Nigel Biggar
Biographic Data
| ID | 616251 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nigel Biggar |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nigel |
| FAMILY NAME | Biggar |
| SIGNATURE | BIGGAR N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Oxford |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3005-4355 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 31 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 29 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 2 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1984 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Adam Kirsch, On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice
On Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning : A Reply to Alan Lester
Natural Law and Unalienable Rights
Cancel’ culture and book publishing
Cancel' culture and book publishing." The Round Table, 112(3), pp. 349–350 Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)
Whatever Happened to the Canaanites? Principles of a Christian Ethic of Mass Immigration
This article aims to articulate a set of general principles of a Christian ethic of mass immigration. Toward this end, it considers: biblical and theological grounds for cosmopolitanism (and ‘open borders’); biblical and theological caveats against cosmopolitanism; elements of a Christian ethic of the treatment of near and distant neighbours; what Francisco de Vitoria’s ‘On the American Indians’ has to contribute; what lessons should be learned f…
What’s Wrong with Rights? A reply to three critics
In this article, Nigel Biggar responds to three critical commentaries on his book What’s Wrong with Rights?, which have been offered by Matthew Anderson, Stewart Clem, and Elisabeth Kincaid
Boundaries and Justice: Diverse Ethical Perspectives
Academia and free speech
When, in early August, the right-of-centre London think-tank Policy Exchange published evidence that free speech is being suppressed in British universities, Jo O’Grady, secretary-general of the Un
A Christian View of Humanitarian Intervention
As part of a roundtable on “Balancing Legal Norms, Moral Values, and National Interests,” this essay presents a Christian view of how to think coherently about the relationships between those three elements. Christian monotheism entails the view that there is a given moral order or “natural law,” which comprises basic human goods (or universally objective values) and moral rules for defending and promoting them. This natural law precedes all huma…
What’s wrong with subjective rights
In the last twenty years a critique of the idea of a right as the property of an individual subject has been articulated by some influential Anglican theologians – Joan Lockwood O’Donovan, Oliver O’Donovan and John Milbank. Their objections are considerably based on an argument about intellectual history. Broadly pursuing an intellectual trajectory first set by Leo Strauss and C. B. Macpherson, these theologians think that the very concept of a ‘…
Proportionality: Lessons from the Somme
In “just war” thinking, proportionality is a criterion both of going to war and of fighting in it. This article uses the Battle of the Somme—a byword for immorally profligate warfare—to consider how proportionality should be understood. It reaches six conclusions: (1) a very large number of casualties is not in itself disproportionate; (2) the proportionality of a particular military operation depends on the moral standing of the larger belligere…
The Revival of Natural Law: Philosophical, Theological and Ethical Responses to the Finnis-Grisez School
Natural law theory has been enjoying a significant revival in recent times. Led by Germain Grisez in the USA and John Finnis in the UK, one school of thinkers has been articulating a highly developed system of natural law built upon a sophisticated account of practical reasoning and a rich and flexible understanding of the human good. However, long-standing prejudices against old-style natural law among moral philosophers and Protestant ethicists…
Imprudent Jurisprudence? Human Rights and Moral Contingency
Oliver O'Donovan is mistaken to think that subjective rights are irredeemably bound up with Hobbesian individualism, but correct to criticize their abstraction from deliberation about a wider range of moral considerations. As Grotius's thinking shows, the existence of a natural, moral right against physical harm depends on the contingent presence or absence of morally significant circumstances. There is, however, an important distinction between …
In Response
First of all, let me record my gratitude to colleagues for their having taken the time and trouble to read and comment on my book. Their attention honors it, and their comments serve to test and develop it—sometimes confirming, sometimes correcting, and sometimes identifying further work that remains to be done.Charles Mathewes observes that all three wars that I analyze in detail—Britain's against Germany in 1914– 18, NATO's against Serbia in Ko…
In Defence of War
