Richard E. Flathman
Encyclopedia
Richard E. Flathman is the George Armstrong Kelly Professor of Political Science
, Emeritus, at Johns Hopkins University
. He is known for having pioneered, with Brian Barry
, David Braybrooke, Felix Oppenheim, and Abraham Kaplan
, the application of analytic philosophy
to political science
. He is a leading advocate of liberalism
and a champion of individuality. He defends a conception of social freedom
according to which it is "negative, situated, and elemental."
He received his PhD from Berkeley
in 1962. He has been a professor at Johns Hopkins since 1975, and was chair of his department from 1979-1985. Prior to joining Hopkins, he taught at the Universities of Washington and Chicago, and at Reed College.
With his colleague and interlocutor William E. Connolly
, Flathman founded what is sometimes called the "Hopkins School" of political theory.
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, Emeritus, at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. He is known for having pioneered, with Brian Barry
Brian Barry
Brian Barry FBA was a moral and political philosopher. He was educated at the Queen's College, Oxford, obtaining the degrees of B.A. and D.Phil under the direction of H. L. A. Hart....
, David Braybrooke, Felix Oppenheim, and Abraham Kaplan
Abraham Kaplan
Abraham Kaplan was an American philosopher, known best for being the first philosopher to systematically examine the behavioral sciences in his book "The Conduct of Inquiry" . His thinking was influenced by pragmatists Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey.-Biography:Kaplan's...
, the application of analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
to political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. He is a leading advocate of liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and a champion of individuality. He defends a conception of social freedom
Freedom (political)
Political freedom is a central philosophy in Western history and political thought, and one of the most important features of democratic societies...
according to which it is "negative, situated, and elemental."
He received his PhD from Berkeley
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
in 1962. He has been a professor at Johns Hopkins since 1975, and was chair of his department from 1979-1985. Prior to joining Hopkins, he taught at the Universities of Washington and Chicago, and at Reed College.
With his colleague and interlocutor William E. Connolly
William E. Connolly
William E. Connolly is a political theorist known for his work on democracy and pluralism. He is the Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. His 1974 work The Terms of Political Discourse won the 1999 Benjamin Lippincott Award.-Biography:Connolly was raised in...
, Flathman founded what is sometimes called the "Hopkins School" of political theory.
Selected publications
- The Public Interest: An Essay Concerning the Normative Discourse of Politics (1966)
- "Equality and Generalization: A Formal Analysis" NOMOS IX: Equality (1967)
- Political Obligation (1972)
- The Practice of Rights (1976)
- The Practice of Political Authority: Authority and the Authoritative (1980)
- "Rights, Needs, and Liberalism" Political Theory 8 (1980)
- "Egalitarian Blood and Skeptical Turnips" Ethics 93 (1983)
- "Moderating Rights" Social Philosophy and Policy 1 (1984)
- "Culture, Morality and Rights: Or, Should Alasdair MacIntyre's Philosophical Driving License Be Suspended?" Analyse & Kritik 6, 1 (1984) (PDF)
- The Philosophy and Politics of Freedom (1987)
- "Convention, Contractarianism, and Freedom" Ethics 98 (1987)
- Toward a Liberalism (1989)
- Willful Liberalism: Voluntarism and Individuality in Political Theory and Practice (1992)
- Thomas Hobbes: Skepticism, Individuality, and Chastened Politics (1993)
- Reflections of a Would-Be Anarchist: Ideals and Institutions of Liberalism (1998)
- Freedom and Its Conditions: Discipline, Autonomy, and Resistance (2003)
- Pluralism and Liberal Democracy (2005)
- "Perfectionism without Perfection: Cavell, Montaigne, and the Conditions of Morals and Politics," in Andrew Norris (ed.) The Claim to Community: Essays on Stanley Cavell and Political Philosophy (Stanford University Press, 2006)
- "Here and Now, There and Then, Always and Everywhere: Reflections Concerning Political Theory and the Study/Writing of Political Thought," in David Armitage (ed.) British Political Thought in History, Literature, and Theory, 1500-1800 (Cambridge University Press, 2006)
- "The Philosophy and Politics of Freedom," in Freedom: A Philosophical Anthology, ed. Ian Carter, Matthew Kramer, and Hillel Steiner (Oxford: Blackwell, 2006)
- "Legitimacy," in A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy, Second Edition, ed. Robert Goodin, Philip Pettit, and Thomas Pogge (Blackwells, 2007)
- "Response to Critics," The Good Society 15 (3) (2006), p. 27
- "In and out of the ethical: The realist liberalism of Bernard Williams," Contemporary Political Theory 9 (1) (2010): 77-98
Of further interest
- Symposium on Pluralism and Liberal Democracy in The Good Society 15 (3) (2006), edited by Jacob T. Levy. The symposiasts were George KatebGeorge KatebGeorge Kateb is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics, Emeritus, at Princeton University. Kateb, along with John Rawls and Isaiah Berlin, is credited with making significant contributions to liberal political theory...
, Eric MacGilvray, Richard Boyd, and Levy. - Robert B. TalisseRobert B. TalisseBackground InformationRobert B. Talisse is Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He is also a Professor in Vanderbilt's Political Science Department...
"Review of Pluralism and Liberal Democracy" Social Theory and Practice 33 (2007): 151-158 - Keith Topper, "An Interview with Richard Flathman" Hedgehog Review Summer 2005: 103-106
- Skepticism, Individuality, and Freedom: The Reluctant Liberalism of Richard Flathman, edited by Bonnie Honig and David R. Mapel (2002)
- William Lund, "Fatal Attraction: 'Willful Liberalism' and the Denial of Public Transparency" Political Research Quarterly 53 (2000): 305-326
See also
- Thomas HobbesThomas HobbesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
- Michel de MontaigneMichel de MontaigneLord Michel Eyquem de Montaigne , February 28, 1533 – September 13, 1592, was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance, known for popularising the essay as a literary genre and is popularly thought of as the father of Modern Skepticism...
- John Stuart MillJohn Stuart MillJohn Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
- Wilhelm von HumboldtWilhelm von HumboldtFriedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand Freiherr von Humboldt was a German philosopher, government functionary, diplomat, and founder of Humboldt Universität. He is especially remembered as a linguist who made important contributions to the philosophy of language and to the theory and practice...
- William JamesWilliam JamesWilliam James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
- Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig WittgensteinLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
- Michael OakeshottMichael OakeshottMichael Joseph Oakeshott was an English philosopher and political theorist who wrote about philosophy of history, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, and philosophy of law...
- Hannah ArendtHannah ArendtHannah Arendt was a German American political theorist. She has often been described as a philosopher, although she refused that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular." She described herself instead as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact...