Liam Murphy
Biographic Data
| ID | 3606405 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Liam Murphy |
| GIVEN NAMES | Liam |
| FAMILY NAME | Murphy |
| SIGNATURE | MURPHY L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Morpho (United States) |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9800-336X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 80 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
On Virtues and Duties in A Minimally Good Life
The author declares no conflicts of interest
Nonlegislative Justification
If moral theorists who otherwise disagree, all approach moral theorizing as a search for a set of desirable moral principles for the general regulation of behavior, then there is a sense in which they are all, as Parfit says, climbing the same mountain. But it is the wrong mountain. Morality should not be understood as hypothetical legislation; it is a mistake to set about constructing morality as if we were making law. Real legislators evaluate …
The Social Life of Scriptures: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Biblicism
What do Christians do with the Bible? How do theyùindividually and collectivelyùinteract with the sacred texts? Why does this engagement shift so drastically among and between social, historical, religious, and institutional contexts? Such questions are addressed in a most enlightening, engaging, and original way in The Social Life of Scriptures. Contributors offer a collection of closely analyzed and carefully conducted ethnographic and historic…
The artificial morality of private law: The persistence of an illusion
In the public at large, property and contract law are commonly thought to reflect moral proprietary and promissory rights. Contemporary philosophers are mostly sceptical about natural property rights, though not about promissory rights. I argue at length that contract and promise, no less than property, can only be justified instrumentally – by appeal to the social good that these conventional practices produce. The aims of these practices need n…
Law Beyond the State: Some Philosophical Questions
Legal philosophers have rightly been criticized for neglecting international law since H.L.A. Hart’s chapter in The Concept of Law. At the same time, international legal theorists have not shown terribly much interest in reaching out to legal philosophers for enlightenment. Part of the reason may be that Hart’s chapter, full of insight though it was, made some quite perplexing observations about the nature of international law that have to a cert…
Law Beyond the State: A Rejoinder
This paper is a rejoinder to four replies to my article Law Beyond the State: Some Philosophical Issues EJIL (2017), Vol. 28 No. 1, 203–232. The replies were written by Samantha Besson, Nehal Bhuta, Christoph Mollers, and Jochen von Bernstorff; they appear together with my article and rejoinder in EJIL (2017), Vol. 28 No. 1
Varieties of Effectiveness: What Matters
What would it mean for international law to be effective? There are different senses of the word. In a dis-cussion of the idea of effectiveness, then, the first step is to distinguish a variety of different ideas. The aim is not to decide which sense of the word is the right one, conceptually or linguistically. The aim should be to discuss which of these ideas of effectiveness is important, worth thinking about
Conclusion: Politics
What politically feasible results might be drawn from the foregoing reflections? Self-interest does set limits to what is politically feasible, but most people defend their views about taxation in moral language. So much would be gained from the wholesale rejection of the morally obtuse but tenacious ideas of everyday libertarianism. Increasingly widespread understanding of how capitalism works may help. We may hope that most people are coming to…
Inheritance
Setting aside spurious considerations about double taxation and fairness to donors, the real moral question concerning taxation and inheritance is whether gratuitous transfers require special tax treatment on the ground of equality of opportunity. Some place such a high value on personal responsibility that confiscation of all such transfers has ethical appeal. A more appealing view holds that opportunities need not be strictly equal, so long as …
The Myth of Ownership: Taxes and Justice
In a capitalist economy, taxes are the most significant instrument by which the political system can put into practice a conception of economic justice. But conventional ideas about what constitutes tax fairness--found in the vigorous debates about tax policy going on in political and public policy circles, in economics and law--are misguided. In particular, the emphasis on distributing the tax burden relative to pretax income is a fundamental mi…
Self-Governance and Cooperation
