David Gauthier
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L.A. Rollins’ case against natural rights
Nine-Banded Books has done the world a great favor in publishing a new edition of L.A. Rollins’ The Myth of Natural Rights. Although one could argue that in one sense it is a mixed blessing because it indicates that there is still a need for such a book. While the idea of natural rights seems [...]
The legacy of John Rawls
The Ludwig Von Mises Institute Senior Fellow, David Gordon, recently wrote an article on the legacy of the political philosopher John Rawls. In this piece, he discloses some interesting information about the relationship between John Rawls and Robert Nozick:
“In Anarchy, State, and Utopia, he had praised A Theory of Justice as a great work of [...]
Justice as impartiality
One common answer to the question of what should characterize an acceptable theory of justice is that it should be “impartial.” This is generally understood to mean that a theory of justice should not be tailored to the interests of specific individuals (or groups of individuals). This raises two questions. First, do [...]
The minimalist future of ethics
Is ethics a science? Can there be progress in ethics similar to the progress we observe in science?
In this brief article it is argued that traditional approaches to ethics are lacking. A minimalist “economic” approach, as suggested in the writings of the (Hobbesian) contractarian philosopher David Gauthier, is presented. It concludes by discussing the limits [...]
