On nozick is a clear, lucid and well written account of the political philosophy of robert nozick. He did believe in taxation for services that helped maintain property rights, such as the police force. Popular political philosophy books showing 150 of 8,235 the prince paperback by. Rawls and nozick both marx and dewey reject attempts to settle the issue of the individual and society by reference to a fundamental social contract among independent individualsas occurs, for example, in the thought of hobbes and rousseau. Download pdf reading nozick free online new books in. The author of numerous books including the examined life and philosophical explanations, nozick was the recipient of the national book award for anarchy, state, and utopia. Three booklength and highly critical discussions of the nozickean doctrine are wolff 1991, cohen 1995, and hailwood 1996. Just to be clear, there is no single best book on political philosophy. An introduction by will kymlicka kymlickas book tops this list for two reasons.
Your fourth book, anarchy, state, and utopia by robert nozick, is a completely different kind of animal from a theory of justice. Robert nozick was a wellknown american philosopher, who advocated libertarian thoughts and ideas through his work. For better or worse, academic philosophers are intent on deepening our discussion of political and moral issues. The political science books top 100 list presents the best works of political theory, comparative politics, international relations, and public law. He is best known for his books philosophical explanations 1981, which included his counterfactual theory of knowledge, and. November 16, 1938 january 23, 2002 was an american philosopher. Pressing further the anticonsequentialist aspects of john rawls a theory of justice, nozick argued that respect for individual rights is the key standard for. In anarchy, state and utopia robert nozick approaches political philosophy. This page contains a list of the best introductory books on political philosophy. Distributive justice robert nozick philosophy and public. Anarchy, state, and utopia by robert nozick is a book of many questions with very few answers nozick spends a lot of time comingup with extreme situations and outcomes which would seem to undercut liberal political ideas, especially those putforth by legal philosopher, john rawls.
Challenging and ultimately rejecting liberal, socialist, and conservative agendas, nozick. Rawls and nozick, both important political philosophers, offer two general perspectives on. This oxford reader contains 140 key writings on political thought, covering. In this brilliant and widely acclaimed book, winner of the 1975 national book award, robert nozick challenges the most commonly held political and social positions.
The premature death of robert nozick brings back memories. Human beings live together in societies which, by their very nature, give rise to institutions governing the behavior and freedom of individuals. Mainly known for his book, anarchy, state and utopia, nozick ruled the domain of political philosophy. Michael rosen is a fellow of lincoln college, oxford, coeditor of the cambridge edition of the works of immanuel kant, and author of hegels dialectic and its criticism cup. Our aim is not only to learn the particular theory developed in each of these texts. First, it contains an excellentand highly criticalchapter on libertarianism, one that clearly presents several strong critiques of libertarian philosophy, particularly that of robert nozick.
Nozick is best known for his first book, anarchy, state and utopia 1974, but this excursion into political theory was not as important to nozick himself as. Anarchy, state, and utopia, by robert nozick davidfried. It was 1979, and i was taking a course at the university of buffalo in modern political thought taught by paul kurtz, founder of prometheus books. After the publication of his colleague john rawls a theory of justice, which brilliantly argues for social democracy, nozick was inspired to use similar arguments to promote his political. The american political philosopher robert nozick, a libertarian liberal, best known for his first book anarchy state and utopia published in 1974 1. Distributive justice from anarchy, state and utopia by robert nozick appears by permission of the author and basic books, inc.
Buy a cheap copy of anarchy, state, and utopia book by robert nozick. Anarchy, state, and utopia will be published in spring 1974 o robert nozick. This course is divided into a series of weeklong units, each devoted to the study of a classic text, and a central problem, in political philosophy. Robert nozick 19382002 was a renowned american philosopher who first came to be widely known through his 1974 book, anarchy, state. When i was studying political philosophy as a firstyear undergraduate in 1980, i was told to read parts of rawls and parts of nozick.
The best book for you will depend on your preferred learning style and the amount of time that you want to spend reading about political philosophy. However, it was the publication of his first book, anarchy, state and utopia 1974. This political view is commonly known today as libertarianism. The book with which mr nozick burst on the public scene in 1974 was anarchy, state and utopia, a work of political thought that is acknowledged as a modern classic. Nozick thought and many have since agreed that this simple thought experiment had profound implications for how we think about ethics, political justice, and the significance of technology in our everyday lives. Robert nozick and the libertarian mind society for us.
Jonathan wolff is reader in philosophy at university college london and author of an introduction to political philosophy oup, 1996 and robert nozick 1991. An 800page scholarly overview is unlikely to be best for someone looking for a short. Robert nozicks anarchy, state and utopia is one of the works which dominates contemporary debate in political philosophy. When robert nozicks national book awardwinning treatise anarchy, state and utopia was published in 1974, it was a work eagerly awaited by libertarians and nonlibertarians alike. Robert nozicks political philosophy notes stanford encyclopedia. Nozick in his anarchy, state and utopia uses a thought experiment involving wilt chamberlain a. Feser sets the stage for nozick s appearance in the history of libertarian thought and gives an accurate display of his own take on libertarian political philosophy. The foundational text of libertarian thought, named one of the 100 most influential books since world war ii times literary supplementfirst published in response to john rawls a theory of justice, robert nozicks anarchy, state, and utopia has become a defining text of classic libertarian thought. A wideranging thinker, nozick also made important contributions to epistemology, the problem of personal identity, and decision theory. He is best known for his books philosophical explanations 1981, which included his counterfactual theory. The best books on political philosophy five books expert. Robert nozicks entitlement theory of justice, libertarian rights and. He held the joseph pellegrino university professorship at harvard university, and was president of the american philosophical association.
