Robert Nozick was an American philosopher, born in 1938 and died in 2002, who held the Joseph Pellegrino University Professorship at Harvard University and served as president of the American Philosophical Association. He is best known for his 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia, a libertarian response to John Rawls's 1971 A Theory of Justice, in which Nozick argues that a minimal state limited to protecting citizens against force, theft and fraud is the only form of government that can be justified without violating individual rights. His 1981 book Philosophical Explanations advanced an influential counterfactual theory of knowledge and won the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award. Nozick also wrote on ethics, decision theory, philosophy of mind and metaphysics, and his final book, Invariances, published in 2001 shortly before his death, introduced a theory of evolutionary cosmology in which he argued that invariances, and objectivity itself, emerged through a process of evolution across possible worlds.
Facts
Defining MomentPublished Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), a libertarian answer to John Rawls's A Theory of Justice, proposing the minimal state as the only justifiable form of government. 1 Notable PublicationAnarchy, State, and Utopia (1974) 1 Office HeldJoseph Pellegrino University Professor, Harvard University; president, American Philosophical Association 1 BirthplaceBrooklyn, New York, United States 1 Death PlaceCambridge, Massachusetts, United States 1 TraditionAnalytic philosophy; libertarianism 1 Tradition
Tradition (category) FAQs
Did Robert Nozick remain a libertarian?
Not entirely: he later called his early political work seriously inadequate, and scholars still debate where he ended up.
Nozick began as a socialist and said he was pulled into libertarianism reluctantly, after he could not form satisfactory responses to libertarian arguments. In his later publications he expressed misgivings about his own Anarchy, State, and Utopia. In the introduction of The Examined Life he said his earlier works on political philosophy now seemed seriously inadequate, and The Examined Life also proposes wealth redistribution through an inheritance tax. Scholars and journalists have since debated his true position. The libertarian journalist Julian Sanchez, who interviewed him shortly before his death, said Nozick always thought of himself as a libertarian in a broad sense, even as his views became somewhat less hardcore.
Connections
Associated With
Source Experience Machine (Wikipedia)
Source Utility Monster (Wikipedia)
Critiqued Here
In Branch
Source Robert Nozick (Wikipedia)
Source Robert Nozick (Wikipedia)
In Tradition
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in History Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Robert Nozick (Wikipedia)Lead sentence 1tier 2Quote, Lead sentence 1
Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938 – January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher.
Sources
1. Robert Nozick (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction, opening sentence (birth date)
Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938, January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher.
Introduction, opening sentence (death year)
Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938, January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher.
Introduction, opening sentence (death date)
Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938, January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher.
Personal life
Nozick was born in Brooklyn to a family of Jewish descent.
Infobox, death_place field
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Personal life (libertarianism)
He began to move away from socialist ideals when exposed to Friedrich Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty, claiming he "was pulled into libertarianism reluctantly" when he found himself unable to form satisfactory responses to libertarian arguments.
Introduction, paragraph 1
He is best known for his book Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), a libertarian answer to John Rawls' A Theory of Justice (1971), in which Nozick proposes his minimal state as the only justifiable form of government.
Introduction, paragraph 1 (defining moment)
He is best known for his book Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974), a libertarian answer to John Rawls' A Theory of Justice (1971), in which Nozick proposes his minimal state as the only justifiable form of government.
Introduction, paragraph 1 (offices)
He held the Joseph Pellegrino University Professorship at Harvard University, and was president of the American Philosophical Association.
Introduction, opening sentence (birth year)
Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938, January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher.
In Branch: Political Philosophy, Infobox: main_interests
Political philosophy, ethics, epistemology
In Branch: Epistemology, Infobox: main_interests
Political philosophy, ethics, epistemology
View the Source Wikidata: Robert Nozick
Wikidata Q205927, class allow-list match, case-insensitive label variant (w-bbfill-smallsix2-0926/resolve_ci.ps1)View the Source G.A. Cohen (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: G.A. Cohen, Academic career section, self-ownership sentence, re NozickQuote, Associated With: G.A. Cohen, Academic career section, self-ownership sentence, re Nozick
contrasting his views with those of John Rawls and Robert Nozick by articulating an extensive critique of the Lockean principle of self-ownership as well as the use of that principle to defend right as well as left-libertarianism
Experience Machine (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Experience Machine, Experience machine (Wikipedia), on Nozick 1974Quote, Associated With: Experience Machine, Experience machine (Wikipedia), on Nozick 1974
The experience machine or pleasure machine is a thought experiment put forward by philosopher Robert Nozick in his 1974 book Anarchy, State, and Utopia.
Utility Monster (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Utility Monster, LeadQuote, Associated With: Utility Monster, Lead
The utility monster is a thought experiment in the study of ethics created by philosopher Robert Nozick in 1974 as a criticism of utilitarianism.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.