David Schmidtz

{{Infobox philosopher

| region = Western philosophy

| era = Contemporary philosophy

| image =

| caption =

| name = David Schmidtz

| birth_date = 1955

| birth_place =

| alma_mater = University of Saskatchewan
University of Arizona

| school_tradition = Libertarianism
Arizona School liberalism

| main_interests = Rational choice, game theory, political philosophy

| notable_ideas = Justice as a map, not a theory{{sfn|Schmidtz|2006}}

| influences = Vernon Smith, Robert Nozick, Jules Coleman

| influenced = Jason Brennan

| signature =

| website ={{URL|http://www.davidschmidtz.com/}}

}}

David Schmidtz ({{IPAc-en|ʃ|m|ɪ|t|s}}; born 1955) is a Canadian-American philosopher. He is Presidential Chair of Moral Science at West Virginia University's Chambers College of Business and Economics. He is also editor-in-chief of the journal Social Philosophy & Policy. Previously, he was Kendrick Professor of Philosophy and Eller Chair of Service-Dominant Logic at the University of Arizona. While at Arizona, he founded and served as inaugural head of the Department of Political Economy and Moral Science.{{cite web|title=David Schmidtz: Kendrick Professor of Philosophy and joint Professor of Economics|url=http://philosophy.arizona.edu/schmidtz|publisher=University of Arizona|access-date=25 July 2014|archive-date=6 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006082443/http://philosophy.arizona.edu/schmidtz|url-status=dead}}

Education and career

Schmidtz grew up in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada.{{cite news|last1=Whetzel|first1=Melissa|title=College Creates Awareness on Economic Topics with Adam Smith Week|url=http://today.cofc.edu/2013/03/18/college-create-awareness-on-economic-topics-with-adam-smith-week/|access-date=25 July 2014|publisher=College of Charleston|date=2013-03-18}} In 1983, he received his B.A. in philosophy from the University of Saskatchewan. He earned an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Arizona in 1985, and an M.A. in economics, also from the University of Arizona, in 1987. Schmidtz earned his PhD at the University of Arizona in 1988 under the direction of Allen Buchanan. He also studied with Joel Feinberg and Keith Lehrer, Holly Martin Smith, R. Mark Isaac, and Vernon Smith.{{cite web|title=David Schmidtz|url=http://freedomcenter.arizona.edu/david-schmidtz|publisher=University of Arizona|access-date=25 July 2014}}

In 1988, Schmidtz took a job as an assistant professor at Yale University. He was promoted to associate professor in 1991. He left Yale in 1994, taught at Bowling Green State University, and joined the University of Arizona in 1995. He was promoted to Professor (of Philosophy, joint in Economics) in 1998.{{cite web|title=History and Pattern|url=http://www.ohio.edu/ethics/archives/by-year/2003-past-events/|website=Institute for Applied and Professional Ethics|publisher=Ohio University|access-date=25 July 2014}}

Schmidtz taught first-year property as a visiting professor at Florida State University College of Law in 2007. In the 2014–15 academic year, he was a national Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar and John Stuart Mill Professor at Hamburg University. Schmidtz is the founding director of the Freedom Center at the University of Arizona. Among his former doctoral students are Jason Brennan.

Philosophical work

He is author of Elements of Justice,{{sfn|Schmidtz|2006}} Rational Choice and Moral Agency,{{sfn|Schmidtz|1995}} co-author of Social Welfare and Individual Responsibility (a "For & Against" book with Robert Goodin){{sfn|Schmidtz|Goodin|1998}} and editor of a volume on Robert Nozick in the Cambridge University Press "Contemporary Philosophy in Focus" series.{{sfn|Schmidtz|2002}} He also co-edited two editions of Environmental Ethics: What Really Matters, What Really Works with Elizabeth Willott (1955–2015); a third edition of this book with co-editor Dan Shahar was published in 2018.{{sfn|Schmidtz|Shahar|2018}} His first book, The Limits of Government: An Essay on the Public Goods Argument,{{sfn|Schmidtz|1991}} combined his interests in moral philosophy and economic analysis. Schmidtz has also written on rational choice theory and environmental ethics.

He has published articles in many journals, including the Journal of Philosophy, Ethics, and Political Theory along with reviews in journals such as Philosophical Review, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, and Mind. Many of his essays have been (or are in the process of being) reprinted, and have been translated into other languages.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Thirteen of his essays (one previously unpublished, on Peter Singer's approach to moral theory) were published as Person, Polis, Planet: Essays in Applied Philosophy in 2008.{{sfn|Schmidtz|2008}} A Brief History of Liberty, with co-author Jason Brennan, appeared in 2010.{{sfn|Schmidtz|Brennan|2010}} He co-authored the introductory textbook Commercial Society: A Primer on Ethics and Economics with Cathleen Johnson and Robert Lusch{{sfn|Johnson|Lusch|Schmidtz|2020}} and the book Debating Education: Is There a Role for Markets? with Harry Brighouse, both published in 2020.{{sfn|Schmidtz|Brighouse|2020}}

