Brian Barry
Encyclopedia
Brian Barry FBA was a moral
and political
philosopher. He was educated at the Queen's College, Oxford, obtaining the degrees of B.A. and D.Phil under the direction of H. L. A. Hart
.
Along with David Braybrooke, Richard E. Flathman
, Felix Oppenheim, and Abraham Kaplan
, he is widely credited with having fused analytic philosophy
and political science
. Barry also fused political theory and social choice theory
and was a persistent critic of public choice theory
.
, Keele University
and the University of Southampton
. In 1965 he was appointed a teaching fellow at University College
, and then Nuffield College. In 1969 he became a professor at Essex University.
Barry was Lieber
Professor Emeritus of Political Philosophy at Columbia University
and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the London School of Economics
. He was awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science
in 2001. Barry also taught at the University of Chicago
, in the departments of philosophy and political science. During this time he edited the journal Ethics, helping raise its publication standards. Under his editorship, it became perhaps the leading journal for moral and political philosophy.
He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1978. Barry was a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association
, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of York
in 2006.
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and political
Political philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
philosopher. He was educated at the Queen's College, Oxford, obtaining the degrees of B.A. and D.Phil under the direction of H. L. A. Hart
H. L. A. Hart
Herbert Lionel Adolphus Hart was an influential legal philosopher of the 20th century. He was Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford University and the Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford. He authored The Concept of Law....
.
Along with David Braybrooke, Richard E. Flathman
Richard E. Flathman
Richard E. Flathman is the George Armstrong Kelly Professor of Political Science, Emeritus, at Johns Hopkins University. He is known for having pioneered, with Brian Barry, , , and Abraham Kaplan, the application of analytic philosophy to political science. He is a leading advocate of liberalism...
, Felix Oppenheim, and Abraham Kaplan
Abraham Kaplan
Abraham Kaplan was an American philosopher, known best for being the first philosopher to systematically examine the behavioral sciences in his book "The Conduct of Inquiry" . His thinking was influenced by pragmatists Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey.-Biography:Kaplan's...
, he is widely credited with having fused analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy
Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...
and political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. Barry also fused political theory and social choice theory
Social choice theory
Social choice theory is a theoretical framework for measuring individual interests, values, or welfares as an aggregate towards collective decision. A non-theoretical example of a collective decision is passing a set of laws under a constitution. Social choice theory dates from Condorcet's...
and was a persistent critic of public choice theory
Public choice theory
In economics, public choice theory is the use of modern economic tools to study problems that traditionally are in the province of political science...
.
Life
During his early career, Barry held teaching posts at the University of BirminghamUniversity of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
, Keele University
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
and the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
. In 1965 he was appointed a teaching fellow at University College
University College
University College can refer to several institutions:- Canada :* University College, University of Toronto* University College of the North, The Pas, Manitoba* Booth University College, Winnipeg, Manitoba...
, and then Nuffield College. In 1969 he became a professor at Essex University.
Barry was Lieber
Francis Lieber
Francis Lieber , known as Franz Lieber in Germany, was a German-American jurist, gymnast and political philosopher. He edited an Encyclopaedia Americana...
Professor Emeritus of Political Philosophy at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. He was awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science
Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science
The Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science was established in 1995 by the Johan Skytte Foundation at Uppsala University. The foundation itself goes back to the donation in 1622 from Johan Skytte , politician and chancellor of the university, which established the Skyttean professorship of...
in 2001. Barry also taught at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, in the departments of philosophy and political science. During this time he edited the journal Ethics, helping raise its publication standards. Under his editorship, it became perhaps the leading journal for moral and political philosophy.
He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1978. Barry was a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association
British Humanist Association
The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism and represents "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs." The BHA is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, egalitarianism and mutual respect...
, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
in 2006.
Selected publications
- Why Social Justice Matters (Polity 2005)
- Culture & Equality: An Egalitarian Critique of Multiculturalism (2001)
- Justice as Impartiality (1995)
- Theories of Justice (Berkeley, 1989)
- Democracy, Power, and Justice: Essays in Political Theory (Oxford, 1989)
- The Liberal Theory of Justice (1973)
- Sociologists, Economists and Democracy (1970)
- Political Argument (1965, Reissue 1990)
Further reading
- Justice & Democracy: Essays for Brian Barry, edited by Keith Dowding, Robert E. Goodin, and Carole PatemanCarole PatemanCarole Pateman is a British feminist and political theorist. She earned a DPhil at the University of Oxford. Since 1990, Professor Pateman has taught in the Department of Political Science at the University of California at Los Angeles . In 2007, she was named a Fellow of the British Academy...
(2004) - Multiculturalism Reconsidered: 'Culture and Equality' and Its Critics, edited by Paul Kelly (2002)