Brian Leiter
Encyclopedia
Brian Leiter is an American
philosopher
and legal scholar who is currently John Wilson Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School
, and founder and Director of Chicago's new Center for Law, Philosophy, and Human Values and the editor of the Philosophical Gourmet Report
. He taught from 1995 to 2008 at the University of Texas School of Law
. Before that he taught for two years at the University of San Diego School of Law
, and was also a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at the University of California, San Diego
. He earned his Bachelor of Arts
in philosophy from Princeton University
and both his J.D.
and Ph.D.
(in philosophy) from the University of Michigan
.
At Texas, Leiter was Founder and Director of the Law and Philosophy Program. He was also the youngest chair-holder in the history of the law school at Texas. He has been a visiting professor at Yale Law School
, University College London
, and University of Chicago Law School
and will be a visiting professor of philosophy at Oxford University in 2011-12. He edited the journal Legal Theory for seven years and is also editor of the Routledge Philosophers, a new series of introductions to major philosophers, and (with Leslie Green) Oxford Studies in the Philosophy of Law. He gave the 'Or 'Emet Lecture at Osgoode Hall Law School
at York University, Toronto in 2006, and the Fresco Lectures at the University of Genoa
and the Dunbar Lecture in Law and Philosophy at the University of Mississippi
in 2008.
The National Jurist: The Magazine for Law Students picked Leiter as one of the "23 Law Profs to Take Before You Die".
as a philosophical naturalist, most notably in Nietzsche on Morality (London: Routledge, 2002) and in subsequent papers, including one with Joshua Knobe
on "The Case for Nietzschean Moral Psychology" in Nietzsche and Morality (Oxford University Press, 2007). He has also published work on meta-ethics
, social epistemology
, the law of evidence, and on philosophers such as Marx
, Heidegger
, and Ronald Dworkin
.
His other publications include several dozen articles and several edited collections. These include Nietzsche (Oxford Readings in Philosophy, 2001) (with John Richardson), Objectivity in Law and Morals (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), The Future for Philosophy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004), and Nietzsche and Morality (Oxford University Press, 2007) (with Neil Sinhababu). His characterization of the contemporary philosophical scene as divided between "naturalists" and "quietists" was endorsed by Richard Rorty
in an article in Rorty's final collection of papers, though Rorty sides with the quietists.
Some of Leiter's articles include "Determinacy, Objectivity, and Authority" (University of Pennsylvania Law Review
) (co-authored with Jules Coleman
), "Rethinking Legal Realism: Toward a Naturalized Jurisprudence" (Texas Law Review
), "Nietzsche and the Morality Critics" (Ethics), "Legal Realism and Legal Positivism Reconsidered" (Ethics), "Naturalized Epistemology and the Law of Evidence" (Virginia Law Review
) (co-authored with Ronald Allen), "Beyond the Hart/Dworkin Debate: The Methodology Problem in Jurisprudence" (American Journal of Jurisprudence), and "Moral Facts and Best Explanations" (Social Philosophy & Policy).
, these lists came to be known as "the Leiter Report" and have been widely circulated since the early 1990s by philosophy departments as well as individuals. Published by Wiley-Blackwell, they are an influential and controversial ranking of graduate programs in philosophy in the English-speaking world. He has also produced a ranking of U.S. law schools
, and was hired by Maclean's
magazine in Canada to produce a ranking of Canadian law schools. In addition to compiling his list, Leiter blogs under the title, "Leiter Reports" on philosophy and academic rankings.
For several years, Leiter used this blog to write heavily on culture and politics. His political blogging featured critiques on proponents of intelligent design
, the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
, George W. Bush
's economic and social policies, and various conservative figures. In 2007, however, he announced that he would no longer write on culture and politics in this blog.
Freelance journalist Mark Oppenheimer wrote in The Boston Globe
in 2008 that as a result of Leiter's lists, "it's safe to say that Leiter...is the most powerful man in academic philosophy." In the same piece, Oppenheimer criticized Leiter's sometimes combative blogging style as "verbal soccer hooliganism". Leiter rejected the latter characterization and accused Oppenheimer of failing to disclose a conflict of interest when writing his article.