Selected publications

= Books =

{{cite book |last=Schmidtz |first=David |title=The limits of government: an essay on the public goods argument |publisher=Westview Press |location=Boulder |year=1991 |isbn=9780813308708 |oclc=22380961}}
{{cite book |last=Schmidtz |first=David |title=Rational choice and moral agency |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ |year=1995 |isbn=9780691029184 |oclc=30474060}}
{{cite book |last1=Schmidtz |first1=David |last2=Goodin |first2=Robert E. |title=Social welfare and individual responsibility |series=For and against |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |year=1998 |isbn=9780521564618 |oclc=38144477 |url=https://archive.org/details/socialwelfareind00schm |url-access=registration |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511815508}}
{{cite book |editor-last=Schmidtz |editor-first=David |title=Robert Nozick |series=Contemporary philosophy in focus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |year=2002 |isbn=9780521782265 |oclc=46866414}}
{{cite book |last=Schmidtz |first=David |title=Elements of justice |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |year=2006 |isbn=9780521539364 |oclc=60189639 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511817519}}
{{cite book |last=Schmidtz |first=David |title=Person, polis, planet: essays in applied philosophy |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford; New York |year=2008 |isbn=9780521539364 |oclc=177063142}}
{{cite book |last1=Schmidtz |first1=David |last2=Brennan |first2=Jason |author-link2=Jason Brennan |title=A brief history of liberty |series=Brief histories of philosophy |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location=Chichester, UK; Malden, MA |year=2010 |isbn=9781405170796 |oclc=430736591 |doi=10.1002/9781444318289}}
{{cite book |editor-last1=Schmidtz |editor-first1=David |editor-last2=Willott |editor-first2=Elizabeth |title=Environmental ethics: what really matters, what really works |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford; New York |edition=2nd |year=2012 |isbn=9780199793518 |oclc=746489205}}
{{cite book |editor1-last=Brennan |editor1-first=Jason |editor1-link=Jason Brennan |editor2-last=van der Vossen |editor2-first=Bas |editor3-last=Schmidtz |editor3-first=David |date=2017 |title=The Routledge handbook of libertarianism |series=Routledge handbooks in philosophy |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781138832169 |oclc=978902248 |doi=10.4324/9781317486794}}
{{cite book |editor1-last=Schmidtz |editor1-first=David |editor2-last=Pavel |editor2-first=Carmen E. |date=2018 |title=The Oxford handbook of freedom |location=Oxford; New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199989423 |oclc=1028580625 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199989423.001.0001}}
{{cite book |editor-last1=Schmidtz |editor-first1=David |editor-last2=Shahar |editor-first2=Dan C. |title=Environmental ethics: what really matters, what really works |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford; New York |edition=3rd |year=2018 |isbn=9780190259228 |oclc=1029060677}}
{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Cathleen |last2=Lusch |first2=Robert F. |last3=Schmidtz |first3=David |title=Commercial society: a primer on ethics and economics |series=Economy, polity, and society |location=London; Lanham, MD |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2020 |isbn=9781786613561 |oclc=1104298783}}
{{cite book |last1=Schmidtz |first1=David |last2=Brighouse |first2=Harry |title=Debating education: is there a role for markets? |series=Debating ethics |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford; New York |year=2020 |isbn=9780199300952 |oclc=1099949826 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780199300945.001.0001}}
{{cite book |last=Schmidtz |first=David |title=Living Together: Inventing Moral Science |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford; New York |year=2023 |isbn=9780197658505 |oclc=1338165537 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197658505.001.0001}}

=Articles and chapters=

{{cite journal |last1=Isaac |first1=R. Mark |author-link1=R. Mark Isaac |last2=Schmidtz |first2=David |last3=Walker |first3=James M. |date=September 1989 |title=The assurance problem in a laboratory market |journal=Public Choice |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=217–236 |doi=10.1007/BF02337743 |jstor=30025075|s2cid=154196866 }}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=October 1990 |title=Justifying the state |journal=Ethics |volume=101 |issue=1 |pages=89–102 |doi=10.1086/293261 |jstor=2381893|s2cid=170852106 }}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=October 1990 |title=When is original appropriation required? |journal=The Monist |volume=73 |issue=4 |pages=504–518 |doi=10.5840/monist19907342 |jstor=27903207}}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=September 1992 |title=Rationality within reason |journal=The Journal of Philosophy |volume=89 |issue=9 |pages=445–466 |doi=10.2307/2941111 |jstor=2941111}}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=Winter 1993 |title=Reasons for altruism |journal=Social Philosophy and Policy |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=52–68 |doi=10.1017/S0265052500004015|s2cid=145389376 }}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=January 1994 |title=Choosing ends |journal=Ethics |volume=104 |issue=2 |pages=226–251 |doi=10.1086/293599 |jstor=2381576|s2cid=222815868 }}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=Summer 1994 |title=The institution of property |journal=Social Philosophy and Policy |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=42–62 |doi=10.1017/S0265052500004428|s2cid=146201495 }}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=1998 |title=Are all species equal? |journal=Journal of Applied Philosophy |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=57–67 |doi=10.1111/1468-5930.00073 |jstor=24354005}}
{{cite book |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=2016 |orig-year=1999 |chapter=The meanings of life |editor-last=Benatar |editor-first=David |editor-link=David Benatar |title=Life, death, and meaning: key philosophical readings on the big questions |edition=3rd |location=Lanham, MD |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |pages=93–113 |isbn=9781442258310 |oclc=934937791 |chapter-url=https://freedomcenter.arizona.edu/sites/freedomcenter.arizona.edu/files/Meaning%202015.pdf}}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=November 2000 |title=Islands in a sea of obligation: limits of the duty to rescue |journal=Law and Philosophy |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=683–705 |doi=10.1023/A:1006450523387 |jstor=3505071|s2cid=143279079 |doi-access=free }}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=October 2001 |title=A place for cost-benefit analysis |journal=Philosophical Issues |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=148–171 |doi=10.1111/j.1758-2237.2001.tb00042.x |jstor=3050599}}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=December 2002 |title=How to deserve |journal=Political Theory |volume=30 |issue=6 |pages=774–799 |doi=10.1177/0090591702238203 |jstor=3072566 |s2cid=146183035 |ref=none}}
{{cite book |last1=Scalet |first1=Steven P. |last2=Schmidtz |first2=David |author-link1=Steven P. Scalet |chapter=Famine, poverty, and property rights |editor-last=Morris |editor-first=Christopher W. |title=Amartya Sen |pages=170–190 |series=Contemporary philosophy in focus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |year=2009 |isbn=9780521618069 |oclc=317068055 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511800511.009}}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=January 2010 |title=Property and justice |journal=Social Philosophy and Policy |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=79–100 |doi=10.1017/S0265052509990045|s2cid=145284633 }}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=June 2011 |title=Respect for everything |journal=Ethics, Policy & Environment |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=127–138 |doi=10.1080/21550085.2011.578359|s2cid=144887016 }} With commentaries by Robin Attfield, Thom Brooks, Greg Bognar, Martin Drenthen, Matt Ferkany, Kendy M. Hess, Dan C. Shahar, James P. Sterba, and Gary Varner.
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=July 2011 |title=Nonideal theory: what it is and what it needs to be |journal=Ethics |volume=121 |issue=4 |pages=772–796 |doi=10.1086/660816 |jstor=10.1086/660816|s2cid=144510752 }} A review of Amartya Sen's The Idea of Justice.
{{cite book |last1=Zwolinski |first1=Matt |last2=Schmidtz |first2=David |date=2013 |chapter=Environmental virtue ethics: what it is and what it needs to be |editor-last=Russell |editor-first=Daniel C. |title=The Cambridge companion to virtue ethics |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=221–239 |isbn=9781107001169 |oclc=801219079 |doi=10.1017/cco9780511734786.011}}
{{cite journal |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=Fall 2016 |title=A realistic political ideal |journal=Social Philosophy and Policy |volume=33 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1017/S0265052516000406|doi-access=free }}
{{cite book |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=2017 |chapter=Realistic idealism |editor-last=Blau |editor-first=Adrian |title=Methods in analytical political theory |location=Cambridge, UK; New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=131–152 |isbn=9781107098794 |oclc=972309027 |doi=10.1017/9781316162576.009}}
{{cite SEP |last=Gaus |first=Gerald |author-link=Gerald Gaus |last2=Courtland |first2=Shane D. |last3=Schmidtz |first3=David |url-id=liberalism |title=Liberalism |edition=Spring 2018 |date=January 22, 2018}}
{{cite book |last=Schmidtz |first=David |date=2019 |chapter=The ethics and economics of ecological justice |editor-last=White |editor-first=Mark D. |title=The Oxford handbook of ethics and economics |series=Oxford handbooks |location=Oxford; New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=543–558 |isbn=9780198793991 |oclc=1052875966 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198793991.013.26}}

References

External links

[https://business.wvu.edu/faculty-and-staff/directory/profile?pid=3546 David Schmidtz's homepage]
{{cite web |last=Roberts |first=Russ |title=Schmidtz on Rawls, Nozick, and Justice |url=http://www.econtalk.org/archives/_featuring/david_schmidtz/ |work=EconTalk |publisher=Library of Economics and Liberty |author-link=Russ Roberts |date=May 7, 2012}}

Category:1955 births

Category:Living people

Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States

Category:University of Arizona alumni

Category:Yale University faculty

Category:Bowling Green State University faculty

Category:Florida State University faculty

Category:20th-century American philosophers

Category:21st-century American philosophers

Category:Philosophers from Florida

Category:American political philosophers

Category:Libertarian theorists