William Kymlicka (; born 1962) is a Canadian
political philosopher
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 ...
best known for his work on
multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
and
animal ethics
Animal ethics is a branch of ethics which examines human-animal relationships, the moral consideration of animals and how nonhuman animals ought to be treated. The subject matter includes animal rights, animal welfare, animal law, speciesism, an ...
. He is currently
Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
of Philosophy and
Canada Research Chair
Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program.
Program goals
The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...
in Political Philosophy at
Queen's University at Kingston, and Recurrent Visiting Professor in the Nationalism Studies program at the
Central European University
Central European University (CEU) is a private research university accredited in Austria, Hungary, and the United States, with campuses in Vienna and Budapest. The university is known for its highly intensive programs in the social science ...
in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, Hungary. For over 20 years, he has lived a
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
lifestyle, and he is married to the Canadian author and
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...
activist
Sue Donaldson.
Education and career
Kymlicka received his
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
(Honours) in
philosophy and
political studies
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from
Queen's University in 1984, and his
D.Phil.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in philosophy from
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
in 1987, under the direction of
G. A. Cohen. He has written extensively on multiculturalism and political philosophy, and several of his books have been translated into other languages. Kymlicka has held professorships at a variety of different universities in Canada and abroad, and has also worked as an advisor to the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
.
Thought
One of his main concerns throughout his work is providing a
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
framework for the just treatment of minority groups, which he divides into two basic categories: polyethnic or immigrant groups, and national minorities (such as the Canadian
Québécois, or the
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
). He lists criteria for national minorities or "minority nations":
# present at founding;
# prior history of self-government;
# common culture;
# common language;
# governing selves through institutions.
By these criteria, the two "minority nations" in Canada are the
Indigenous peoples in Canada and the Québécois. Kymlicka argues that such minority groups deserve unique rights from the state by the nature of their unique role and history within the national population.
Polyethnic groups are less deserving of such rights since they come to the state voluntarily and thus have some degree of responsibility to
integrate to the norms of their new nation. This does not mean that they are not entitled to any rights as Kymlicka argues that all cultural minorities have a right to choose their own lives, but it does mean that they are not entitled to the same level of group rights which minority nations would be entitled to. Kymlicka makes various exceptions such as the problems faced by refugees, whether from conflict or poverty, and by such minority groups such as African-Americans (whose heritage in America clearly did not begin voluntarily) and argues that their needs with regards to cultural group-specific rights should be considered on a special basis.
In ''Multicultural Citizenship'' (1995), Kymlicka argues that group-specific rights are consistent with liberalism, and are particularly appropriate, if not outright demanded, in certain situations. He defines three such group-specific rights: special group representation rights (such as affirmative action policies in politics); self-government rights; and polyethnic rights (such as the policy exempting
Sikhs from having to wear motorcycle helmets).
A distinction that Kymlicka draws, which is crucial to his liberal defence of group-specific rights for minorities, is between external protection and internal restrictions. Kymlicka argues that external protections between groups may be justified in order to promote equality (but they must not allow for oppression or exploitation, as in
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
in South Africa). Internal restrictions, however, cannot be justified from a liberal perspective, insofar as they restrict a person's autonomy, though they may be granted in certain cases to national minorities.
Brian Barry
Brian Barry, (7 August 1936 – 10 March 2009) 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.
Along with David Braybrooke ...
argues that Kymlicka's views are not liberal at all, in the sense that they are not universalist in nature and that they allow for cultural relativism. Barry further accuses Kymlicka of posing a false choice between liberalism as autonomy and liberalism as tolerance, further asserting that claims for cultural rights and for equality of treatment are incompatible. Young Kim provides an interesting comparison of their two views on multiculturalism and the limits of liberalism.
Human rights
The standard liberal criticism, which states that group rights are problematic because they often treat individuals as mere carriers of group identities, rather than autonomous social agents, is overstated or oversimplified. The actual problem of minorities and how they should be viewed in liberal democracies is much more complex. There is a distinction between good group rights, bad group rights, and intolerable group rights.