The clue is in the title. What I have written is, in the first place, a critical response to certain points of view that seem to me to be popular in the time and places in which I live. As a rule I think it best for authors to be self-conscious and explicit about why they bother to write what they write, and about why they presume to bother the reader with it. So in my book I have sought to make clear what it is in my environment that I am reacti…
Why Christianity benefits secular public discourse, and why, therefore, Anglican bishops should sit in a reformed House of Lords
Men and Women in Marriage: Does it Add Up
Men and Women in Marriage argues on three grounds that marriage should be confined to heterosexual couples: that the procreation of children, or at least 'openness' to it, is essential to marriage; that the sexual complementarity of parents is necessary for the fostering of right relations between men and women; and that this is what both Scripture and natural law tell us. This article subjects these grounds to critical analysis and finds each of…
Christian Just War Reasoning and Two Cases of Rebellion: Ireland 1916–1921 and Syria 2011–Present
The contemporary West is biased in favor of rebellion. This is attributable in the first place to the dominance of liberal political philosophy, according to which it is the power of the state that always poses the greatest threat to human well-being. But it is also because of consequent anti-imperialism, according to which any nationalist rebellion against imperial power is assumed to be its own justification. Autonomy, whether of the individual…
A reply to Theo Hobson
Theo Hobson’s argument that there are cogent theological objections to the establishment of the Church of England is not persuasive. He concedes that the current form of establishment is liberal, but implies that this renders the Church harmless in the sense of being deferential and ineffectual. However, this does not square either with the fact of recent archiepiscopal criticism of governments or with the Church’s faithful presence in the poores…
Was Iraq an unjust war? A debate on the Iraq war and reflections on Libya
Journal Article Was Iraq an unjust war? A debate on the Iraq war and reflections on Libya Get access DAVID FISHER, DAVID FISHER 1Teaches ethics and war at Kings College London, where he was recently awarded a Doctorate degree in war studies Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar NIGEL BIGGAR NIGEL BIGGAR 2Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford, where he also directs the McDona…
The invasion of Iraq: What are the morals of the story
It is uncontroversial that the invasion and occupation of Iraq involved the following errors: the misinterpretation of intelligence; the underestimation of the number of troops requisite for law and order; the disbanding of the Iraqi army; and indiscriminate debaathification of the civil service. The first error was one of imagination rather than virtue; the others were caused by ‘callousness’, impatience, and consequent imprudence. These vices w…
Religious voices in public places
Saving the “Secular”: The Public Vocation of Moral Theology 1
The London suicide bombings of July 7, 2005 were partly the revolt of moral earnestness against a liberal society that, enchanted by the fantasy of rationalist anthropology, surrenders its passionate members to a degrading consumerism. The “humane” liberalism variously espoused by Jürgen Habermas, John Rawls, and Jeffrey Stout offers a dignifying alternative; but it is fragile, and each of its proponents looks for allies among certain kinds of re…
Forgiving Enemies in Ireland
The Peace Process in Northern Ireland is about to reach another milestone: the Consultative Group on the Past is due to publish a report in the autumn of 2008 on “the best way to deal with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland” and to support the building of “a shared future.” It is timely therefore to think again—and further—about what political expression forgiveness might find, using the concrete case of Northern Ireland today as grist fo…
On Defining Political Authority as an Act of Judgment: A Discussion of Oliver O'Donovan's The Ways of Judgment (Part I)
This article develops some critical reflections on a selection of issues raised by Part I of The Ways of Judgment. These issues are: the book's apologetic intention; the role of experience as an authority in Christian ethics; the priority of "judgment" to political institutions, to securing national identity, and to "saving power"; the value and plurality of national identity; the problem and advantage of imperial extension; the need for prudent …
The Hastening that Waits: Karl Barth's ethics
On Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning : A Reply to Alan Lester
Was Iraq an unjust war? A debate on the Iraq war and reflections on Libya
Journal Article Was Iraq an unjust war? A debate on the Iraq war and reflections on Libya Get access DAVID FISHER, DAVID FISHER 1Teaches ethics and war at Kings College London, where he was recently awarded a Doctorate degree in war studies Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar NIGEL BIGGAR NIGEL BIGGAR 2Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford, where he also directs the McDona…
