John Kekes (; born 22 November 1936) is

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the

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Education

Kekes received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

Work

Kekes is the author of a number of books on

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

, including ''The Examined Life'' (Penn State University Press, 1988), ''The Morality of Pluralism'' (

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...

, 1996), ''Moral Wisdom and Good Lives'' (

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in th ...

, 1997), ''The Art of Life'' (Cornell University Press, 2005), ''The Roots of Evil'' (Cornell University Press, 2007), ''Enjoyment'' (Oxford University Press, 2009), and ''The Enlargement of Life: Moral Imagination at Work'' (Cornell University Press, 2010). Kekes is also a noted

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

thinker. His works on

political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

include ''Against Liberalism'' (Cornell University Press, 1988), ''A Case for Conservatism'' (Cornell University Press, 1998), ''The Illusions of Egalitarianism'' (Cornell University Press, 2007) and ''The Art of Politics: The New Betrayal of America and How to Resist It'' (Encounter, 2008). A shorter summary of some of Kekes's objections to modern liberalism, specifically the influence of philosophers

John Rawls John Bordley Rawls (; February 21, 1921 – November 24, 2002) was an American moral, legal and political philosopher in the liberal tradition. Rawls received both the Schock Prize for Logic and Philosophy and the National Humanities Medal in 1 ...

and

Ronald Dworkin Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New Yo ...

, can be found in his 2001 article "Dangerous Egalitarian Dreams".Kekes, John (2001).
Dangerous Egalitarian Dreams
' ''

City Journal ''City Journal'' is a public policy magazine and website, published by the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, that covers a range of topics on urban affairs, such as policing, education, housing, and other issues. The magazine ...

'', Autumn 2001, accessed 31 December 2012

Bibliography

* ''Moral Tradition and Individualism'', Princeton University press (1991). * ''Facing Evil'', Princeton University press (1993). * ''The Morality of Pluralism'', Princeton University press (1996). * ''A Case for Conservatism'', Cornell University Press (1998). * ''Against Liberalism'', Cornell University Press (1999). * ''The Illusions of Egalitarianism'', Cornell University Press (2007). * ''The Roots of Evil'', Cornell University Press (2007). * ''Enjoyment: The Moral Significance of Styles of Life'', Oxford University Press (2010). * ''The Nature of Philosophical Problems: Their Causes and Implications'', Oxford University Press (2014). * ''How Should We Live?: A Practical Approach to Everyday Morality'', University of Chicago Press (2014). * ''The Human Condition'', Oxford University Press (2014). * ''Human Predicaments: And What to Do about Them'', University of Chicago Press (2016).

Notes

References

*Albany University. Albany University staff database
Person Entry , John Kekes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kekes, John 1936 births 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers American political philosophers Analytic philosophers Australian National University alumni Conservatism American ethicists Living people University at Albany, SUNY faculty