Abstract
dc:description.abstractRobert Nozick (1938-2002), an American political philosopher, was a pioneer of a particular form of libertarianism, known as deontological libertarianism, which is built upon a foundation of strict moral rules and property rights. This thesis evaluates three particular aspects of Nozick's libertarian philosophy, beginning with the foundational concept of full self-ownership. Special attention is paid to the compatibility of the full self-ownership thesis with the philosophies of classical liberal thinkers John Locke and Immanuel Kant. The next aspect discussed is the system of property rights advanced by Nozick and the entitlement theory of justice founded upon it. In this section, a model is sketched to evaluate the normative content of property rights in objects. Upon examination, the model implies that the inviolate property rights underpinning of the entitlement theory of justice is unlikely to result in a comprehensive system of justice. Finally, the thesis concludes by evaluating Nozick's side constraint construction of morality, which, as a challenge to utilitarianism, abandons all moral prescriptions and forbids non-contractual obligations. When compared to consequentialist moral systems, deontological libertarianism is shown to be undermined by its reliance on individual rights as the sole foundation.
Degree
thesis:*- Grantor
- Jackson College of Graduate Studies
- Year dc:date.issued
- 2013
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
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- Mitchell, Randal W.
- Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
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- Gatch, Loren
- Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
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- Furmanski, Louis S.
- Hardt, Jan
Rights
dc:rights- Statement dc:rights
-
- All rights reserved by the author, who has granted UCO Chambers Library the non-exclusive right to share this material in its online repositories. Contact UCO Chambers Library's Digital Initiatives Working Group at diwg@uco.edu for the permission policy on the use, reproduction or distribution of this material.
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Dc Identifier Other
- (AlmaMMSId)9980679985202196