Todd Gifford May
(born May 13, 1955) is a
political philosopher
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 de ...
who writes on topics of
anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
,
poststructuralism
Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of power. Although diffe ...
, and
post-structuralist anarchism. More recently he has published books on
existentialism
Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...
and
moral philosophy
Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied et ...
.
Career
In 1989, May received a doctorate at
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...
in
continental philosophy
Continental philosophy is a group of philosophies prominent in 20th-century continental Europe that derive from a broadly Kantianism, Kantian tradition.Continental philosophers usually identify such conditions with the transcendental subject or ...
. May has been teaching moral and political philosophy for over thirty years, beginning as a graduate instructor at Penn State before becoming a visiting assistant professor at the
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is a Public university, public research university in Indiana, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and Carnegie Classification o ...
.
May taught at
Clemson from 1991 to 2022, where he served as the Class of 1941 Memorial Professor of Philosophy.
Since 2022, he has been a lecturer in philosophy at
Warren Wilson College
Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a required course of study, work an on-campus j ...
.
May also teaches philosophy to
incarcerated
Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered "false imprisonment". Impris ...
people.
Art academic
Allan Antliff described May's 1994 ''The Political Philosophy of Poststructuralist Anarchism'' as "seminal," and he credited the book with introducing "post-structuralist anarchism," later abbreviated as "
post-anarchism
Contemporary anarchism within the history of anarchism is the period of the anarchist movement continuing from the end of World War II and into the present. Since the last third of the 20th century, anarchists have been involved in anti-globalis ...
." May has published works on major
poststructuralist
Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of Power (social and poli ...
philosophers, including
Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Louis René Deleuze (18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes o ...
and
Michel Foucault
Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...
. He also wrote books on more general topics accessible to the general reader, including ''Death'', ''Our Practices, Our Selves, or, What It Means to Be Human'', ''Friendship in an Age of Economics: Resisting the Forces of Neoliberalism'', ''A Significant Life: Human Meaning in a Silent Universe'', ''A Fragile Life: Accepting Our Vulnerability''.
May, along with
Pamela Hieronymi, was a philosophical advisor to the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
television show ''
The Good Place
''The Good Place'' is an American fantasy-comedy television series created by Michael Schur for NBC. The series premiered on September 19, 2016, and concluded on January 30, 2020, after four seasons consisting of 53 episodes.
Although the pl ...
''. They both had cameos in the final episode.
Personal life
May has three children, the youngest of whom majored in philosophy at university.
Bibliography
* ''Between Genealogy and Epistemology'' (1993). University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. .
* ''The Political Philosophy of Poststructuralist Anarchism'' (1994). University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. .
* ''Reconsidering Difference'' (1997). University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. .
* ''Our Practices, Our Selves, or, What It Means to Be Human'' (2001). University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. .
* ''Operation Defensive Shield'' (2003). Sydney: Pluto Press. . Written in collaboration with Muna Hamzeh.
* ''The Moral Theory of Poststructuralism'' (2004). University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. .
* ''Gilles Deleuze'' (2005). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
* ''Philosophy of Foucault'' (2006). Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. .
* ''The Political Thought of Jacques Ranciere: Creating Equality'' (2008). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. .
* ''Death'' (2008). Acumen Publishing. .
* ''Friendship in an Age of Economics: Resisting the Forces of Neoliberalism'' (2014). New York: Lexington Books. .
* ''A Significant Life: Human Meaning in a Silent Universe'' (2015). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. .
* ''Nonviolent Resistance: A Philosophical Introduction'' (2015). Cambridge: Polity Books. .
* ''A Fragile Life: Accepting Our Vulnerability'' (2017). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. .
* ''A Decent Life: Morality for the Rest of Us'' (2019). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. .
* ''Exploring the Philosophy of Death and Dying: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives, Chapter 21: Death, Mortality, and Meaning'' (December 31, 2020, 1st Edition). Publisher: Routledge.
* ''Should We Go Extinct?: A Philosophical Dilemma for Our Unbearable Times'' (2024). New York, Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-593-79872-0.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Gay Rights Outlook Improves in South, a
letter to the editor
A letter to the editor (LTE) is a Letter (message), letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through ...
by May published in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' on 1998-07-07
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:May, Todd
1955 births
Living people
American anarchists
American political philosophers
Postanarchists
Post-structuralists
Clemson University faculty
Writers from New York City
Foucault scholars
Pennsylvania State University alumni
Deleuze scholars
20th-century American philosophers
21st-century American philosophers
The Good Place
21st-century anarchists