Skepticism, Individuality, and Freedom: The Reluctant Liberalism Of Richard Flathman

by Bonnie Honig, David R. Mapel (Contributor)

As one of liberal theory's most important gadflies, Richard Flathman has during the past four decades produced a significant body of work that is iconoclastic, idiosyncratic, and increasingly influential. Flathman criticizes liberal theory's role in justifying a politics of governance that has drifted substantially from liberalism's central commitments to individuality and freedom. It is this challenge, and its implications for the future of liberal theory, that brings together the diverse and distinguished authors of this volume. Topics include the relationships between theory and practice, skepticism and knowledge, individuality and egoism, negative and positive freedom, Hobbes and liberalism, as well as the uneasy connections among liberalism, feminism, and democratic politics. Ronald Beiner, Jane Bennett, William E. Connolly, Peter Digeser, Richard Friedman, Nancy J. Hirschmann, George Kateb, Patrick Neal, Anne Norton, Richard Tuck, Jeremy J. Waldron, Linda Zerilli. Bonnie Honig is professor of political science at Northwestern University and a senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation. David R. Mapel is associate professor of political science at the University of Colorado.

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Bonnie Honig is a political and legal theorist specialized in democratic and feminist theory. She is Sarah Rebecca Roland Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University and Senior Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation. She received her PhD from Johns Hopkins University.

Prior to moving to Northwestern University, Prof. Honig taught at Harvard University for several years. The 1997 decision by then-President of Harvard Neil Rudenstine not to offer Honig tenure was highly controversial, and attracted harsh criticism from a number of prominent Harvard professors as a violation of Rudenstine's stated commitment to increasing the number of tenured female professors.