Wadsworth, 2004 is an excellent and pleasing brief introduction to the political thought of robert nozick as that thought is embodied in nozicks now classic anarchy, state, and utopia 1974. Rawls and nozick on fairness by john wilkerson two american philosophers capture important, competing perspectives in american society. Mitchell cohen is professor of political science at baruch college and the graduate center of the city university of new york and editor emeritus of dissent magazine. Robert nozick 19382002 was the arthur kingsley porter professor of philosophy at harvard university. Robert nozicks political philosophy by eric mack philpapers. Robert nozicks anarchy, state, and utopia is one of the works which dominate contemporary debate in political philosophy. Robert nozick, american philosopher, best known for his rigorous defense of libertarianism in his first major work, anarchy, state, and utopia 1974. Rawls a theory of justice, nozicks book is a classic of political thought. Select, significant books, dissertations, and theses about nozick listed from oldest to most recent golash, deirdre. Anarchy, state, and utopia by robert nozick books on. Robert nozick and the justifaction of coercive government. Challenging and ultimately rejecting liberal, socialist, and conservative agendas, nozick boldly asserts that the rights of individuals are violated as a states responsibilities. Robert nozicks political philosophy stanford encyclopedia of.
During his high school and college years, nozick was a member of the student new left and an enthusiastic socialist. His first and most celebrated book, anarchy, state, and utopia 1974, produced, along with his harvard. Start studying political philosophy john rawls and robert nozick. It won the 1975 us national book award in category philosophy and religion, has been translated into 11 languages, and was named one of the 100 most influential books since the war 19451995 by the uk times literary supplement in opposition to a theory of justice 1971 by john rawls, and in. A philosophical critique of libertarianism 1st edition by theo papaioannou author visit amazons theo papaioannou page. Second, it offers equally excellent overviews of the other major schools of modern political thought utilitarianism. The list has a strong focus on political theory, as you might expect, and therefore includes mostly books on politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of the law by the. A thinker with wideranging interests, robert nozick was one of the most important and influential political philosophers, along with john rawls, in the angloamerican analytic tradition. Michael rosen is a fellow of lincoln college, oxford, coeditor of the cambridge edition of the works of immanuel kant, and author of hegels dialectic and its criticism oup, 1982 and. The essay here differs only slightly from chapter 7 of the forthcoming book. Libertarian theorist and fellow buffalonian roy childs told. Robert nozick shelved 65 times as politicalphilosophy. First published in response to john rawls a theory of justice, robert nozicks anarchy, state, and utopia has become a defining text of classic libertarian thought.
With respect to political philosophy, nozick was a rightlibertarian, which in. Jonathan wolff is reader in philosophy at university college london, and author of an introduction to political philosophy oup, 1996 and robert nozick blackwell, 1991. Robert nozick 19382002 was an american philosopher, best known for his rigorous defense of libertarianism in his first major work, anarchy, state, and utopia 1974. The ten best introductory political philosophy books the. Robert nozick s anarchy, state, and utopia is one of the works which dominate contemporary debate in political philosophy. Nozick, robert internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Fiction that explores american politics american political thought. Lawrence davis, nozicks entitlement theory, in reading nozick edited by jeffrey paul. After discussing the detrimental influence of logical positivism on ethical and political discourse, jonathan wolff goes on to explain john rawls famous contractarian conception of. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Robert nozick not all words need be last words books. This raises important questions about how these institutions ought to function, and the extent to which actual systems of government succeed or fail in meeting these ideals.
Robert nozick 19382002 was a renowned american philosopher who first came to be widely known through his 1974 book, anarchy, state, and utopia 1974, which won the national book award for philosophy and religion in 1975. Nozicks argument was made in 1974, about a decade before the personal computer revolution in europe and north america. For libertarians, here was a wideranging heuristic work treating many problems in libertarian theory, a defense of a minimum state and of capitalist acts between consenting adults. Ps 11 course reader includes plato, rawls, nozick tomasi the myth of modern liberalism tbde organization. For example, a fundamental principle of rawls is that a political system should be set up so that the. Linked bibliography for the sep article robert nozicks political philosophy by. Anarchy, state, and utopia kindle edition by nozick. Robert nozick and minimal state hi, getting visibility among core literary public is benchmark of publishing success and this message is part of an aggressive online campaign for the promotion and visibility of my two books 1 political internet and 2 intimate speakers among core reading public in. In his other major book, political liberalism, rawls 1993 spoke of philosophys potential for reconciliation, though this can easily be misunderstood. Anarchy, state, and utopia is a 1974 book by the american political philosopher robert nozick. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Political thought oxford readers michael rosen, jonathan wolff on. Books that i read, and to have easy access to books for browsing at odd hours. Drawing on traditional assumptions associated with individualism and libertarianism, nozick mounts a powerful argument for a minimal nightwatchman state and challenges the views of many contemporary philosophers, most notably john rawls.