John Arthur (September 22, 1946 – January 22, 2007) was an American professor of philosophy and an expert in legal theory, constitutional theory,

social ethics Macroethics (from the Greek prefix "makros-" meaning "large" and "ethos" meaning character) is a term coined in the late 20th century to distinguish large-scale ethics from individual ethics, or microethics. It is a type of applied ethics. Macroeth ...

, and political philosophy. He taught at

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

for 18 years.

Early life and education

John Arthur, son of L. James Arthur and Elizabeth Gleason Arthur, grew up in Denver, Colorado. Arthur earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy and history at Cornell College and his master's degree in political sociology and PhD in philosophy at Vanderbilt University.

Academic career

In total, John Arthur spent time teaching at five colleges and universities, including Brandeis University, Harvard University, Tennessee State University, the College of Charleston and Lake Forest College. From 1981–1988 Arthur taught at Tennessee State University. Finding the segregated conditions at TSU to be in violation of the

Equal Protection Clause The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "''nor shall any State ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal ...

of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

, he organized a

biracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

group to file suit against the State of Tennessee. The resulting settlement included a desegregation plan for the entire post-secondary education system of Tennessee and brought in millions of dollars to improve Tennessee State University. In 1989, soon after leaving Tennessee State University, Arthur published his first book, ''The Unfinished Constitution: Philosophy and Constitutional Practice''. Arthur served as a fellow in law and philosophy at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

from 1986–1988. In 1988, Arthur became a professor of philosophy at

, where he worked for 18 years. He created an

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

academic major for Binghamton undergraduate students called the "Program in Philosophy, Politics, and Law", of which Arthur was the director. He received the University and Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Teaching in 1992. In 1995, Arthur served as a research fellow at the University of St Andrews' Centre for Philosophy and Public Affairs, and from 2002–2003 he was a fellow in law and philosophy at the University of Oxford.

Personal life

In 1990, John Arthur married

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

lawyer Amy Shapiro in Denver, Colorado. Arthur's previous marriage had ended in divorce. John Arthur died in

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

care at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, New York on the morning of January 22, 2007 after a year-long battle with lung cancer. He was buried in Denver, Colorado and was survived by his wife.

Selected works

John Arthur wrote three books, the last of which was published posthumously. * * * Reviews of ''Race, Equality, and the Burdens of History'': * * * * Arthur also co-edited and co-authored several books, including: * *

References

External links

Program in Philosophy, Politics, and Law
at Binghamton University {{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, John 1946 births 2007 deaths Writers from Denver Writers from Nashville, Tennessee Writers from Binghamton, New York Tennessee State University faculty Binghamton University faculty Cornell College alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Philosophers from New York (state) Philosophers from Tennessee Philosophers from Colorado American ethicists Writers from New York (state) 20th-century American philosophers 21st-century American philosophers 20th-century American educators 21st-century American educators 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers