-
14Liberalism 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
-
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
-
267Liberty and dominationIn Cécile Laborde & John W. Maynor (eds.), Republicanism and Political Theory, Blackwell. pp. 31--57. 2003.
-
21[Book review] John Locke and the origins of private property, philosophical explorations of individualism, community, and equality (review)In Stephen Everson (ed.), Ethics, Cambridge University Press. pp. 109--1. 1998.
-
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
-
108On 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
-
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
-
2Freedom and the rule of lawIn Jerzy Stelmach & Bartosz Brożek (eds.), The normativity of law, Copernicus Center Press. 2011.
-
51Scrupulousness 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
-
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
-
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.
-
137Moral 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
-
14Throwing light on the role of moral principles in the law: Further reflectionsLegal Theory 8 (1): 115-143. 2002.
-
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
-
10Contents Versus Existence-Conditions: A Brief Reply to John MorssAmerican Journal of Jurisprudence 53 (1): 101-103. 2008.
-
62Reason Without Reasons: A Critique of Alan Gewirth's Moral PhilosophySouthern Journal of Philosophy 34 (3): 301-315. 2010.
-
52Crime, punishment, and responsibility: the jurisprudence of Antony Duff (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2011.This volume collects essays by leading criminal law theorists to explore the principal themes in his work.
-
28Of final things: Morality as one of the ultimate determinants of legal validity (review)Law and Philosophy 24 (1): 47-97. 2004.
-
42Michael Moore on Torture, Morality, and LawRatio Juris 25 (4): 472-495. 2012.During the past few decades, Michael Moore has written incisively on an array of matters concerning the relationships between law and morality. While reflecting on those relationships, he has plumbed the nature of morality itself in impressive depth. Among the topics which he has addressed, the problem of torture has been prominent and controversial. It is a problem, moreover, that has led to some of his most searching enquiries into the character of moral obligations. In the present essay I tak…Read more
-
71The Quality of FreedomOxford University Press. 2008.In his provocative book Matthew Kramer offers a systematic theory of freedom that challenges most of the other major contemporary treatments of the topic.
-
In Defense of Legal Positivism: Law without TrimmingsPhilosophical Quarterly 50 (200): 422-425. 2000.
-
38Freedom, unfreedom and Skinner's HobbesJournal of Political Philosophy 9 (2). 2001.In an array of writings stretching over the better part of two decades, Quentin Skinner has repeatedly challenged the modern conception of negative liberty developed by Isaiah Berlin and many other theorists. He has sought to draw attention to some once vibrant but now largely peripheral traditions of thought—especially the civic‐republican or neo‐Roman tradition—in order to highlight what he sees as the limitedness and inadequacies of the currently dominant ways of thinking about freedom. The p…Read more