Alan James Ryan (born 9 May 1940) is a British philosopher. He was Professor of

Politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. He was also Warden of

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, from 1996 to 2009.. He retired as

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

in September 2015Pe
Alan Ryan's Homepage
Retrieved 13 August 2019. and lives in

Summertown, Oxford Summertown in North Oxford is a suburb of Oxford, England. Summertown is a one-mile square residential area, north of St Giles, the boulevard leading out of Oxford's city centre. Summertown is home to several independent schools and the city's ...

Biography

Ryan was born on 9 May 1940 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England. He was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, and

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. Elected a fellow of New College in 1969, he later taught at Princeton University, and returned to New College, Oxford, in 1996 to take up the Wardenship. He was made a Fellow of the British Academy in 1986. A political theorist and historian of political thought, Ryan is a recognized authority on the development of modern

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

, especially the work of

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...

, having contributed directly to the 'Reversionary' school, which led to a re-examination of Mill's work from the 1970s. His academic work also takes in broader themes in

political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...

, including the

philosophy of social science Philosophy of social science examines how social science integrates with other related scientific disciplines, which implies a rigorous, systematic endeavor to build and organize knowledge relevant to the interaction between individual people and ...

, the nature of

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

, the history of political thought, and

of the 19th and 20th centuries. Ryan has held positions at the Universities of Oxford,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Keele Keele is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is approximately west of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and is close to the village of Silverdale. Keele lies on the A53 road from Newcastle to ...

and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

. He was also a Visiting Professor of Political Science at The University of Texas at Austin, Australian National University, The New School and many others. Ryan is a regular contributor to ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'', the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

'', and ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'', and continues to write on political theory and the history of political thought.E.g. Alan Ryan, "Paradigms Lost: How Oxford Escaped the Paradigm Wars of the 1960s and 1970s", in Christopher Hood, Desmond King, & Gillian Peele, eds, ''Forging a Discipline'', Oxford University Press, 2014, page vii.

Books

*''The Philosophy of John Stuart Mill'' (1970): an examination of Mill's philosophy of science, its relation to his ethical thought, and a defence of the view that Mill's work is largely coherent, concentrating on Mill's ''A System of Logic''. *''The Philosophy of the Social Sciences'' (1970): an introduction to the philosophy of social science. *''J.S. Mill'' (1975): a guide through the important works of Mill, and the themes to be found therein. *''Property and Political Theory'' (1984) *''Property'' (1987) *''Russell: A Political Life'' (1993) *''John Dewey and the High Tide of American Liberalism'' (1995) *''Liberal Anxieties and Liberal Education'' (1998): given as a lecture series at the University of California, Berkeley, contains autobiographical material. *''On Politics: A History of Political Thought: From Herodotus to the Present'' (2012) traces the origins of political philosophy from the ancient Greeks to Machiavelli in Book I and from Hobbes to the present age in Book II *''The Making of Modern Liberalism'' (2012) exploration of the origins and nature of liberalism from the Enlightenment through its triumphs and setbacks in the twentieth century *''On Machiavelli: The Search for Glory'' (2013): an analysis of Machiavelli's philosophy and its place in the politics of its time

References

External links

*
''Prospect'' magazine''New York Review of Books''Department of Politics and International Relations
*''Debrett's People of Today'' (12th edn, London: Debrett, 1999), p. 1715
Defence of Mill by Ryan as the greatest British philosopher
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Alan 1940 births Living people 20th-century British philosophers 21st-century British philosophers English political philosophers Historians of political thought Philosophers of social science Liberalism Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Alumni of University College London Academics of Keele University Academics of the University of Essex Princeton University faculty Fellows of New College, Oxford Wardens of New College, Oxford Fellows of the British Academy People educated at Christ's Hospital