Introduction: Two Problems in Moral Philosophy 1. Misgivings about Consequentialism and Contractualism 2. Cooperating to Promote the Good 3. Initial Counter-Arguments Supporting Value Monism 4. Self-Governance and Value Dualism Conclusion: Implications for the Question of Morality's Authority References Index
Self-Governance and Cooperation
Book Review| October 01 2001 SELF-GOVERNANCE AND COOPERATION SELF-GOVERNANCE AND COOPERATION. By Robert H. Myers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp. viii, 179. Liam Murphy Liam Murphy Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google The Philosophical Review (2001) 110 (4): 609–611. https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-110-4-609 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Liam Murphy; SELF-GOVERNANCE AND …
Taxes, Redistribution, and Public Provision
Moral Demands in Nonideal Theory
Is there a limit to the legitimate demands of morality? In particular, is there a limit to people’s responsibility to promote the well-being of others, either directly or via social institutions? Utilitarianism admits no such limit, and is for that reason often said to be an unacceptably demanding moral and political view. In this original new study, Murphy argues that the charge of excessive demands amounts to little more than an affirmation of …
Institutions and the Demands of Justice
This chapter discusses the A Theory of Justice John Rawls writes that "justice is the first virtue of social institutions." It presents the all fundamental normative principles that apply to the design of institutions apply also to the conduct of people. The chapter suggests that Rawls understands contract and property law and the background institutions of taxation and transfer as together belonging to the one structure that should be evaluated …
A Relatively Plausible Principle of Beneficence: Reply to Mulgan
Institutions and the Demands of Justice
This chapter discusses the A Theory of Justice John Rawls writes that "justice is the first virtue of social institutions." It presents the all fundamental normative principles that apply to the design of institutions apply also to the conduct of people. The chapter suggests that Rawls understands contract and property law and the background institutions of taxation and transfer as together belonging to the one structure that should be evaluated …
Taxes, Redistribution, and Public Provision
Moral Demands in Nonideal Theory
Is there a limit to the legitimate demands of morality? In particular, is there a limit to people’s responsibility to promote the well-being of others, either directly or via social institutions? Utilitarianism admits no such limit, and is for that reason often said to be an unacceptably demanding moral and political view. In this original new study, Murphy argues that the charge of excessive demands amounts to little more than an affirmation of …
The artificial morality of private law: The persistence of an illusion
In the public at large, property and contract law are commonly thought to reflect moral proprietary and promissory rights. Contemporary philosophers are mostly sceptical about natural property rights, though not about promissory rights. I argue at length that contract and promise, no less than property, can only be justified instrumentally – by appeal to the social good that these conventional practices produce. The aims of these practices need n…
A Relatively Plausible Principle of Beneficence: Reply to Mulgan
A Relatively Plausible Principle of Beneficence: Reply to Mulgan
Institutions and the Demands of Justice
This chapter discusses the A Theory of Justice John Rawls writes that "justice is the first virtue of social institutions." It presents the all fundamental normative principles that apply to the design of institutions apply also to the conduct of people. The chapter suggests that Rawls understands contract and property law and the background institutions of taxation and transfer as together belonging to the one structure that should be evaluated …
Moral Demands in Nonideal Theory
Is there a limit to the legitimate demands of morality? In particular, is there a limit to people’s responsibility to promote the well-being of others, either directly or via social institutions? Utilitarianism admits no such limit, and is for that reason often said to be an unacceptably demanding moral and political view. In this original new study, Murphy argues that the charge of excessive demands amounts to little more than an affirmation of …
Self-Governance and Cooperation
Introduction: Two Problems in Moral Philosophy 1. Misgivings about Consequentialism and Contractualism 2. Cooperating to Promote the Good 3. Initial Counter-Arguments Supporting Value Monism 4. Self-Governance and Value Dualism Conclusion: Implications for the Question of Morality's Authority References Index
Self-Governance and Cooperation
