Social & Political Philosophy

"With Harriet Taylor's name at last joined to that of her beloved husband John Stuart Mill as the co-author of this timeless book, we get to see On Liberty even more clearly as the complex and nuanced text it has always been. The greatest plea for individual intellectual freedom ever penned, with its insistence that no idea should be left unexamined nor any protest left unheard, it is also implicitly a document of progressive reform: the political emancipation of women is as much a natural consequence of Mill and Taylor's view of liberty as is the need for unimpeded discussion of all political questions. The right to open debate leads inevitably to the possibility of undreamt-of reform. Set free from too narrow a 'libertarian' or ‘utilitarian’ understanding, we can once again embrace On Liberty as one of the greatest heralds of the open society we possess, and as a foundational two-headed document of the matchless moral adventure of liberal democracy."
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker critic-at-large and author of A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism (Basic Books, 2019)

This volume gathers, for the first time, Mill’s most important writings from across his long career on one of the principal subjects of his life: the nature and reform of representative government. By doing so, it sheds new light on Mill’s views about democracy, constitutional structure, parliamentary government, class conflict, the relation between elites and the people, and many other key themes of his political thought. It includes an extensive original Introduction situating Mill’s work in the context of the politics of nineteenth-century Britain, and connects his thought to questions that still confront liberal states today.

“Thanks to Gregory Conti, we finally have a nearly complete collection of J. S. Mill’s writings on representative government. This volume shows us the development of the theory of electoral representation and the ideal dialogue Mill entertained with the European protagonists of representative institutions—a text of  documents and theoretical reflections central to understanding the history of our present.”
—Nadia Urbinati, Kyriakos Tsakopoulos Professor of Political Theory, Columbia University

Written at the height of Kant’s philosophical maturity, the six essays included in this volume reflect his concern with issues of critical interest to his contemporaries—and to us. Their major themes include the nature and course of human history, the role of war in the history of people and nations and the principles on which lasting peace among them might be built, and the role of human reason and freedom in shaping the world in which we find ourselves.

These essays on politics, history, and moral practice build on and illustrate the consequences of Kant’s philosophy in his three Critical masterpieces and provide an important key for understanding that watershed in historical theory between the Enlightenment and nineteenth-century idealistic theories. With entirely new typesetting, this updated edition of Ted Humphrey’s 1983 translation restores inadvertent textual elisions, modifies translations of some significant terms, makes idiomatic adjustments in the English throughout, updates the Bibliography, and clarifies the conceptual and argumentative relationships among the essays.

“Sitting Bull is arguably one of the best-known Native American leaders, and his life has been extensively documented. In Sitting Bull Speaks, Brad Lookingbill doesn’t aim to retell these familiar stories. Instead, he allows Sitting Bull to speak for himself. Drawing from various archives and sources, the book weaves a compelling and well-researched narrative centered on Sitting Bull’s own words and thoughts. Lookingbill introduces each document with thoughtful commentary, guiding the reader through the historical context. Though the title Sitting Bull Speaks echoes that of Neihardt’s classic Black Elk Speaks, this work goes further by presenting an authentic account of Sitting Bull’s voice. It offers a deeper understanding not only of the man himself but also of the Lakota world in which he lived.”
—Rani-Henrik Andersson, University of Helsinki

The Hackett Introduction to Medical Ethics addresses key debates and analyzes prominent ethical perspectives on clinical medicine, healthcare policy, and human experimentation. Using numerous examples and case studies, Altman and Coe apply value theory to contemporary medical practice and trace the repercussions for such philosophical issues as autonomy, death, and justice. The book invites a range of readers to investigate urgent moral questions at the intersection of the body and social institutions. Free online resources include PowerPoint lecture slides, a sample syllabus, links to case studies (to help facilitate small group discussion and apply theoretical concepts), and more.

