John David Lewis (March 17, 1955 – January 3, 2012) was a political scientist, historian and Objectivist scholar who held the post of visiting associate professor in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics Program at Duke University from 2008 to 2012, as well as Associate Professor of Business at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. Lewis was also an Anthem Fellow for Objectivist Scholarship. Lewis received his PhD in classical studies at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

in 2001, with the dissertation, ''Solon’s Polis as Kosmos: Intellectual, Moral and Political Integration in Archaic Athens''. He taught at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

from 2000-2001. From 2001 to 2008, he was a professor in the History and Political Science Department at Ashland University, where contention surrounding his denial of promotion to tenured professor drew national attention. Lewis was a member of the American Political Science Association, the

Association of Ancient Historians The Association of Ancient Historians (AAH) is the oldest and largest academic organization in the US for scholars of the history of the Ancient Mediterranean World. HISTORY The Association of Ancient Historians had its origins in 1969, when a num ...

, the

Society for Military History The Society for Military History is a United States–based international organization of scholars who research, write, and teach military history of all time periods and places. It includes naval history, air power history, and studies of technol ...

, the American Philological Association, and the Cambridge Philological Society. Lewis published three books, was a contributing editor to ''

The Objective Standard Objectivist periodicals are a variety of academic journals, magazines, and newsletters with an editorial perspective explicitly based on Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. Several early Objectivist periodicals were edited by Rand. She later end ...

'' and contributed to ''Capitalism Magazine'' and contributed to multiple publications including ''Journal of Business Ethics'', ''Social Philosophy and Policy'', ''Polis'', ''Dike'', and ''Bryn Mawr Classical Review''. Lewis frequently spoke at Objectivist conferences and

Tea Party A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...

events. He also spoke on the morality of free markets in medicine, arguing that innovators ought to be freed from unnecessary regulation. In 2008 Lewis held a presentation at the "Facing Jihad" conference in Jerusalem, a

counter-jihad Counter-jihad, also spelled counterjihad and known as the counter-jihad movement, is a self-titled political current loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, street movements and campaign organisations all linked by apocalyptic bel ...

summit hosted by MK

Aryeh Eldad Aryeh Eldad, M.D. ( he, אריה אלדד, born 1 May 1950) is an Israeli physician, politician and former medical officer. Eldad is a professor of medicine, and was head of the plastic surgery and burns unit at the Hadassah Medical Center. He w ...

that included a screening of the film '' Fitna'' by

Geert Wilders Geert Wilders (; born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch politician who has led the Party for Freedom (''Partij voor de Vrijheid'' – PVV) since he founded it in 2006. He is also the party's leader in the House of Representatives (''Tweede Kamer'' ...

. Lewis died on January 3, 2012, after a long battle with cancer. He was 56.

Books

*''Nothing Less than Victory: Decisive Wars and the Lessons of History'' (Princeton University, March 2010) *''Solon the Thinker: Political Thought in Archaic Athens'' (Duckworth Press, 2006) (pb. edn. 2008) *''Early Greek Lawgivers'' (Bristol Classical Press, August 2007)

References

External links

Lewis's website and blogCommentary
published in the ''Huffington Post''
An interview with John David Lewis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, John David American atheists Objectivism scholars Objectivists 1955 births 2012 deaths Duke University faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty Ashland University faculty Alumni of the University of Cambridge