Lockean Theory of Rights

A. John Simmons is Professor of Philosophy at University of Virginia.

"A powerful analysis... [It] succeeds in demonstrating the depth and cogency of much of Locke's moral and political thought and leaves us with a number of excellent reasons for believing that ... talk of natural rights of a distinctly Lockean kind is indispensable for any satisfactory account of the just society."--G. A. J. Rogers, The Times Higher Education Supplement "... a remarkable volume--by far the best treatment of Locke's account of rights and one that is likely to remain so, because it treats the texts with intelligent scholarship and argues with a high degree of sophistication..."--Ian Harris, American Political Science Review "[Simmon's] densely argued and heavily referenced work--he reveals deep knowledge of both the primary and secondary literature and overturns many a famous name in a footnote--provides us with a powerful analysis of what is probably the central moral concept of Locke's political philosophy, namely his theory of rights."--G. A. J. Rogers, The Times Higher Education Supplement "[Simmons] succeeds triumphantly in showing that the issues are still alive, and that even if Locke cannot solve our problems, he has much to contribute to an understanding of them."--Susan L. Mendus, Ethics "... a comprehensive monograph that goes beyond a learned interpretation of Locke's texts to a reconstruction of a more plausible and contemporarily more acceptable, Lockean theory of rights ... [T]his penetrating and sympathetic study is a welcome antidote to some tendentious recent monographs, of equal interest to the philosophically and historically inclined."--Ross Rudolph, Canadian Review of Political Science "The Lockean Theory of Rights is an exceptionally good book: Strong, clear, forceful, level-headed, and magnificently patient-an object lesson in educational maturity."--International Studies in Philosophy