Matthew H. Kramer's Books

H.L.A. Hart

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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H.L.A. Hart is among the most important philosophers of the twentieth century, with an especially great influence on the philosophy of law. His 1961 book The Concept of Law has become an enduring classic of legal philosophy, and has also left a significant imprint on moral and political philosophy. In this volume, leading contemporary legal and political philosopher Matthew H. Kramer provides a crystal-clear analysis of Hart’s contributions to our understanding of the nature of law. He elucidates and scrutinizes every major aspect of Hart’s jurisprudential thinking, ranging from his general methodology to his defense of legal positivism. He shows how Hart’s achievement in The Concept of Law, despite the evolution of debates in subsequent decades, remains central to contemporary legal philosophy because it lends itself to being reinterpreted in light of new concerns and interests. Kramer therefore pays particular attention to the strength of Hart’s insights in the context of present-day disputes among philosophers over the reality of normative entities and properties and over the semantics of normative statements. This book is an invaluable guide to Hart’s thought for students and scholars of legal philosophy and jurisprudence, as well as moral and political philosophy.

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260

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John Wiley & Sons

Published Date

ISBN 10

1509520767

ISBN 13

9781509520763

Rights and Right-Holding

A Philosophical Investigation

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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Rights and Right-Holding

A Philosophical Investigation

By: Matthew H. Kramer

Building on many years of scholarship, Matthew H. Kramer sets out his definitive philosophical investigation of rights and rights-holding with this monograph, as he sometimes revisits and modifies his previous positions. Beginning with the analytical schema propounded by the American legal theorist Wesley Hohfeld, the book provides a defence of the proposition that every claim-right with a certain content is correlative to at least one duty with the same content, and that every duty with a certain content is correlative to at least one claim-right with the same content. The volume then addresses the longstanding debates over the nature of right-holding, with a sustained defense of the Interest Theory and with some innovative critiques of the Will Theory. Finally, it considers the ethical and analytical questions involved in determining who can hold claim-rights at all. It argues that the beings capable of holding claim-rights include not only human adults of sound mind, but also all other living human beings, many dead people, and all future generations of people, along with most non-human animals. Addressing some major topics within moral, legal, and political philosophy, Rights and Right-Holding: A Philosophical Investigation will be a key work for philosophers and academic lawyers alike.

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433

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0198891245

ISBN 13

9780198891246

Freedom of Expression as Self-Restraint

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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Freedom of Expression as Self-Restraint

By: Matthew H. Kramer

Freedom of Expression as Self-Restraint provides a novel justificatory foundation for the principle of freedom of expression. As the book argues, such a principle is absolute in that it is exceptionless; it imposes general duties that are binding always and everywere on every system of governance. In addition to injecting a new level of philosophical sophistication into the debates over freedom of expression, the book ties the principle to an ideal of governmental self-restraint, and it shows how that ideal connects to the paramount moral responsibility of every system of governance: the responsibility to bring about the political, social, and economic conditions under which every member of society can be warranted in harbouring an ample sense of self-respect. In short, compliance by a system of governance with the principle of freedom of expression is integral to the fulfilment of that paramount responsibility.

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368

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0192639226

ISBN 13

9780192639226

Objectivity and the Rule of Law

By: Matthew Kramer

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Objectivity and the Rule of Law

By: Matthew Kramer

What is objectivity? What is the rule of law? Are the operations of legal systems objective? If so, in what ways and to what degrees are they objective? Does anything of importance depend on the objectivity of law? These are some of the principal questions addressed by Matthew H. Kramer in this lucid and wide-ranging study that introduces readers to vital areas of philosophical enquiry. As Kramer shows, objectivity and the rule of law are complicated phenomena, each comprising a number of distinct though overlapping dimensions. Although the connections between objectivity and the rule of law are intimate, they are also densely multi-faceted.

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233

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1139463969

ISBN 13

9781139463966

Liberalism with Excellence

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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Liberalism with Excellence

