John Hospers

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John Hospers

John Hospers (born June 9, 1918 in Pella , Iowa , † June 12, 2011 in Los Angeles , California ) was a professor of philosophy at the University of Southern California . He represented a hard determinism denying free will. He was also friends with Ayn Rand , who later distanced herself from him.

Life

Hospers holds degrees from the University of Iowa and Columbia University . He taught philosophy and aesthetics . At the beginning of his career he taught philosophy at Brooklyn College and California State University in Los Angeles.

Hospers was editor of The Personalist ( 1968-1982 ) and The Monist ( 1982-1992 ). He was also an editor of Liberty magazine .

None of his books have yet been translated into German. Under the title Doubt of a Determinist , only his essay What means Freedom? (1961) in German.

Political career

In 1972 Hospers was the first candidate of the Libertarian Party, founded the year before, for the office of US President . Together with his vice-presidential candidate Theodora Nathan , he did not get more than 3674 votes nationwide, but received one vote in the Electoral College . This came from Roger MacBride , a Republican from Virginia who ran for the Libertarian Party as a presidential candidate four years later.

In 1974, Hospers ran again for public office, but failed in the election to governor of California .

Hospers supported George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election and praised Bush's " war on terrorism ".

Works

  • 1946: Meaning and Truth in the Arts
  • 1953: Introduction to Philosophical Analysis
  • 1969: Introductory Readings in Aesthetics
  • 1971: Libertarianism - A Political Philosophy for Tomorrow
  • 1982: Understanding the Arts
  • 1985: Law and the Market
  • 1995: Human Conduct

John Hospers, What means this freedom? In: Determinism and freedom in the age of modern science: a philosophical symposium. Edited by Sidney Hook. Washington: New York University Press, 1958, pp. 113-130

German translation (excerpts): John Hospers, Doubt of a Determinist. Texts on ethics. Edited by Dieter Birnbacher and Norbert Hoerster. Original edition. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, 1976 (dtv; 6042), pp. 330–338

German translation: John Hospers, The reach of human freedom. In: Free Action and Determinism. Edited and introduced by Ulrich Pothast. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, ​​1978 (Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Wissenschaft; Volume 257), pp. 93–114

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Hospers, first Libertarian presidential nominee, dies at 93 at lp.org, accessed June 15, 2011
  2. ↑ Ayn Rand: Michael S. Berliner (Ed.): Letters of Ayn Rand . Dutton , 1995, ISBN 0525939466 , pp. 502-564.
  3. ↑ Election 2004: The Case for Bush at theatlasphere.com, accessed June 15, 2011
personal data
SURNAME Hospers, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH June 9, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Pella (Iowa) , Iowa, United States
DATE OF DEATH June 12, 2011
Place of death Los Angeles , California, United States