Alan John Simmons (born May 4, 1950) is an American political philosopher. Simmons graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

and completed a master's degree and doctorate from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teac ...

. He began teaching at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective adm ...

in 1976, where he was later named Commonwealth Professor of Philosophy, John Allen Hollingsworth Professor of Philosophy, and Professor of Law. Simmons has chaired Virginia's Philosophy Department and its Program in Political and Social Thought, and he received Virginia's All-University Teaching Award in that award's inaugural year. He taught Ethics as a special Consultant for six years at the F.B.I. National Academy and has lectured widely (including the 2013 Auguste Comte Lectures at the London School of Economics). Simmons has served on the editorial staff of '' Philosophy & Public Affairs'' since 1982. He is the author of many books on

Lockean John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...

theory. He is best known for his work on political obligation, legitimacy and authority, John Locke's moral and political philosophy, ideal and nonideal theory (in moral and political philosophy), and the territorial rights of states. Simmons' 1979 book, ''Moral Principles and Political Obligations'', served as the new starting point for almost all subsequent philosophical discussions of the problem of political obligation.

Publications

* ''Moral Principles and Political Obligations'' (Princeton, 1979) * ''International Ethics'', editor (Princeton, 1985) * ''The Lockean Theory of Rights'' (Princeton, 1992) * ''On the Edge of Anarchy: Locke, Consent, and the Limits of Society'' (Princeton, 1993) * ''Punishment'', editor (Princeton, 1995) * ''Justification and Legitimacy: Essays on Rights and Obligations'' (Cambridge, 2000) * ''Is There a Duty to Obey the Law? For and Against'' (with C.H. Wellman) (Cambridge, 2005) * ''Political Philosophy'' (Oxford, 2008) * ''Boundaries of Authority'' (Oxford, 2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, A. John 1950 births Living people American political philosophers 21st-century American philosophers 20th-century American philosophers University of Virginia faculty Princeton University alumni Cornell University alumni