Thomas W Merrill
Biographic Data
| ID | 709068 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas W Merrill |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas W |
| FAMILY NAME | Merrill |
| SIGNATURE | MERRILL T W |
| AFFILIATIONS | American University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 7 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 13 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Classical Liberal Property and the Question of Institutional Choice
Richard Epstein’s property scholarship tracks his classical liberal theory of government. The classical liberal would permit state intervention to overcome collective-action problems but not to engage in redistribution of wealth. With respect to private law, Epstein harbors no clear preference for either the legislature or the courts as a source of limits on owners’ autonomy to overcome collective-action problems. With regard to public law, in co…
Introduction
Perspectives on Political Science, Volume 50, Issue 2, Pages 68 - 71, 2021
Cartesian Psychophysics and the Whole Nature of Man
Cartesian Psychophysics and the Whole Nature of Man: On Descartes's Passions of the Soul." Perspectives on Political Science, 46(2), pp. 149–150
Investigating Morality with David Hume
Scholars are divided over the character of Hume’s moral theory: Is he a value-free social scientist or a moral sentiment theorist? This essay examines Book III of Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature in order to understand the character of his moral investigations. I argue that Hume has a distinctive and insufficiently appreciated approach to morality that is both phenomenological and investigative. Political science must start with everyday moral opi…
The Later Jefferson and the Problem of Natural Rights
The late Jefferson presents a puzzle to scholars. In his last years the author of the Declaration of Independence strongly opposed the Missouri Compromise and set important precedents for the political strategy of the antebellum South. This essay argues that these problematic aspects of Jefferson's career are more closely linked to his natural rights doctrine than is generally recognized and extend tendencies already present in Jefferson's draft …
Hume's Socratism
Hume's famous “Conclusion” to Book I of the Treatise of Human Nature has been an enduring source of interest and controversy to scholars, with some going so far as to argue that the Treatise is inconsistent. Yet in the opening pages of the book Hume makes an odd, rarely noticed allusion to Socrates that helps explain the “Conclusion.” This article argues that the “Conclusion” is Hume's version of calling philosophy down from the heavens, establis…
Hume and the Politics of Enlightenment
Metaphysics or Theology? A Comment on Michael Gillespie's Theological Origins of Modernity
Michael Gillespie's Theological Origins of Modernity provides a historically grounded and philosophically ambitious, at times even provocative, account of the deep unity of the modern tradition. The book is more historical than most works of political theory, and exhibits a healthy freedom from received wisdom about who the important thinkers are and about what they might have to say. Yet it would be quite wrong to read this book as a simple hist…
Distracted by Religion
The conflict between science and religion dominates public debate about bioethical issues. However, this conflict is a bad guide to the real and sometimes tragic dilemmas of bioethics. It frequently obscures important practical and theoretical differences between otherwise like-minded commentators over such questions as the relative importance of cloning versus abortion, what it means to live well while dying, and whether human dignity is best un…
The Rhetoric of Rebellion in Hume's Constitutional Thought
In hisHistory of England, David Hume suggests that the doctrine of resistance should be concealed from the populace. But this suggestion in the very public location of theHistoryhas the effect of revealing this doctrine as much as concealing it. How should we understand this perplexing rhetorical strategy? Hume's paradoxical rhetoric is a symptom of the problem that the right of rebellion poses for every political society. On the one hand, the ri…
The Influence of Amicus Curiae Briefs on the Supreme Court
The last century has seen little change in the conduct of litigation before the United States Supreme Court. The Court's familiar procedures – the October Term, the opening-answering-reply brief format for the parties, oral argument before a nine-member Court – remain essentially as before. The few changes that have occurred, such as shortening the time for oral argument, have not been dramatic.\nThe Article is organized as follows. Part I provid…
Institutional Choice and Political Faith
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Institutional Choice and Political Faith
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The Rhetoric of Rebellion in Hume's Constitutional Thought
In hisHistory of England, David Hume suggests that the doctrine of resistance should be concealed from the populace. But this suggestion in the very public location of theHistoryhas the effect of revealing this doctrine as much as concealing it. How should we understand this perplexing rhetorical strategy? Hume's paradoxical rhetoric is a symptom of the problem that the right of rebellion poses for every political society. On the one hand, the ri…