Among the subjects of Leiter's blog have been Carlin Romano
, Thomas Nagel
, Leon Wieseltier
, and Paul Campos
.
Online publications
Publications edited
Media appearances
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and legal scholar who is currently John Wilson Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
, and founder and Director of Chicago's new Center for Law, Philosophy, and Human Values and the editor of the Philosophical Gourmet Report
Philosophical Gourmet Report
The Philosophical Gourmet Report edited by Philosophy and Law professor Brian Leiter — in response to the Gourman Report — is a ranking of philosophy departments in the English-speaking world, based on a survey of philosophers who are nominated as evaluators by the Report's Advisory...
. He taught from 1995 to 2008 at the University of Texas School of Law
University of Texas School of Law
The University of Texas School of Law, also known as UT Law, is an ABA-certified American law school located on the University of Texas at Austin campus. The law school has been in operation since the founding of the University in 1883. It was one of only two schools at the University when it was...
. Before that he taught for two years at the University of San Diego School of Law
University of San Diego School of Law
The University of San Diego School of Law, commonly referred to as USD Law, is a law school located on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California in the community of Linda Vista. Founded in 1954, the law school has held ABA approval since 1961...
, and was also a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
. He earned his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in philosophy from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and both his J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
and Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
(in philosophy) from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
.
At Texas, Leiter was Founder and Director of the Law and Philosophy Program. He was also the youngest chair-holder in the history of the law school at Texas. He has been a visiting professor at Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
, and University of Chicago Law School
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
and will be a visiting professor of philosophy at Oxford University in 2011-12. He edited the journal Legal Theory for seven years and is also editor of the Routledge Philosophers, a new series of introductions to major philosophers, and (with Leslie Green) Oxford Studies in the Philosophy of Law. He gave the 'Or 'Emet Lecture at Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
at York University, Toronto in 2006, and the Fresco Lectures at the University of Genoa
University of Genoa
The University of Genoa is one of the largest universities in Italy.Located in Liguria on the Italian Riviera, the university was founded in 1471. It currently has about 40,000 students, 1,800 teaching and research staff and about 1,580 administrative staff.- Campus :The University of Genoa is...
and the Dunbar Lecture in Law and Philosophy at the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
in 2008.
The National Jurist: The Magazine for Law Students picked Leiter as one of the "23 Law Profs to Take Before You Die".
Philosophy
Leiter's scholarly writings have been in two main areas: legal philosophy and Continental philosophy. Philosophical naturalism has been an abiding theme in both contexts. In legal philosophy, he has offered a reinterpretation of the American Legal Realists as prescient philosophical naturalists and a general defense of what he calls "naturalized jurisprudence." This work is reflected in his book Naturalizing Jurisprudence: Essays on American Legal Realism and Naturalism in Legal Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2007). In his writing on German philosophy, Leiter defends a reading of NietzscheFriedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
as a philosophical naturalist, most notably in Nietzsche on Morality (London: Routledge, 2002) and in subsequent papers, including one with Joshua Knobe
Joshua Knobe
Joshua Knobe is an experimental philosopher currently employed as an assistant professor in the Program in Cognitive Science and Department of Philosophy at Yale University. He was previously Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Knobe received his...
on "The Case for Nietzschean Moral Psychology" in Nietzsche and Morality (Oxford University Press, 2007). He has also published work on meta-ethics
Meta-ethics
In philosophy, meta-ethics is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments. Meta-ethics is one of the three branches of ethics generally recognized by philosophers, the others being normative ethics and applied ethics. Ethical...
, social epistemology
Social epistemology
Social epistemology is a broad set of approaches to the study of knowledge, all of which construe human knowledge as a collective achievement. Another way of positioning social epistemology is as the study of the social dimensions of knowledge. One of the enduring difficulties with defining social...
