Lawrence C. Becker (April 26, 1939 – November 22, 2018) was an

American philosopher This is a list of American philosophers; of philosophers who are either from, or spent many productive years of their lives in the United States. {, border="0" style="margin:auto;" class="toccolours" , - ! {{MediaWiki:Toc , - , style="text-al ...

working mainly in the areas of

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

and

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

, and

legal philosophy Philosophy of law is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature of law and law's relationship to other systems of norms, especially ethics and political philosophy. It asks questions like "What is law?", "What are the criteria for legal val ...

Work

Becker is the author of books and journal articles on

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, Stoicism and

Modern Stoicism Contemporary Stoicism refers to currents in culture from the 20th century and later reviving elements of Stoicism. It is different from neostoicism, an earlier revival in the late 16th century. The term "contemporary Stoicism" covers both the r ...

, reciprocity,

property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically h ...

, and

metaethics In metaphilosophy and ethics, meta-ethics is the study of the nature, scope, and meaning of moral judgment. It is one of the three branches of ethics generally studied by philosophers, the others being normative ethics (questions of how one ought ...

. He was an associate editor of the journal ''Ethics'' from 1985–2000, and the editor, with the librarian Charlotte B. Becker, of two editions of the ''

Encyclopedia of Ethics The ''Encyclopedia of Ethics'' is a scholarly work with the original focus on ethical theory. It is published by Routledge and includes "biographical articles, entries on areas and issues related to ethics, treatment of major traditions in religio ...

''. Becker is a Fellow of

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

, where he taught philosophy from 1965–1989, and is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus from the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William I ...

, where he was the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor in the Humanities and Philosophy from 1989–2001. From 2000–2011 he was on the volunteer Board of Directors of

Post-Polio Health International Post-Polio Health International (PHI) is a relatively new name for a non-profit organization that officially began its work in 1960. For many years it was known in medical, rehabilitation, and disability circles variously as GINI, or the Internation ...

, and served as its President and Chair from 2006–2009.

Books authored

*''Habilitation, Health, and Agency: a Framework for Basic Justice''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. E-book, 2013. *''A New Stoicism''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998. ** Paperback issued by Princeton University Press, 1999. ** E-book, 2010. ** Revised Edition, 2017. *''Reciprocity''. London and New York: Routledge, 1986. Pbk issued by the University of Chicago Press, 1990. Reissued by Routledge in hbk and e-book, 2014. *''Property Rights: Philosophic Foundations''. London and New York, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977. Pbk, 1980. Reissued by Routledge in hbk and e-book, 2014. *''On Justifying Moral Judgments''. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1973. Reissued by Routledge in hbk and e-book, 2014.

Books edited with Charlotte B. Becker

*''Encyclopedia of Ethics''. Second edition in three volumes. New York: Routledge, 2001. (First Edition in 2 volumes: New York: Garland Publishing, 1992.) *''A History of Western Ethics''. Second Edition, revised with expanded index and glossary. New York: Routledge, 2003. (First Edition, New York: Garland Publishing, 1992).

Book edited with Kenneth Kipnis

*''Property: Cases, Concepts, and Critiques''. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1984.

General editor for book series

*''Ethical Investigations: A Routledge Series of Article Collections''. New York: Routledge, 2003. Two collections (6 vols. each) of classic journal articles. Carl Wellman, ed., ''Rights and Duties''; Peter Vallentyne, ed., ''Equality and Justice''.

References

External links

Bio blurb and CV

Message on the passing of Lawrence C. Becker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Lawrence C. 1939 births 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers 21st-century American male writers American ethicists Political philosophers Philosophers from Virginia 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 2018 deaths