Hume's Socratism
Hume's famous “Conclusion” to Book I of the Treatise of Human Nature has been an enduring source of interest and controversy to scholars, with some going so far as to argue that the Treatise is inconsistent. Yet in the opening pages of the book Hume makes an odd, rarely noticed allusion to Socrates that helps explain the “Conclusion.” This article argues that the “Conclusion” is Hume's version of calling philosophy down from the heavens, establis…
Institutional Choice and Political Faith
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Institutional Choice and Political Faith
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Institutional Choice and Political Faith
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
The Influence of Amicus Curiae Briefs on the Supreme Court
The last century has seen little change in the conduct of litigation before the United States Supreme Court. The Court's familiar procedures – the October Term, the opening-answering-reply brief format for the parties, oral argument before a nine-member Court – remain essentially as before. The few changes that have occurred, such as shortening the time for oral argument, have not been dramatic.\nThe Article is organized as follows. Part I provid…
The Rhetoric of Rebellion in Hume's Constitutional Thought
In hisHistory of England, David Hume suggests that the doctrine of resistance should be concealed from the populace. But this suggestion in the very public location of theHistoryhas the effect of revealing this doctrine as much as concealing it. How should we understand this perplexing rhetorical strategy? Hume's paradoxical rhetoric is a symptom of the problem that the right of rebellion poses for every political society. On the one hand, the ri…
Distracted by Religion
The conflict between science and religion dominates public debate about bioethical issues. However, this conflict is a bad guide to the real and sometimes tragic dilemmas of bioethics. It frequently obscures important practical and theoretical differences between otherwise like-minded commentators over such questions as the relative importance of cloning versus abortion, what it means to live well while dying, and whether human dignity is best un…
Metaphysics or Theology? A Comment on Michael Gillespie's Theological Origins of Modernity
Michael Gillespie's Theological Origins of Modernity provides a historically grounded and philosophically ambitious, at times even provocative, account of the deep unity of the modern tradition. The book is more historical than most works of political theory, and exhibits a healthy freedom from received wisdom about who the important thinkers are and about what they might have to say. Yet it would be quite wrong to read this book as a simple hist…
The Later Jefferson and the Problem of Natural Rights
The late Jefferson presents a puzzle to scholars. In his last years the author of the Declaration of Independence strongly opposed the Missouri Compromise and set important precedents for the political strategy of the antebellum South. This essay argues that these problematic aspects of Jefferson's career are more closely linked to his natural rights doctrine than is generally recognized and extend tendencies already present in Jefferson's draft …
Hume's Socratism
Hume's famous “Conclusion” to Book I of the Treatise of Human Nature has been an enduring source of interest and controversy to scholars, with some going so far as to argue that the Treatise is inconsistent. Yet in the opening pages of the book Hume makes an odd, rarely noticed allusion to Socrates that helps explain the “Conclusion.” This article argues that the “Conclusion” is Hume's version of calling philosophy down from the heavens, establis…
Hume and the Politics of Enlightenment
Cartesian Psychophysics and the Whole Nature of Man
Cartesian Psychophysics and the Whole Nature of Man: On Descartes's Passions of the Soul." Perspectives on Political Science, 46(2), pp. 149–150
Investigating Morality with David Hume
Scholars are divided over the character of Hume’s moral theory: Is he a value-free social scientist or a moral sentiment theorist? This essay examines Book III of Hume’s Treatise of Human Nature in order to understand the character of his moral investigations. I argue that Hume has a distinctive and insufficiently appreciated approach to morality that is both phenomenological and investigative. Political science must start with everyday moral opi…
Classical Liberal Property and the Question of Institutional Choice
Richard Epstein’s property scholarship tracks his classical liberal theory of government. The classical liberal would permit state intervention to overcome collective-action problems but not to engage in redistribution of wealth. With respect to private law, Epstein harbors no clear preference for either the legislature or the courts as a source of limits on owners’ autonomy to overcome collective-action problems. With regard to public law, in co…
Introduction
Perspectives on Political Science, Volume 50, Issue 2, Pages 68 - 71, 2021
Political science (11 works) · Law (10 works) · Philosophy (10 works) · Philosophy (8 works) · Politics (8 works) · American Constitutional Law and Politics (7 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Law (6 works) · Computer Science (3 works)