David Schmidtz

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

David Schmidtz
Born1955
Alma materUniversity of Saskatchewan
University of Arizona
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolLibertarianism
Arizona School liberalism
Main interests
Rational choice, game theory, political philosophy
Notable ideas
Justice as a map, not a theory[1]
Websitewww.davidschmidtz.com

David Schmidtz (/ʃmɪts/; born 1955) is a Canadian-American philosopher. He is Presidential Chair of Moral Science at West Virginia University's Chambers College of Business and Economics. He is also editor-in-chief of the journal Social Philosophy & Policy. Previously, he was Kendrick Professor of Philosophy and Eller Chair of Service-Dominant Logic at the University of Arizona. While at Arizona, he founded and served as inaugural head of the Department of Political Economy and Moral Science.[2]

Education and career

[edit]

Schmidtz grew up in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada.[3] In 1983, he received his B.A. in philosophy from the University of Saskatchewan. He earned an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Arizona in 1985, and an M.A. in economics, also from the University of Arizona, in 1987. Schmidtz earned his PhD at the University of Arizona in 1988 under the direction of Allen Buchanan. He also studied with Joel Feinberg and Keith Lehrer, Holly Martin Smith, R. Mark Isaac, and Vernon Smith.[4]

In 1988, Schmidtz took a job as an assistant professor at Yale University. He was promoted to associate professor in 1991. He left Yale in 1994, taught at Bowling Green State University, and joined the University of Arizona in 1995. He was promoted to Professor (of Philosophy, joint in Economics) in 1998.[5]

Schmidtz taught first-year property as a visiting professor at Florida State University College of Law in 2007. In the 2014–15 academic year, he was a national Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar and John Stuart Mill Professor at Hamburg University. Schmidtz is the founding director of the Freedom Center at the University of Arizona.[4] Among his former doctoral students are Jason Brennan.

Philosophical work

[edit]

He is author of Elements of Justice,[1] Rational Choice and Moral Agency,[6] co-author of Social Welfare and Individual Responsibility (a "For & Against" book with Robert Goodin)[7] and editor of a volume on Robert Nozick in the Cambridge University Press "Contemporary Philosophy in Focus" series.[8] He also co-edited two editions of Environmental Ethics: What Really Matters, What Really Works with Elizabeth Willott (1955–2015); a third edition of this book with co-editor Dan Shahar was published in 2018.[9] His first book, The Limits of Government: An Essay on the Public Goods Argument,[10] combined his interests in moral philosophy and economic analysis. Schmidtz has also written on rational choice theory and environmental ethics.

He has published articles in many journals, including the Journal of Philosophy, Ethics, and Political Theory along with reviews in journals such as Philosophical Review, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, and Mind. Many of his essays have been (or are in the process of being) reprinted, and have been translated into other languages.[citation needed]

Thirteen of his essays (one previously unpublished, on Peter Singer's approach to moral theory) were published as Person, Polis, Planet: Essays in Applied Philosophy in 2008.[11] A Brief History of Liberty, with co-author Jason Brennan, appeared in 2010.[12] He co-authored the introductory textbook Commercial Society: A Primer on Ethics and Economics with Cathleen Johnson and Robert Lusch[13] and the book Debating Education: Is There a Role for Markets? with Harry Brighouse, both published in 2020.[14]

Selected publications

[edit]

Books

[edit]
  • Schmidtz, David (1991). The limits of government: an essay on the public goods argument. Boulder: Westview Press. ISBN 9780813308708. OCLC 22380961.
  • Schmidtz, David (1995). Rational choice and moral agency. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691029184. OCLC 30474060.
  • Schmidtz, David; Goodin, Robert E. (1998). Social welfare and individual responsibility. For and against. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511815508. ISBN 9780521564618. OCLC 38144477.
  • Schmidtz, David, ed. (2002). Robert Nozick. Contemporary philosophy in focus. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521782265. OCLC 46866414.
  • Schmidtz, David (2006). Elements of justice. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511817519. ISBN 9780521539364. OCLC 60189639.
  • Schmidtz, David (2008). Person, polis, planet: essays in applied philosophy. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780521539364. OCLC 177063142.
  • Schmidtz, David; Brennan, Jason (2010). A brief history of liberty. Brief histories of philosophy. Chichester, UK; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. doi:10.1002/9781444318289. ISBN 9781405170796. OCLC 430736591.
  • Schmidtz, David; Willott, Elizabeth, eds. (2012). Environmental ethics: what really matters, what really works (2nd ed.). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199793518. OCLC 746489205.
  • Brennan, Jason; van der Vossen, Bas; Schmidtz, David, eds. (2017). The Routledge handbook of libertarianism. Routledge handbooks in philosophy. New York: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781317486794. ISBN 9781138832169. OCLC 978902248.
  • Schmidtz, David; Pavel, Carmen E., eds. (2018). The Oxford handbook of freedom. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199989423.001.0001. ISBN 9780199989423. OCLC 1028580625.
  • Schmidtz, David; Shahar, Dan C., eds. (2018). Environmental ethics: what really matters, what really works (3rd ed.). Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190259228. OCLC 1029060677.
  • Johnson, Cathleen; Lusch, Robert F.; Schmidtz, David (2020). Commercial society: a primer on ethics and economics. Economy, polity, and society. London; Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781786613561. OCLC 1104298783.
  • Schmidtz, David; Brighouse, Harry (2020). Debating education: is there a role for markets?. Debating ethics. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oso/9780199300945.001.0001. ISBN 9780199300952. OCLC 1099949826.
  • Schmidtz, David (2023). Living Together: Inventing Moral Science. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oso/9780197658505.001.0001. ISBN 9780197658505. OCLC 1338165537.

Articles and chapters

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Schmidtz 2006.
  2. ^ "David Schmidtz: Kendrick Professor of Philosophy and joint Professor of Economics". University of Arizona. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  3. ^ Whetzel, Melissa (2013-03-18). "College Creates Awareness on Economic Topics with Adam Smith Week". College of Charleston. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b "David Schmidtz". University of Arizona. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  5. ^ "History and Pattern". Institute for Applied and Professional Ethics. Ohio University. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  6. ^ Schmidtz 1995.
  7. ^ Schmidtz & Goodin 1998.
  8. ^ Schmidtz 2002.
  9. ^ Schmidtz & Shahar 2018.
  10. ^ Schmidtz 1991.
  11. ^ Schmidtz 2008.
  12. ^ Schmidtz & Brennan 2010.
  13. ^ Johnson, Lusch & Schmidtz 2020.
  14. ^ Schmidtz & Brighouse 2020.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Schmidtz&oldid=1217198782"