By: Matthew H. Kramer

During the past several decades, political philosophers have frequently clashed with one another over the question whether governments are morally required to remain neutral among reasonable conceptions of excellence and human flourishing. Whereas the numerous followers of John Rawls (and kindred philosophers such as Ronald Dworkin) have maintained that a requirement of neutrality is indeed incumbent on every system of governance, other philosophers — often designated as 'perfectionists' — have argued against the existence of such a requirement. Liberalism with Excellence enters these debates not by plighting itself unequivocally to one side or the other, but instead by reconceiving each of the sides and thus by redirecting the debates that have occurred between them. On the one hand, the book rejects the requirement of neutrality by contending that certain subsidies for the promotion of excellence in sundry areas of human endeavour can be proper and vital uses of resources by governments. Advocating such departures from the constraint of neutrality, the book presents a version of liberalism that can rightly be classified as 'perfectionist'. On the other hand, the species of perfectionism espoused in Liberalism with Excellence diverges markedly from the theories that have usually been so classified. Indeed, much of the book assails various aspects of those theories. What is more, the aspirational perfectionism elaborated in the closing chapters of the volume is reconcilable in most key respects with a suitably amplified version of Rawlsianism. Hence, by reconceiving both the perfectionist side and the neutralist side of the prevailing disputation, Liberalism with Excellence combines and transforms their respective insights.

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447

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0191083836

ISBN 13

9780191083839

Moral Realism as a Moral Doctrine

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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Moral Realism as a Moral Doctrine

By: Matthew H. Kramer

In this major new work, Matthew Kramer seeks to establish two main conclusions. On the one hand, moral requirements are strongly objective. On the other hand, the objectivity of ethics is itself an ethical matter that rests primarily on ethical considerations. Moral realism - the doctrine that morality is indeed objective - is a moral doctrine. Major new volume in our new series New Directions in Ethics Takes on the big picture - defending the objectivity of ethics whilst rejecting the grounds of much of the existing debate between realists and anti-realists Cuts across both ethical theory and metaethics Distinguished by the quality of the scholarship and its ambitious range

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Page Count

400

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Published Date

ISBN 10

1405194022

ISBN 13

9781405194020

Liberalism with Excellence

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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Liberalism with Excellence

By: Matthew H. Kramer

During the past several decades, political philosophers have frequently clashed with one another over the question whether governments are morally required to remain neutral among reasonable conceptions of excellence and human flourishing. Whereas the numerous followers of John Rawls (and kindred philosophers such as Ronald Dworkin) have maintained that a requirement of neutrality is indeed incumbent on every system of governance, other philosophers -- often designated as 'perfectionists' -- have argued against the existence of such a requirement. Liberalism with Excellence enters these debates not by plighting itself unequivocally to one side or the other, but instead by reconceiving each of the sides and thus by redirecting the debates that have occurred between them. On the one hand, the book rejects the requirement of neutrality by contending that certain subsidies for the promotion of excellence in sundry areas of human endeavour can be proper and vital uses of resources by governments. Advocating such departures from the constraint of neutrality, the book presents a version of liberalism that can rightly be classified as 'perfectionist'. On the other hand, the species of perfectionism espoused in Liberalism with Excellence diverges markedly from the theories that have usually been so classified. Indeed, much of the book assails various aspects of those theories. What is more, the aspirational perfectionism elaborated in the closing chapters of the volume is reconcilable in most key respects with a suitably amplified version of Rawlsianism. Hence, by reconceiving both the perfectionist side and the neutralist side of the prevailing disputation, Liberalism with Excellence combines and transforms their respective insights.

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603

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Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0191083844

ISBN 13

9780191083846

H.L.A. Hart

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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H.L.A. Hart

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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260

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John Wiley & Sons

Published Date

ISBN 10

1509520767

ISBN 13

9781509520763

The Ethics of Capital Punishment

A Philosophical Investigation of Evil and Its Consequences

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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The Ethics of Capital Punishment

A Philosophical Investigation of Evil and Its Consequences

By: Matthew H. Kramer

Taking a fresh look at a central controversy in criminal law theory, The Ethics of Capital Punishment presents a rationale for the death penalty grounded in a theory of the nature of evil and the nature of defilement. Original, unsettling, and deeply controversial, it will be an essential reference point for future debates on the subject.

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370

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199642184

ISBN 13

9780199642182

Rights and Right-Holding

A Philosophical Investigation

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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Rights and Right-Holding

A Philosophical Investigation

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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433

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Oxford University Press

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ISBN 10

0198891245

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9780198891246

The Ethics of Capital Punishment

A Philosophical Investigation of Evil and Its Consequences

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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The Ethics of Capital Punishment

A Philosophical Investigation of Evil and Its Consequences

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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370

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Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199642192

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9780199642199

Groupers of the World

A Field and Market Guide

By: Matthew T. Craig,Yvonne J. Sadovy de Mitcheson,Phillip C. Heemstra

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Groupers of the World

A Field and Market Guide

By: Matthew T. Craig,Yvonne J. Sadovy de Mitcheson,Phillip C. Heemstra

This is the sixteenth issue in the FAO series of worldwide annotated and illustrated catalogues of major groups of organisms that enter marine fisheries. It contains the 159 species in 15 genera known from the serranid subfamily Epinephelinae, including one species new to science. There is an introductory section with general remarks on habitat and fisheries of the family, a glossary of technical terms, an illustrated key to each genus and all species, and a detailed account for all species. Species accounts include an illustration of each species, scientific and vernacular names, and information on habitat, biology, fisheries, size, relevant literature, and distribution.