# Bad group rights (internal restrictions) are rules imposed by the group upon intragroup relations. They most often take the form of the group restricting the liberty of individual members in the name of group solidarity. Indigenous groups try to protect themselves from women's movements on the basis that they threaten the social and traditional role of indigenous populations. He contends that may raises the danger of individual oppression. Internal restrictions can be used to uphold violent, dominant, absolutist systems. Legally-imposed internal restrictions are thus bad and almost always unjust, not to mention that they go against liberal ideals.
# Good group rights (external protections) involve intergroup relations. Indigenous groups need protection in terms of their nationals identities by limiting the vulnerability of that group to the decisions of external groups or society. Therefore, they should have the right to their own taxation, health care, education, and governance.
Animal rights
The book ''Zoopolis'', by
Sue Donaldson and co-authored with Kymlicka, explores the state of
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...
for different categories of animals.
Donaldson and Kymlicka believe that
abolitionism is an inadequate response to both the ethical and practical challenges of living fairly and constructively with other animals.
Donaldson and Kymlicka suggest that animals should be characterized through three categories, serving to determine the nature of the laws and politics that should protect those animals.
Domesticated animals should be given a kind of adjusted co-citizenship in which their best interest and preferences would be taken into account. Donaldson and Kymlicka defend the end of their use, advocating for a
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
position, but they reject extinctionism with regards to those animals that are currently breed by humans. Wild animals should be granted sovereignty on their land enough so that they can sustain their way of living and prosper. Donaldson and Kymlicka support some moderate forms of intervention to reduce
wild animal suffering
Wild animal suffering is the suffering experienced by nonhuman animals living outside of direct human control, due to harms such as disease, injury, parasitism, starvation and malnutrition, dehydration, weather conditions, natural disasters, an ...
, and they claim that more significant courses of action should be aiming at keeping wild animals able to lead their lives. "Liminal" animals, those that are not domesticated but live in urban, suburban, or industrial areas (such as mice, pigeons and insects), should be treated as denizens of human communities.
Awards and honours
* In 2004, Kymlicka was awarded the
Killam Prize by the
Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...
* ''Multicultural Citizenship'' was awarded the Macpherson Prize by the Canadian Political Science Association, and the Ralph Bunche Award by the American Political Science Association
* He is a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada, and of the
Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) is a Canadian-based global research organization that brings together teams of top researchers from around the world to address important and complex questions. It was founded in 1982 and is s ...
* From 2004 to 2006, he was the President of the
American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy
* In 2014 Kymlicka was awarded an honorary doctorate from the
Philosophy Institute of the
University of Leuven.
* In 2021, Kymlicka received the
Pierre Chauveau Medal
The Pierre Chauveau Medal is a biennial award of the Royal Society of Canada "for a distinguished contribution to knowledge in the humanities other than Canadian literature and Canadian history".
The award consists of a silver medal and is named ...
.
Selected publications
* ''Zoopolis: A Political Theory Of Animal Rights'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011).
* "Immigration, Multiculturalism, and the Welfare State" (''
Ethics & International Affairs
''Ethics & International Affairs'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering ethical aspects of international relations. It was established in 1987 and is published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Carnegie Council for Et ...
'', Volume 20.3, Fall 2006)
* ''Politics in the Vernacular: Nationalism, Multiculturalism, Citizenship'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001).
* ''Finding Our Way: Rethinking Ethnocultural Relations in Canada'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998).
* ''Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995).
* ''Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990–2001).
* ''Liberalism, Community, and Culture'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989–1991).
See also
*
Contributions to liberal theory
Contribution or Contribute may refer to:
* ''Contribution'' (album), by Mica Paris (1990)
** "Contribution" (song), title song from the album
*Contribution (law), an agreement between defendants in a suit to apportion liability
*Contributions, a ...
*
List of vegans
Veganism involves following a vegan diet, which is a diet that includes no animal products of any kind. It can extend to ethical veganism which avoids or boycotts all products and activities whose production or undertaking is perceived to ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kymlicka, William
1962 births
Living people
21st-century Canadian philosophers
Alumni of the University of Oxford
American animal rights scholars
Animal ethicists
Canadian political philosophers
Canadian veganism activists
Canada Research Chairs
Central European University faculty
Queen's University at Kingston alumni
Queen's University at Kingston faculty
People from London, Ontario
Scholars of nationalism
Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy