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In Unfit for Democracy, Stephen Gottlieb argues that the greatest check on political power in the USA is not an institution but the American people, whose democratic rights are under siege by the d...
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Research Interests: Philosophy and Humanitas
This study considers Chief Justice John Marshall’s famous opinion in Marbury v. Madison (1803) as a vehicle for investigating contemporary interpretations of both John Marshall and the concept of constitutional legitimacy. In it, I... more
This study considers Chief Justice John Marshall’s famous opinion in Marbury v. Madison (1803) as a vehicle for investigating contemporary interpretations of both John Marshall and the concept of constitutional legitimacy. In it, I examine how Marshall’s opinion located legitimacy in several aspects of the Constitution, including its protection of rights, its embodiment of the consent of the governed, and its ability to organize and direct national politics. Thus, I suggest that Marshall offers a more comprehensive theory of constitutional legitimacy than many recent conceptualizations. Yet more than simply uniting existing approaches to constitutional legitimacy, I demonstrate that Marbury offers a unique theory of the Constitution’s moral legitimacy as well. This analysis of Marbury invites a new appraisal of Marshall as not only a legal and political thinker, but also a constitutional theorist with a distinctive understanding of the American Constitution and its role in the early...
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ABSTRACT Scholars have long debated John Marshall's intent in his famous opinion in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819). Despite long-standing disagreement concerning the character of Marshall's nationalism and federalism,... more
ABSTRACT Scholars have long debated John Marshall's intent in his famous opinion in the case of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819). Despite long-standing disagreement concerning the character of Marshall's nationalism and federalism, interpretations of the opinion typically rely on an incomplete picture of the case. This analysis revisits McCulloch to illustrate his support for national and state sovereignty as defined in the Constitution. It then moves beyond the opinion itself to examine Marshall's defense of McCulloch in a series of newspaper essays he authored in the aftermath of the case. Situated alongside the McCulloch opinion, these essays show that Marshall was as much concerned with defending the sovereignty of the Constitution as he was with adjudicating political authority between national and state governments.
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Protagoras was a Presocratic Greek philosopher and founder of sophistic education whose doctrine of skepticism is criticized by Socrates in the Platonic dialogues. Believed to have been born in Abdera, Thrace, Protagoras was educated in... more
Protagoras was a Presocratic Greek philosopher and founder of sophistic education whose doctrine of skepticism is criticized by Socrates in the Platonic dialogues. Believed to have been born in Abdera, Thrace, Protagoras was educated in philosophy by Democritus, a natural scientist and theorist of atomism. Aside from his career as a teacher, little is known concerning his life or career beyond brief biographical sketches provided by Diogenes Laertius and Sextus Empiricus. During his time in Athens, Protagoras associated with Pericles and other elites while composing a number of treatises on subjects ranging from the art of dialectic argument to wrestling. Diogenes has suggested that Protagoras was invited by Pericles to draft a constitution for the Athenian colony of Thurii in 443 bce. Protagoras’ professed agnosticism caused him to be expelled from Athens, and though tradition holds that his books were publicly burned, contemporary scholars have cast doubt on this claim. He died in exile. Keywords: Athens; Greece; Sophists
Research Interests: Philosophy, Art, Literature, Stoicism, Socrates, and 4 moreDialectic, Skepticism, Atomism, and Doctrine
Parmenides was an ancient Greek philosopher credited with developing the monistic theory that eternal Being governed sensory experience. He was an important figure in Presocratic philosophy and his theory significantly influenced later... more
Parmenides was an ancient Greek philosopher credited with developing the monistic theory that eternal Being governed sensory experience. He was an important figure in Presocratic philosophy and his theory significantly influenced later Greek philosophical inquiry. Keywords: Athens; Greece; Sophists
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Research Interests: Law and Philosophy
Although often cited for his formidable role in shaping early American jurisprudence, John Marshall is seldom conceived as a political thinker. This dissertation provides insight into this neglected dimension of Marshall's thought by... more
Although often cited for his formidable role in shaping early American jurisprudence, John Marshall is seldom conceived as a political thinker. This dissertation provides insight into this neglected dimension of Marshall's thought by examining his constitutional theory in the context of three of his most important Supreme Court opinions: Marbury v. Madison (1801), McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), and Ogden v. Saunders (1827). While many scholars have viewed Marshall's thought in exclusively partisan or legal terms, this interpretation draws attention to Marshall as a constitutional theorist concerned with the Constitution's basic moral legitimacy; its sovereignty over national and state government policy; and its ability to instill habits of democratic citizenship. I argue that these commitments illustrate Marshall's commitment to the Constitution as a source of national identity during the early-nineteenth century. In light of this recovery of Marshall's political ...