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426

Publisher

CRC Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1466559314

ISBN 13

9781466559318

Moral Realism as a Moral Doctrine

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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Moral Realism as a Moral Doctrine

By: Matthew H. Kramer

In this major new work, Matthew Kramer seeks to establish two mainconclusions. On the one hand, moral requirements are stronglyobjective. On the other hand, the objectivity of ethics is itselfan ethical matter that rests primarily on ethical considerations.Moral realism - the doctrine that morality is indeed objective - isa moral doctrine. Major new volume in our new series New Directions inEthics Takes on the big picture - defending the objectivity of ethicswhilst rejecting the grounds of much of the existing debate betweenrealists and anti-realists Cuts across both ethical theory and metaethics Distinguished by the quality of the scholarship and itsambitious range

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400

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons

Published Date

ISBN 10

1444310631

ISBN 13

9781444310634

The Quality of Freedom

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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The Quality of Freedom

By: Matthew H. Kramer

At least since the publication of Isaiah Berlin's famous essay "Two Concepts of Liberty" nearly half a century ago, political philosophers have argued vigorously over the relative merits of "positive" and "negative" accounts of freedom. Matthew Kramer writes squarely within the negative-liberty tradition, but he incorporates a number of ideas that are quite often associated with theories of positive liberty. Much of The Quality of Freedom is devoted to elaborating the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of particular freedoms and unfreedoms; however, the book's cardinal objective is to establish the measurability of each person's overall freedom and of each society's aggregate freedom. On the one hand, Kramer contends that the existence of any particular instance of liberty or unfreedom is a matter of fact that can be confirmed or disconfirmed without any reliance on evaluative or normative considerations. On the other hand, he argues that the extent of each person's overall freedom or unfreedom cannot be ascertained entirely in the absence of evaluative assumptions. By combining those two positions and developing them in detail, Kramer pits himself against all positive accounts of liberty and most negative accounts. In the course of so doing, he aims to demonstrate the rigorous measurability of overall liberty - something that many writers on freedom have casually dismissed as impossible. Although Kramer concentrates principally on constructing a systematic analysis of sociopolitical freedom, he engages critically with the work of many of the leading contemporary writers on the topic.

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496

Publisher

OUP Oxford

Published Date

ISBN 10

0191562866

ISBN 13

9780191562860

Torture and Moral Integrity

A Philosophical Enquiry

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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Torture and Moral Integrity

A Philosophical Enquiry

By: Matthew H. Kramer

Torture and Moral Integrity tackles a concrete moral problem that has been hotly debated by governments, scholars, and the media: the morality of interrogational torture. It discusses multiple types of torture with great philosophical acuity and seeks to explain why interrogational torture and other types of torture are always and everywhere morally wrong. At the same time, it rigorously plumbs the general structure of morality and the intricacies of moral conflicts and probes some of the chief grounds for the moral illegitimacy of various modes of conduct. It defends a deontological conception of morality against the subtle critiques that have been mounted over the past few decades by proponents of consequentialism. Kramer's recommendations concerning the legal consequences of the perpetration of torture by public officials or private individuals, for example, are based squarely on his more abstract accounts of the nature of torture and the nature of morality. His philosophical reflections on the structure of morality are a vital background for his approach to torture, and his approach to torture is a natural outgrowth of those philosophical reflections.

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369

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OUP Oxford

Published Date

ISBN 10

0191023647

ISBN 13

9780191023644

In Defense of Legal Positivism

Law Without Trimmings

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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In Defense of Legal Positivism

Law Without Trimmings

By: Matthew H. Kramer

As an uncompromising defense of legal positivism, this book insists on the separability of law and morality. After distinguishing among three main dimensions of morality, the book explores a variety of ways in which law has been perceived by natural-law theorists as integrally connected to each of those dimensions. Some of the chapters pose arguments against major philosophers who have written on these issues, including David Lyons, Lon Fuller, Antony Duff, Joseph Raz, Ronald Dworkin, John Finnis, Philip Soper, Neil MacCormick, Robert Alexy, Gerald Postema, Stephen Perry, and Michael Moore. Several other chapters extend rather than defend legal positivism; they refine the insights of positivism and develop the implications of those insights in strikingly novel directions. The book concludes with a long discussion of the obligation to obey the law a discussion that highlights the strengths of legal positivism in the domain of political philosophy as much as in the domain of jurisprudence.