"With remarkable breadth and depth, Altman and Coe provide up-to-date discussions of both classic bioethical issues (such as informed consent and reproductive technologies) and more recent developments in the field (such as relational autonomy and the impact of racial disparities on healthcare). The Hackett Introduction to Medical Ethics balances contemporary theory with clinical examples and cases in ways that will benefit both students and professionals in philosophy, bioethics, and healthcare."
—Jamie Watson, Cleveland Clinic Center for Bioethics and Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine

Humanity faces numerous critical challenges in the twenty-first century, from climate change and globalization to pandemics and the impact of technological advances. Can the ideas of past political thinkers help us refine the problem-solving skills needed to redress the practical predicaments of today? In Classics of Political Thought for Today, Colin Farrelly explores a wide range of historical political thinkers, demonstrating how the successes and limitations of these past figures can yield sage insights for how we identify and address the social and political problems of today. The book canvasses, and critically assesses, the ancient Greeks, social contract theory, conservatism, feminism, Black political thought, utilitarianism, and Marxism. Farrelly highlights the lessons we can learn from past political thinkers, engaging with their ideas in a way that facilitates the intellectual curiosity, insight, and optimism necessary for addressing the societal predicaments of today and tomorrow.

This new edition of Abortion: The Supreme Court Decisions includes all of the major Supreme Court decisions on abortion since the 1960s—as well as many majority, dissenting, and plurality opinions—carefully edited for use by researchers, journalists, and teachers in a variety of disciplines.

This new edition features a revision by Donald A. Cress of his bestselling 1987 translation of On the Social Contract together with Introduction, footnotes, and chronology by David Wootton, one of our leading historians of the Enlightenment.

This edition of Leviathan is intended to provide the reader with a modestly abridged text that is straightforward and accessible, while preserving Hobbes' main lines of argument and of thought. It is meant for those who wish to focus primarily on the philosophical aspects of the work, apart from its stylish but often daunting early modern prose. The editors have updated language, style, punctuation, and grammar throughout. Very long, complicated sentences have been broken into two or more sentences for enhanced readability. In some instances, terms within a sentence are rearranged for enhanced clarity. Occasionally, an equivalent contemporary word is substituted for an archaic one. Ellipses indicate omissions of more than one sentence. Care has been taken to maintain the strength, nuance, and flavor of the work, especially of Hobbes' most difficult arguments. In addition, the volume offers a general Introduction and concise headnotes to each chapter. Annotation is geared to the student or novice reader. A glossary of key terms is also included, as well as an index.

A free author's Companion to The Essential Leviathan for students is available to download (PDFs) on the title support page here.

Designed to serve the needs of students confronting Locke’s political thought for the first time, Lee Ward’s edition offers a faithful text of Two Treatises of Government with modernized spelling and punctuation. Its Editor’s Introduction outlines the main arguments of these works, illustrates the conceptual thread uniting the less frequently read First Treatise with the far more famous Second Treatise, and locates Locke’s work amid the turbulent constitutional battles of 1690s England. Helpful notes at the foot of the page, a Thematic Index, and an up-to-date Bibliography are also provided.

"An excellent translation: clear, crisp and accurate. The introduction is also a helpful contextualization of the text, Boétie's relation to Montaigne, and a brief discussion of the history of this important text on non-cooperation in the 20th-Century. I highly recommend it for courses in the history of political theory and of non-cooperation as a means of regime change."
     —James Tully, Department of Political Science, University of Victoria

"A superb achievement, one that successfully brings together in accessible form the work of two major writers of Renaissance France. This is now the default version of Montaigne in English." —Timothy Hampton, University of California, Berkeley

"Inspired. In every page—beginning with Atkinson's brilliant Introduction—this magical Montaigne betrays a lifetime of meditation on its subject." —Stephen G. Nichols, Johns Hopkins University

The fifth edition of Michael L. Morgan’s Classics of Moral and Political Theory broadens the scope and increases the versatility of this landmark anthology by offering new selections from Aristotle’s Politics, Aquinas’ Disputed Questions on Virtue and Treatise on Law, as well as the entirety of Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration, Kant’s To Perpetual Peace, and Nietzsche’s On the Advantage and Disadvantage of History for Life.