, the law of evidence, and on philosophers such as Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, Heidegger
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger was a German philosopher known for his existential and phenomenological explorations of the "question of Being."...
, and Ronald Dworkin
Ronald Dworkin
Ronald Myles Dworkin, QC, FBA is an American philosopher and scholar of constitutional law. He is Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New York University and Emeritus Professor of Jurisprudence at University College London, and has taught previously at Yale Law School and the...
.
His other publications include several dozen articles and several edited collections. These include Nietzsche (Oxford Readings in Philosophy, 2001) (with John Richardson), Objectivity in Law and Morals (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), The Future for Philosophy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004), and Nietzsche and Morality (Oxford University Press, 2007) (with Neil Sinhababu). His characterization of the contemporary philosophical scene as divided between "naturalists" and "quietists" was endorsed by Richard Rorty
Richard Rorty
Richard McKay Rorty was an American philosopher. He had a long and diverse academic career, including positions as Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton, Kenan Professor of Humanities at the University of Virginia, and Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University...
in an article in Rorty's final collection of papers, though Rorty sides with the quietists.
Some of Leiter's articles include "Determinacy, Objectivity, and Authority" (University of Pennsylvania Law Review
University of Pennsylvania Law Review
The University of Pennsylvania Law Review is a law review focusing on legal issues, published by an organization of second and third year J.D. students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. It is the oldest law journal in the United States, having been published continuously since 1852...
) (co-authored with Jules Coleman
Jules Coleman
Jules Leslie Coleman is a scholar of law and jurisprudence. He is the Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld Professor of Jurisprudence and Professor of Philosophy at Yale Law School.-Biography:...
), "Rethinking Legal Realism: Toward a Naturalized Jurisprudence" (Texas Law Review
Texas Law Review
The Texas Law Review is a student-edited and produced law review published by the University of Texas School of Law . It publishes 7 issues per academic year, ranks number 11 on Washington & Lee University's list, and ranks number 4 in Mikhail Koulikov's rankings of law reviews by social impact...
), "Nietzsche and the Morality Critics" (Ethics), "Legal Realism and Legal Positivism Reconsidered" (Ethics), "Naturalized Epistemology and the Law of Evidence" (Virginia Law Review
Virginia Law Review
The Virginia Law Review is a law review edited and published entirely by students at University of Virginia School of Law. It was founded on March 15, 1913, and permanently organized later that year...
) (co-authored with Ronald Allen), "Beyond the Hart/Dworkin Debate: The Methodology Problem in Jurisprudence" (American Journal of Jurisprudence), and "Moral Facts and Best Explanations" (Social Philosophy & Policy).
Other projects
In 1989, Leiter made his first list of what he believed to be the top 25 graduate philosophy programs in the United States. Called the Philosophical Gourmet ReportPhilosophical Gourmet Report
The Philosophical Gourmet Report edited by Philosophy and Law professor Brian Leiter — in response to the Gourman Report — is a ranking of philosophy departments in the English-speaking world, based on a survey of philosophers who are nominated as evaluators by the Report's Advisory...
, these lists came to be known as "the Leiter Report" and have been widely circulated since the early 1990s by philosophy departments as well as individuals. Published by Wiley-Blackwell, they are an influential and controversial ranking of graduate programs in philosophy in the English-speaking world. He has also produced a ranking of U.S. law schools
Law school in the United States
In the United States, a law school is an institution where students obtain a professional education in law after first obtaining an undergraduate degree.Law schools in the U.S...
, and was hired by Maclean's
Maclean's
Maclean's is a Canadian weekly news magazine, reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events.-History:Founded in 1905 by Toronto journalist/entrepreneur Lt.-Col. John Bayne Maclean, a 43-year-old trade magazine publisher who purchased an advertising agency's in-house...
magazine in Canada to produce a ranking of Canadian law schools. In addition to compiling his list, Leiter blogs under the title, "Leiter Reports" on philosophy and academic rankings.