Natural Law and Unalienable Rights
A Christian View of Humanitarian Intervention
As part of a roundtable on “Balancing Legal Norms, Moral Values, and National Interests,” this essay presents a Christian view of how to think coherently about the relationships between those three elements. Christian monotheism entails the view that there is a given moral order or “natural law,” which comprises basic human goods (or universally objective values) and moral rules for defending and promoting them. This natural law precedes all huma…
Pascal: Adversary and Advocate . Robert J. Nelson
Cities of God: Faith, Politics and Pluralism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
A Case for Casuistry in the Church
The Hastening that Waits: Karl Barth's ethics
The Cambridge Companion to Karl Barth
This authoritative book introducing Karl Barth is written by leading scholars of his work, drawn from Europe and North America. They offer challenging yet accessible accounts of the major features of Barth's theological work, especially as it has become available through the publication of his collected works, and interact with the very best of contemporary Barth scholarship. The contributors also assess Barth's significance for contemporary cons…
The Revival of Natural Law: Philosophical, Theological and Ethical Responses to the Finnis-Grisez School
Natural law theory has been enjoying a significant revival in recent times. Led by Germain Grisez in the USA and John Finnis in the UK, one school of thinkers has been articulating a highly developed system of natural law built upon a sophisticated account of practical reasoning and a rich and flexible understanding of the human good. However, long-standing prejudices against old-style natural law among moral philosophers and Protestant ethicists…
Forgiving Enemies in Ireland
The Peace Process in Northern Ireland is about to reach another milestone: the Consultative Group on the Past is due to publish a report in the autumn of 2008 on “the best way to deal with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland” and to support the building of “a shared future.” It is timely therefore to think again—and further—about what political expression forgiveness might find, using the concrete case of Northern Ireland today as grist fo…
On Defining Political Authority as an Act of Judgment: A Discussion of Oliver O'Donovan's The Ways of Judgment (Part I)
This article develops some critical reflections on a selection of issues raised by Part I of The Ways of Judgment. These issues are: the book's apologetic intention; the role of experience as an authority in Christian ethics; the priority of "judgment" to political institutions, to securing national identity, and to "saving power"; the value and plurality of national identity; the problem and advantage of imperial extension; the need for prudent …
Religious voices in public places
Saving the “Secular”: The Public Vocation of Moral Theology 1
The London suicide bombings of July 7, 2005 were partly the revolt of moral earnestness against a liberal society that, enchanted by the fantasy of rationalist anthropology, surrenders its passionate members to a degrading consumerism. The “humane” liberalism variously espoused by Jürgen Habermas, John Rawls, and Jeffrey Stout offers a dignifying alternative; but it is fragile, and each of its proponents looks for allies among certain kinds of re…
Was Iraq an unjust war? A debate on the Iraq war and reflections on Libya
Journal Article Was Iraq an unjust war? A debate on the Iraq war and reflections on Libya Get access DAVID FISHER, DAVID FISHER 1Teaches ethics and war at Kings College London, where he was recently awarded a Doctorate degree in war studies Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar NIGEL BIGGAR NIGEL BIGGAR 2Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology at the University of Oxford, where he also directs the McDona…
The invasion of Iraq: What are the morals of the story
It is uncontroversial that the invasion and occupation of Iraq involved the following errors: the misinterpretation of intelligence; the underestimation of the number of troops requisite for law and order; the disbanding of the Iraqi army; and indiscriminate debaathification of the civil service. The first error was one of imagination rather than virtue; the others were caused by ‘callousness’, impatience, and consequent imprudence. These vices w…
A reply to Theo Hobson
Theo Hobson’s argument that there are cogent theological objections to the establishment of the Church of England is not persuasive. He concedes that the current form of establishment is liberal, but implies that this renders the Church harmless in the sense of being deferential and ineffectual. However, this does not square either with the fact of recent archiepiscopal criticism of governments or with the Church’s faithful presence in the poores…
Christian Just War Reasoning and Two Cases of Rebellion: Ireland 1916–1921 and Syria 2011–Present
