Nussbaum’s Liberty of Conscience: Author Meets Critics
Research Beehive room 2.21
Old Library Building
Newcastle University
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Martha C. Nussbaum is one of the most significant moral and political philosophers today. Her recent work Liberty of Conscience: In Defense of America’s Tradition of Religious Equality marks a significant contribution to how we should respond to questions concerning the freedom of religious expression in a multicultural society. This conference will bring together four leading political philosophers—Chandran Kukathas (LSE), Peter Jones (Newcastle), Anne Phillips (LSE), and Susan Mendus (York)—with individual replies by Martha Nussbaum (Chicago) discussing themes in Liberty of Conscience.
Martha C. Nussbaum is Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, appointed in the Philosophy Department, Law School, and Divinity School. She is an Associate in the Classics Department and the Political Science Department, an Affiliate of the Committee on Southern Asian Studies, and a Board Member of the Human Rights Program. She is the founder and coordinator of the Centre for Comparative Constitutionalism. She has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as having been a member of its Council. She is also a member of the American Philosophical Society and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. She has received honorary degrees from thirty-two colleges in the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe. Her books include Aristotle’s De Motu Animalium (1978), The Fragility of Goodness(1986), Love’s Knowledge (1990), The Therapy of Desire (1994), Poetic Justice (1996), For Love of Country (1996), Cultivating Humanity (1997), Sex and Social Justice (1998), Women and Human Development (2000), Upheavals of Thought (2001), Hiding from Humanity (2004), Frontiers of Justice (2006), The Clash Within (2007), and Liberty of Conscience: In Defense of America’s Tradition of Religious Equality. In addition, she has edited over a dozen books. Nussbaum has published in several leading journals, including Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, and the Journal of Moral Philosophy amongst many others.
Chandran Kukathas is Chair in Political Theory at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has held previous positions at the Royal Military College, Canberra; Oxford; the Australian National University; the University of New South Wales; and the University of Utah. His books include The Liberal Archipelago (2003), Handbook of Political Theory (with Gerald Gaus) (2004), John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice and Its Critics (with Philip Pettit) (1990), and John Rawls: Critical Assessments (2002). Kukathas has published in several leading journals, including The Monist, Social Philosophy and Policy, Journal of Social Philosophy, and the Journal of Political Philosophy amongst many others.
Peter Jones is Professor of Political Philosophy at Newcastle University. His books include Rights (1994); Party, Parliament, and Personality (1995); and Group Rights (2009). Jones has published in several leading journals, including British Journal of Political Science; Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy; Human Rights Quarterly; Journal of Political Philosophy; Political Studies; Res Publica; and Review of International Studies amongst many others.
Anne Phillips is Professor of Political and Gender Theory at the London School of Economics and Political Science with appointments in the LSE Gender Institute and Government Department. She is a Fellow of the British Academy. She has held a previous appointment at the Australian National University. Her books include Hidden Hands (1983), Feminism and Equality (1987), The Enigma of Colonialism (1989), Engendering Democracy (1991), Destabilising Theory (1992), Democracy and Difference (1993), The Politics of Presence (1995), Feminism and Politics (1998), Which Equalities Matter? (1999), Oxford Handbook of Political Theory (with John Dryzek and Bonnie Honig) (2006), and Multiculturalism without Culture (2007). Phillips has published in several leading journals, including Journal of Political Philosophy, Modern Law Review, and Political Studies amongst many others.
Susan Mendus is Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of York. She is a Fellow of the British Academy. Her books include After MacIntyre (with John Horton) (1994), The Politics of Toleration (1999), Toleration, Identity and Difference (with John Horton) (1999), Feminism and Emotion (2000), Impartiality in Moral and Political Philosophy (2002), Aspects of Toleration (with John Horton) (2009), Justifying Toleration (2009), and Politics and Morality (2009). Mendus has published in several leading journals, including the British Journal of Political Science; Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy; Philosophia amongst many others.
Thom Brooks is Reader in Political and Legal Philosophy at the University of Newcastle and the editor of the Journal of Moral Philosophy. He was previously a fellow at the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs at the University of St Andrews. His books include The Legacy of John Rawls (with Fabian Freyenhagen) (2005); Rousseau and Law (2005); Hegel’s Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right (2007); Locke and Law (2007); The Global Justice Reader (2008); The Right to a Fair Trial (2009); and a forthcoming book on punishment. His articles have appeared in several journals, such as History of Political Thought, Journal of Applied Philosophy, Journal of Social Philosophy, Philosophical Topics, Philosophy, Ratio, and Utilitas amongst others. He is currently editing a book with Martha Nussbaum entitled Rawls’s Political Liberalism.
The conference is open to all and it is supported generously by the Newcastle Institute for the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (NIASSH); the Newcastle Ethics, Legal, and Political Philosophy Group; the School of Geography, Politics, and Sociology; Basic Books; and the Journal of Moral Philosophy.
Registration fees:
Unwaged/student: £15
Waged: £20
Price includes registration, teas/coffees, and a buffet lunch.