protect individuals' interests or whether they instead fundamentally enable individuals to make choices. In the course of this debate the authors address many questions through which they clarify, though not finally resolve, a number of controversial present-day political debates, including those over abortion, euthanasia, and …Read more
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91Moral Realism as a Moral DoctrineWiley-Blackwell. 2009.In this major new work, Matthew Kramer seeks to establish two main conclusions. On the one hand, moral requirements are strongly objective. On the other hand, the objectivity of ethics is itself an ethical matter that rests primarily on ethical considerations. Moral realism - the doctrine that morality is indeed objective - is a moral doctrine. Major new volume in our new series _New Directions in Ethics_ Takes on the big picture - defending the objectivity of ethics whilst rejecting the grounds…Read more
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7Hobbes and the paradoxes of political originsSt. Martin's Press. 1997.This book expounds an analytical method that focuses on paradoxes - a method originally associated with deconstructive philosophy, but bearing little resemblance to the interpretive techniques that have come to be designated as 'deconstruction' in literary studies. The book then applies its paradox-focused method as it undertakes a sustained investigation of Thomas Hobbe's political philosophy. Hobbes's theory of the advent and purpose of government turns out to reveal the impossibility of the v…Read more