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

legal theory Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

constitutional theory Constitutional theory is an area of constitutional law that focuses on the underpinnings of constitutional government. It overlaps with legal theory, constitutionalism, philosophy of law and democratic theory. It is not limited by country or juri ...

, social ethics, and

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

. 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 in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

for 18 years.

Early life and education

John Arthur, son of L. James Arthur and Elizabeth Gleason Arthur, grew up in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Colorado. Arthur earned his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in philosophy and history at

Cornell College Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary (Methodist), the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell Co ...

and his master's degree in

political sociology Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...

and PhD in philosophy at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

Academic career

In total, John Arthur spent time teaching at five colleges and universities, including

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

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 ...

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

, the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

and

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducatio ...

. From 1981 to 1988 Arthur taught at

. 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 pr ...

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, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

, he organized a

biracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

group to file suit against the State of Tennessee. The resulting settlement included a desegregation plan for the entire

post-secondary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational school ...

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 (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

from 1986 to 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 fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

academic major An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''con ...

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 A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a p ...

at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

' Centre for Philosophy and Public Affairs, and from 2002 to 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

, 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 b ...

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 academics 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers