Paul Joseph Kelly (born 1962) is Professor of
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 ...
at the
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and Head of the Department of Government.
Research
Kelly’s early work and main contribution as a historian of political theory was as part of a group of revisionist
Bentham scholars, having worked on the manuscripts at the Bentham Project at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
. Kelly rejected the common claim that Bentham was a crude act-utilitarian. Instead, he argued that Bentham developed a complex two-level utilitarian theory similar to those of contemporary indirect utilitarian theorists such as
R. M. Hare or
John Gray. His further claim that this makes Bentham a central figure in the canon of liberal political philosophers contradicts most standard interpretations, and is still a widely contested interpretation.
[James E. Crimmins, ‘Contending Interpretations of Bentham’s Utilitarianism’, Canadian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 29, no. 4, (1996), pp. 751-777]
Having based his early work on both archival work and philosophical reconstruction, Kelly has gone on to engage in debates about the methodology and importance of history in the study of political thought. His work on the book Political Thinkers, edited with David Boucher, has defended a non-contextualist approach to past political thinkers in contrast to the linguistic contextualism defended by
Quentin Skinner
Quentin Robert Duthie Skinner (born 26 November 1940) is a British intellectual historian. He is regarded as one of the founders of the Cambridge School of the history of political thought. He has won numerous prizes for his work, including th ...
amongst others.
His scepticism about reducing political theory to history has also led to a similar scepticism about the claims made for identity in normative political theory. His criticism of multicultural theories and communitarianism, has led to a defence of liberal
egalitarianism
Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...
that draws on the work of British political theorists such as
Brian Barry and
H. L. A. Hart, as much as that of
John Rawls. Kelly’s work on liberal egalitarianism has concentrated on its claims as a political theory and his most recent work is on the defence of liberal moralism against the arguments of ‘realist’ political theorists such as
Bernard Williams
Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams, FBA (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English moral philosopher. His publications include ''Problems of the Self'' (1973), ''Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'' (1985), ''Shame and Necessity'' ...
.
Recent publications
*
Political thinkers: from Socrates to the present ', Oxford University Press, 2009, Oxford, UK. ()
*
Liberalism, secularism and the challenge of religion - is there a crisis? ', Oneworld, London, 2008, UK, pp. 124–131. ()
*
Locke’s second treatise of government: a reader’s guide. ', Continuum, London, 2007 UK. ()
*
Equality, marginalisation and freedom of expression. ', In: Newey, Glen, (ed.) Freedom of speech. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle, 2007, UK, pp. 74–96. ()
*
Liberalism and epistemic diversity: Mill's sceptical legacy'. Episteme, 3 (3). pp. 248–265 2006. (ISSN 1742-3600)
*
The social theory of anti-liberalism'. Critical review of international social and political philosophy, 9 (2). pp. 137–154, 2006. (ISSN 1369-8230)
*
Political theory: the state of the art'. Politics, 26 (1). pp. 47–53, 2006. ISSN 0263-3957
References
External links
Paul Kelly - LSE Experts entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Paul
1962 births
Living people
Academics of the London School of Economics