Book Review| October 01 2001 SELF-GOVERNANCE AND COOPERATION SELF-GOVERNANCE AND COOPERATION. By Robert H. Myers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp. viii, 179. Liam Murphy Liam Murphy Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google The Philosophical Review (2001) 110 (4): 609–611. https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-110-4-609 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Liam Murphy; SELF-GOVERNANCE AND …
Taxes, Redistribution, and Public Provision
Conclusion: Politics
What politically feasible results might be drawn from the foregoing reflections? Self-interest does set limits to what is politically feasible, but most people defend their views about taxation in moral language. So much would be gained from the wholesale rejection of the morally obtuse but tenacious ideas of everyday libertarianism. Increasingly widespread understanding of how capitalism works may help. We may hope that most people are coming to…
Inheritance
Setting aside spurious considerations about double taxation and fairness to donors, the real moral question concerning taxation and inheritance is whether gratuitous transfers require special tax treatment on the ground of equality of opportunity. Some place such a high value on personal responsibility that confiscation of all such transfers has ethical appeal. A more appealing view holds that opportunities need not be strictly equal, so long as …
The Myth of Ownership: Taxes and Justice
In a capitalist economy, taxes are the most significant instrument by which the political system can put into practice a conception of economic justice. But conventional ideas about what constitutes tax fairness--found in the vigorous debates about tax policy going on in political and public policy circles, in economics and law--are misguided. In particular, the emphasis on distributing the tax burden relative to pretax income is a fundamental mi…
Varieties of Effectiveness: What Matters
What would it mean for international law to be effective? There are different senses of the word. In a dis-cussion of the idea of effectiveness, then, the first step is to distinguish a variety of different ideas. The aim is not to decide which sense of the word is the right one, conceptually or linguistically. The aim should be to discuss which of these ideas of effectiveness is important, worth thinking about
Law Beyond the State: Some Philosophical Questions
Legal philosophers have rightly been criticized for neglecting international law since H.L.A. Hart’s chapter in The Concept of Law. At the same time, international legal theorists have not shown terribly much interest in reaching out to legal philosophers for enlightenment. Part of the reason may be that Hart’s chapter, full of insight though it was, made some quite perplexing observations about the nature of international law that have to a cert…
Law Beyond the State: A Rejoinder
This paper is a rejoinder to four replies to my article Law Beyond the State: Some Philosophical Issues EJIL (2017), Vol. 28 No. 1, 203–232. The replies were written by Samantha Besson, Nehal Bhuta, Christoph Mollers, and Jochen von Bernstorff; they appear together with my article and rejoinder in EJIL (2017), Vol. 28 No. 1
The Social Life of Scriptures: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Biblicism
What do Christians do with the Bible? How do theyùindividually and collectivelyùinteract with the sacred texts? Why does this engagement shift so drastically among and between social, historical, religious, and institutional contexts? Such questions are addressed in a most enlightening, engaging, and original way in The Social Life of Scriptures. Contributors offer a collection of closely analyzed and carefully conducted ethnographic and historic…
The artificial morality of private law: The persistence of an illusion
In the public at large, property and contract law are commonly thought to reflect moral proprietary and promissory rights. Contemporary philosophers are mostly sceptical about natural property rights, though not about promissory rights. I argue at length that contract and promise, no less than property, can only be justified instrumentally – by appeal to the social good that these conventional practices produce. The aims of these practices need n…
Nonlegislative Justification
If moral theorists who otherwise disagree, all approach moral theorizing as a search for a set of desirable moral principles for the general regulation of behavior, then there is a sense in which they are all, as Parfit says, climbing the same mountain. But it is the wrong mountain. Morality should not be understood as hypothetical legislation; it is a mistake to set about constructing morality as if we were making law. Real legislators evaluate …
On Virtues and Duties in A Minimally Good Life
The author declares no conflicts of interest
Political science (11 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Law (8 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Philosophical Ethics and Theory (7 works) · Political Philosophy and Ethics (7 works) · Epistemology (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Politics (6 works) · Philosophy (5 works)