John Tasioulas
Encyclopedia
John Tasioulas is the Quain Professor of Jurisprudence
in the
Faculty of Laws, University College London
.
and Melbourne High School. He completed undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and Law at the University of Melbourne
and in 1989 was elected Rhodes Scholar
for Victoria. He received a doctorate (D.Phil in Philosophy) from Oxford University for a thesis on moral relativism which was supervised by Joseph Raz
. He has held a Lectureship in Jurisprudence at the University of Glasgow (1992-1998) and a Readership in Moral and Legal Philosophy at the University of Oxford where he was a Fellow at Corpus Christi College
(1998-2010). He has held visiting appointments at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University
.
Tasioulas' research has been supported by awards from the Arts and Humanities Research Council
and by a British Academy
Research Development Award. In 2011 he delivered the 'Or 'Emet Lecture at Osgoode Hall Law School
.
Quain Professor
Quain Professor is the professorship title for certain disciplines at University College, London, England. The title is derived from Richard Quain who became professor of anatomy in 1832 at what was to become UCL...
in the
Faculty of Laws, University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
Biography
John Tasioulas was born in Wollongong, New South Wales, in 1964 to parents who emigrated to Australia from Greece. He was a student at Northcote High SchoolNorthcote High School
Northcote High School is a co-educational, state high school in Northcote, Victoria, Australia. It is situated at the southern end of the City of Darebin, on St Georges Road.Teaching from Year 7 through 12, the school has a population of around 1,450 students...
and Melbourne High School. He completed undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and Law at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
and in 1989 was elected Rhodes Scholar
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
for Victoria. He received a doctorate (D.Phil in Philosophy) from Oxford University for a thesis on moral relativism which was supervised by Joseph Raz
Joseph Raz
Joseph Raz is a legal, moral and political philosopher. He is one of the most prominent advocates of legal positivism. He has spent most of his career as professor of philosophy of law and a fellow of Balliol College, Oxford, and simultaneously as professor of law at Columbia University Law...
. He has held a Lectureship in Jurisprudence at the University of Glasgow (1992-1998) and a Readership in Moral and Legal Philosophy at the University of Oxford where he was a Fellow at Corpus Christi College
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
(1998-2010). He has held visiting appointments at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
.
Academic expertise
Tasioulas works in moral, legal and political philosophy. He has defended a version of the communicative theory of punishment, according to which the overarching point of punishment is the communication of censure to wrong-doers. His version of the theory is distinctive in making room for the value of mercy alongside that of retributive justice. In the philosophy of human rights, he has argued for an orthodox understanding of such rights, according to which they are moral rights possessed by all human beings simply in virtue of their humanity. This contrasts with an increasingly popular view of human rights that characterizes them in terms of some political role(s), such as being triggers for international intervention or benchmarks of internal legitimacy. He also advances the thesis that human rights have a basis both in a plurality of human interests and in equal human dignity. His writings have contributed to the revival of a broadly value-based, anti-positivist, approach to customary international law. The Philosophy of International Law (OUP, 2010), which he co-edited with Samantha Besson, is a central text in the field.Tasioulas' research has been supported by awards from the Arts and Humanities Research Council
Arts and Humanities Research Council
Established in April 2005 as successor to the Arts and Humanities Research Board, the Arts and Humanities Research Council is a British Research Council and non-departmental public body that provides approximately £102 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the...
and by a British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
Research Development Award. In 2011 he delivered the 'Or 'Emet Lecture at Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
.
Works
- ‘In Defence of Relative Normativity: Communitarian Values and the Nicaragua Case’, (1996) 16 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, pp. 85-128.
- ‘Relativism, Realism and Reflection’, (1998) 41 Inquiry, pp .377-410.
- 'Mercy', (2003) CIII Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, pp. 101-113.
- 'Punishment and Repentance', Philosophy 81 (2006), pp.279-322.
- 'Games and the Good', Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society/ supplementary volume LXXX (2006), pp.237-264
- 'The Moral Reality of Human Rights', in T. Pogge (ed.), Freedom from Poverty as a Human Right: Who Owes What to the Very Poor? (OUP, 2007), pp. 75-101.
- S. Besson and J. Tasioulas (eds.), The Philosophy of International Law (OUP, 2010)
- ‘Taking Rights out of Human Rights’, Ethics 120 (July 2010), pp. 647-678.
External links
- John Tasioulas' Webpage at UCL
- UCL Faculty of Laws
- UCL Colloquium in Legal and Social Philosophy
- 'Is Dignity the Foundation of Human Rights', 'Or Emet Lecture, March 10, 2011 video