The contemporary West is biased in favor of rebellion. This is attributable in the first place to the dominance of liberal political philosophy, according to which it is the power of the state that always poses the greatest threat to human well-being. But it is also because of consequent anti-imperialism, according to which any nationalist rebellion against imperial power is assumed to be its own justification. Autonomy, whether of the individual…
In Response
First of all, let me record my gratitude to colleagues for their having taken the time and trouble to read and comment on my book. Their attention honors it, and their comments serve to test and develop it—sometimes confirming, sometimes correcting, and sometimes identifying further work that remains to be done.Charles Mathewes observes that all three wars that I analyze in detail—Britain's against Germany in 1914– 18, NATO's against Serbia in Ko…
In Defence of War
The clue is in the title. What I have written is, in the first place, a critical response to certain points of view that seem to me to be popular in the time and places in which I live. As a rule I think it best for authors to be self-conscious and explicit about why they bother to write what they write, and about why they presume to bother the reader with it. So in my book I have sought to make clear what it is in my environment that I am reacti…
Why Christianity benefits secular public discourse, and why, therefore, Anglican bishops should sit in a reformed House of Lords
Men and Women in Marriage: Does it Add Up
Men and Women in Marriage argues on three grounds that marriage should be confined to heterosexual couples: that the procreation of children, or at least 'openness' to it, is essential to marriage; that the sexual complementarity of parents is necessary for the fostering of right relations between men and women; and that this is what both Scripture and natural law tell us. This article subjects these grounds to critical analysis and finds each of…
Imprudent Jurisprudence? Human Rights and Moral Contingency
Oliver O'Donovan is mistaken to think that subjective rights are irredeemably bound up with Hobbesian individualism, but correct to criticize their abstraction from deliberation about a wider range of moral considerations. As Grotius's thinking shows, the existence of a natural, moral right against physical harm depends on the contingent presence or absence of morally significant circumstances. There is, however, an important distinction between …
The Revival of Natural Law: Philosophical, Theological and Ethical Responses to the Finnis-Grisez School
Natural law theory has been enjoying a significant revival in recent times. Led by Germain Grisez in the USA and John Finnis in the UK, one school of thinkers has been articulating a highly developed system of natural law built upon a sophisticated account of practical reasoning and a rich and flexible understanding of the human good. However, long-standing prejudices against old-style natural law among moral philosophers and Protestant ethicists…
Proportionality: Lessons from the Somme
In “just war” thinking, proportionality is a criterion both of going to war and of fighting in it. This article uses the Battle of the Somme—a byword for immorally profligate warfare—to consider how proportionality should be understood. It reaches six conclusions: (1) a very large number of casualties is not in itself disproportionate; (2) the proportionality of a particular military operation depends on the moral standing of the larger belligere…
A Christian View of Humanitarian Intervention
As part of a roundtable on “Balancing Legal Norms, Moral Values, and National Interests,” this essay presents a Christian view of how to think coherently about the relationships between those three elements. Christian monotheism entails the view that there is a given moral order or “natural law,” which comprises basic human goods (or universally objective values) and moral rules for defending and promoting them. This natural law precedes all huma…
What’s wrong with subjective rights
In the last twenty years a critique of the idea of a right as the property of an individual subject has been articulated by some influential Anglican theologians – Joan Lockwood O’Donovan, Oliver O’Donovan and John Milbank. Their objections are considerably based on an argument about intellectual history. Broadly pursuing an intellectual trajectory first set by Leo Strauss and C. B. Macpherson, these theologians think that the very concept of a ‘…
Academia and free speech
When, in early August, the right-of-centre London think-tank Policy Exchange published evidence that free speech is being suppressed in British universities, Jo O’Grady, secretary-general of the Un
What’s Wrong with Rights? A reply to three critics
In this article, Nigel Biggar responds to three critical commentaries on his book What’s Wrong with Rights?, which have been offered by Matthew Anderson, Stewart Clem, and Elisabeth Kincaid
Law (25 works) · Political science (24 works) · Sociology (23 works) · Philosophy (16 works) · Law (15 works) · Politics (15 works) · History (10 works) · Law and economics (10 works) · Theology (10 works) · War, Ethics, and Justification (9 works)