The Hackett edition of Teresa of Avila's spiritual autobiography features Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez's authoritative translation of The Book of Her Life with a new Introduction by Jodi Bilinkoff that will prove especially valuable to students of Early Modern Spain, the history of Christian spirituality, and classic women writers.  A map, chronology, and index are also included.

"This edition of the The Prince has three distinct and disparate objectives: to provide a fresh and accurate translation; to analyze and find the roots of Machiavelli's thought; and to collect relevant extracts from other works by Machiavelli and some contemporaries, to be used to illuminate and explicate the text. The objectives are all reached with considerable and admirable skill. The reader senses Professor Atkinson's empathy and feeling for even the tiniest movements in Machiavelli's mind. Professor Atkinson has done a great service to students and teachers of Machiavelli, who should certainly welcome this as the most useful edition of The Prince in English. "
     —Mario Domandi, Italica, 1978

"One of the most fascinating and, indeed, seminal debates in the protracted struggle of German Jewry to gain full citizenship and civic equality. As the translators make clear in their learned and generally lucid Introduction, this debate illuminates the enduring difficulty of modern nation states to establish a civic society that is, if not religiously neutral, at least inclusive. . . . It will surely enter the canon of standard works in the study of modern Jewish history."
     —Paul Mendes-Flohr, Hebrew University

A complete translation in English of this modern text, with substantive apparatus to allow the student and serious reader to grapple in a meaningful way with this seminal text. The text includes ample footnotes, Spinoza's annotations, an interpretative essay, glossary and other indices.

"This new English edition of some of Sieyes' key texts is to be warmly welcomed. . . . Michael Sonenscher's scholarly Introduction is devoted to a discussion of different aspects of Sieyes' political ideas, rather than to a detailed examination of the texts themselves. He concentrates mainly, and quite properly, on Sieyes' concept of representation, which he analyses with sensitivity, linking it to Sieyes' concept of the nation, and distinguishing it carefully from the conventional view of representation held by the man in the street. . . . Sonenscher has researched widely and his allusions are original and stimulating. . . . [He] has done a good service in making these compelling and subversive writings more widely available."
     —Murray Forsyth, History of Political Thought

Designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in philosophy and political science, this edition features a glossary keyed to the primary occurrences of important terms in the text and provides insights into the concepts beyond the translation—an especially useful pedagogical device for students coming to Hegel for the first time. 

This anthology includes writings of both well-known theorists such as Thomas Aquinas and John of Salisbury as well as those lesser known, including Christine de Pisan and Marie de France, and will be of value to students of the history of political theory as well as those of medieval intellectual history.

“In addition to its elegant and precise translation of Utopia, this edition offers the prefatory material and postscripts from the 1518 edition, and More’s letter to Giles form the 1517 edition. Mr. Wootton has also added Erasmus’s ‘The Sileni of Alcibiades,’ which is crucial for the interpretation he gives in his Introduction of the many ambiguities and contradictions in More’s text as well as his life. The Introduction is a most valuable guide for understanding this man who was a proponent of toleration and a persecutor of heretics, a courtier full of worldly ambition ending as a fearless martyr. The contradictions of the man translated into a complicated and contradictory historiography to which Mr. Wootton’s Introduction is a most intelligent guide. A welcome addition to the More literature.”
     —J. W. Smit, Professor of History, Columbia University

Volume 2 of two readers containing essential important works on constitutional liberty and the foundations of modern western political theory.

"This is an excellent, readable and vigorous translation of The Prince, but it is much more than simply a translation. The map, notes and guide to further reading are crisp, to-the-point and yet nicely comprehensive. The inclusion of the letter to Vettori is most welcome. But, above all, the Introduction is so gripping and lively that it has convinced me to include The Prince in my syllabus for History of Western Civilization the next time that I teach it. . . . Great price, too! And lovely printing and layout."
     —Rachel Fulton, University of Chicago