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328

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

019926483X

ISBN 13

9780199264834

Torture and Moral Integrity

A Philosophical Enquiry

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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Torture and Moral Integrity

A Philosophical Enquiry

By: Matthew H. Kramer

The morality of interrogational torture has been the subject of heated debate in recent years. In explaining why torture is morally wrong, Matthew Kramer engages in deep philosophical reflections on the nature of morality and on moral conflicts.

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339

Published Date

ISBN 10

0191782661

ISBN 13

9780191782664

In the Realm of Legal and Moral Philosophy

Critical Encounters

By: M. Kramer

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In the Realm of Legal and Moral Philosophy

Critical Encounters

By: M. Kramer

In this wide-ranging investigation of many prominent issues in contemporary legal, political, and moral philosophy, Matthew Kramer combines penetrating critiques with original theorising as he examines the writings of numerous major theorists (including Ronald Dworkin, H.L.A. Hart, Alan Gewirth, Ronald Coase and Richard Posner). Among the many topics covered by Kramer's essays are the relative merits of legal positivism and natural-law theory, the appropriate understanding of justice, the role of consequences in moral decision-making, and the ultimate foundations of moral judgements.

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216

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

Published Date

ISBN 10

0333743253

ISBN 13

9780333743256

John Locke and the Origins of Private Property

Philosophical Explorations of Individualism, Community, and Equality

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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John Locke and the Origins of Private Property

Philosophical Explorations of Individualism, Community, and Equality

By: Matthew H. Kramer

A close study of the main Lockean texts revises our understanding of Locke the individualist.

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368

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

052154890X

ISBN 13

9780521548908

Critical Legal Theory and the Challenge of Feminism

A Philosophical Reconception

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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Critical Legal Theory and the Challenge of Feminism

A Philosophical Reconception

By: Matthew H. Kramer

Critical Legal Theory and the Challenge of Feminism provides both a thorough overview and a refinement of the ideas that underlie critical legal theory. Arguing with the rigor of analytic philosophy and the alertness to paradoxes characteristic of deconstructive philosophy, Matthew Kramer begins by exploring the tangled relations between metaphysics and politics. He then attempts to transform the discourses of the critical legal studies movement by laying out a framework of five general themes: contradictions, contingency, patterning, perspective, and ideology. Kramer calls for a more sophisticated awareness of their paradoxes, explaining why the paradoxes are by no means disabling or demobilizing. Finally, Kramer explores some of feminist theory's major controversies and problems, and argues that feminist theory can profit greatly by giving due attention to inescapable paradoxes. The book is an important contribution to political philosophy, jurisprudence, feminist philosophy and metaphysics, with powerful implications for epistemology and literary theory.

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Page Count

332

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Pub Incorporated

Published Date

ISBN 10

084767987X

ISBN 13

9780847679874

The Quality of Freedom

By: Matthew H. Kramer

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The Quality of Freedom

By: Matthew H. Kramer

At least since the publication of Isaiah Berlin's famous essay "Two Concepts of Liberty" nearly half a century ago, political philosophers have argued vigorously over the relative merits of "positive" and "negative" accounts of freedom. Matthew Kramer writes squarely within the negative-liberty tradition, but he incorporates a number of ideas that are quite often associated with theories of positive liberty. Much of The Quality of Freedom is devoted to elaborating the necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of particular freedoms and unfreedoms; however, the book's cardinal objective is to establish the measurability of each person's overall freedom and of each society's aggregate freedom. On the one hand, Kramer contends that the existence of any particular instance of liberty or unfreedom is a matter of fact that can be confirmed or disconfirmed without any reliance on evaluative or normative considerations. On the other hand, he argues that the extent of each person's overall freedom or unfreedom cannot be ascertained entirely in the absence of evaluative assumptions. By combining those two positions and developing them in detail, Kramer pits himself against all positive accounts of liberty and most negative accounts. In the course of so doing, he aims to demonstrate the rigorous measurability of overall liberty--something that many writers on freedom have casually dismissed as impossible. Although Kramer concentrates principally on constructing a systematic analysis of sociopolitical freedom, he engages critically with the work of many of the leading contemporary writers on the topic.

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