Jan Narveson (; born 1936) is professor of

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

emeritus at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

, in

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto, but it is n ...

, Canada. An

anarcho-capitalist Anarcho-capitalism (colloquially: ancap or an-cap) is a political philosophy and economic theory that advocates for the abolition of Sovereign state, centralized states in favor of Stateless society, stateless societies, where systems of p ...

and contractarian, Narveson's ideology is deeply influenced by the thought of

Robert Nozick Robert Nozick (; November 16, 1938 – January 23, 2002) was an American philosopher. He held the Joseph Pellegrino Harvard University Professor, University Professorship at Harvard University,David Gauthier David Gauthier (; 10 September 1932 – 9 November 2023) was a Canadian philosopher best known for his neo- Hobbesian or contractarian theory of morality, as developed in his 1986 book ''Morals by Agreement''. Life and career David Gauthier w ...

Biography

Narveson was born in Erskine, Minnesota, United States. He studied at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

where he obtained a BA in political science and in philosophy; he then spent a year 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 ...

on a traveling fellowship before earning a PhD at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1961. His libertarian views have evolved from dissatisfaction with

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...

. A prolific author, Narveson has written hundreds of essays, reviews and articles for publication. A critic of

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

, he is also known at the

for taking part in many on-campus debates. In 2002 he published ''Respecting Persons in Theory and Practice'' (2002), a collection of his most influential essays spanning the length of his career. His most recent work is ''You and the State: A Short Introduction to Political Philosophy''. Narveson is a long-time member of the Ontario Libertarian Party, and is currently a member of its Ethics Committee. Apart from his libertarian work, he is the founder/president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society, a long-running venue for classical chamber music. In 2003, Narveson was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

by past Governor-General of Canada,

Adrienne Clarkson Adrienne Louise Clarkson ( zh, c=伍冰枝; ; born February 10, 1939) is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as the 26th governor general of Canada from 1999 to 2005. Clarkson arrived in Canada with her family in 1941, as a refuge ...

. Narveson was the founding Chairman and President of the Institute for Liberal Studies, and since 2016 has been Chairman Emeritus.

Criticism of animal rights

Narveson is a noted opponent of

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...

and one of Tom Regan's severe critics.Taylor, Angus. (2003). ''Animals and Ethics: An Overview of the Philosophical Debate''. Broadview Press. pp. 74-76. He has defended a contractarian account of morality in which only agents capable of agreeing to obligations and social rules have moral standing, therefore animals cannot have rights. Under contractarian ethics all moral obligations derive from mutual agreement between different parties but as animals can not understand the terms of an agreement nor demand duties from humans then the life and welfare of the animal is only relevant as they matter to human interests.Appleby, Michael C; Weary, Daniel M; Sandøe, Peter. (2014). ''Dilemmas in Animal Welfare''. CABI. p. 58.

Selected publications

* ''Morality and Utility'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1967. * ''Moral Issues'', Oxford University Press, 1983.
''A Case Against Animal Rights''
Moorhead State University, 1986. * ''Political Correctness: For and Against'' co-authored with Marilyn Friedman, Rowman & Littlefield, 1995. * ''Moral Matters'', 2nd ed., Broadview Press, 1999. * ''The Libertarian Idea'', Paperback edition (with new preface). Broadview Press, 2001. (Orig. pub.: Temple University Press, 1988) * ''Respecting Persons in Theory and Practice: Essays on Moral and Political Philosophy'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2002. * ''You and the State'', 2008. * ''This is Ethical Theory'', Open Court, 2010. * ''Are Liberty and Equality Compatible?'', Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Notes

External links

Homepage of Jan Narveson at the Univ. of Waterloo

Criticism of Narveson's Libertarianism
by

G. A. Cohen Gerald Allan Cohen ( ; 14 April 1941 – 5 August 2009) was a Canadian political philosophy, political philosopher who held the positions of Quain Professor, Quain Professor of Jurisprudence, University College London and Chichele Professor of ...

An interview with Jan Narveson about the philosophy of Robert Nozick
by Peter Jaworski

* ttp://www.abolitionistapproach.com/media/mp3/tswi_animal_rights_090328_20090328_44_1kHz.mp3 A debate between Narveson and Gary Francione on Radio Netherlands on the issue of animal rights. {{DEFAULTSORT:Narveson, Jan 1936 births Living people Alumni of the University of Oxford American anarcho-capitalists Canadian anti-communists Canadian libertarians 20th-century Canadian philosophers 21st-century Canadian philosophers Canadian political philosophers Critics of animal rights Harvard University alumni Libertarian theorists Officers of the Order of Canada University of Chicago alumni Academic staff of the University of Waterloo

Biography

Criticism of animal rights

Selected publications

See also

Notes

External links