For several years, Leiter used this blog to write heavily on culture and politics. His political blogging featured critiques on proponents of intelligent design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
, the 2003 Invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's economic and social policies, and various conservative figures. In 2007, however, he announced that he would no longer write on culture and politics in this blog.
Freelance journalist Mark Oppenheimer wrote in The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
in 2008 that as a result of Leiter's lists, "it's safe to say that Leiter...is the most powerful man in academic philosophy." In the same piece, Oppenheimer criticized Leiter's sometimes combative blogging style as "verbal soccer hooliganism". Leiter rejected the latter characterization and accused Oppenheimer of failing to disclose a conflict of interest when writing his article.
Among the subjects of Leiter's blog have been Carlin Romano
Carlin Romano
Carlin Romano is a critic-at-large for the The Chronicle of Higher Education and a lecturer in Philosophy and Media Theory at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication...
, Thomas Nagel
Thomas Nagel
Thomas Nagel is an American philosopher, currently University Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University, where he has taught since 1980. His main areas of philosophical interest are philosophy of mind, political philosophy and ethics...
, Leon Wieseltier
Leon Wieseltier
Leon Wieseltier is an American writer, critic, and magazine editor. Since 1983 he has been the literary editor of The New Republic.Wieseltier was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended the Yeshiva of Flatbush, Columbia University, Oxford University, and Harvard University, and was a member of...
, and Paul Campos
Paul Campos
Paul F. Campos is a law professor, author and journalist currently on the faculty of the University of Colorado in Boulder. His books include Against the Law Paul F. Campos is a law professor, author and journalist currently on the faculty of the University of Colorado in Boulder. His books include...
.
External links
Official sites- Profile at the University of Chicago Law School website.
- Brian Leiter Personal homepage.
- The Leiter Reports. Formerly Brian Leiter's solo weblog, currently a group weblog with Leiter among others as posters.
- Leiter's Law School Reports. Leiter's companion blog on Law schools.
- Brian Leiter's Nietzsche Blog.
- Brian Leiter's Legal Philosophy Blog.
- Leiter's Law School Rankings. Leiter's ranking of Law schools.
- The Philosophical Gourmet Report. See separate article: Philosophical Gourmet ReportPhilosophical Gourmet ReportThe Philosophical Gourmet Report edited by Philosophy and Law professor Brian Leiter — in response to the Gourman Report — is a ranking of philosophy departments in the English-speaking world, based on a survey of philosophers who are nominated as evaluators by the Report's Advisory...
Online publications
- Social Science Research Networks. Includes several recent papers.
- Naturalism in Legal Philosophy. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- Nietzsche's Moral and Political Philosophy. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Publications edited
- Legal Theory Journal edited by Larry Alexander, Jules Coleman, and Leiter.
- Routledge Philosophers Book series edited by Leiter.
Media appearances
- Radio interview on Philosophy TalkPhilosophy TalkPhilosophy Talk is a talk radio program co-hosted by John Perry and Ken Taylor, who are professors at Stanford University. The show is also available as a podcast, available for purchase. The program deals both with fundamental problems of philosophy and with the works of famous philosophers,...
- Video (and audio) of discussion/debate with Brian Leiter on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
- http://mms.at.northwestern.edu:8000/content/tools/video_clip/FlowPlayerDark.swf?config=%7Bembedded%3Atrue%2CvideoFile%3A%27mp4%3Ausers%2Fbgt108%2Fcollection15%2Fphilosophy%2Fvideo.mp4%27%2CstreamingServerURL%3A%27rtmp%3A%2F%2Fvideo.at.northwestern.edu%2Flcap-vod%2F%27%2CinitialScale%3A%27fit%27%2CcontrolBarBackgroundColor%3A%270x999999%27%2CautoBuffering%3Atrue%2CautoPlay%3Afalse%7DVideo of 1st Annual Distinguished Lecture in Jurisprudence at Northwestern University by Brian Leiter discussing Dworkin, Posner, and Legal Realism]