John David Lewis

{{Short description|American academic}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}

{{obj}}

John David Lewis (March 17, 1955 – January 3, 2012) was a political scientist, historian and Objectivist scholar who held the post of visiting associate professor in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics Program at Duke University from 2008 to 2012, as well as Associate Professor of Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.{{cite web|url=https://theobjectivestandard.com/author/jlewis/ |title=John David Lewis |publisher=The Objective Standard |date=April 24, 2007 |accessdate=September 25, 2023}} Lewis was also an Anthem Fellow for Objectivist Scholarship.{{cite web |url=http://www.johndavidlewis.com/press/ |title=John David Lewis Ph.D |publisher=Johndavidlewis.com |date=May 10, 2010 |accessdate=January 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419125017/http://www.johndavidlewis.com/press/ |archive-date=April 19, 2018 |url-status=dead }}

Lewis received his PhD in classical studies at Cambridge University in 2001, with the dissertation, Solon’s Polis as Kosmos: Intellectual, Moral and Political Integration in Archaic Athens. He taught at the University of London from 2000-2001. From 2001 to 2008, he was a professor in the History and Political Science Department at Ashland University,{{cite web|url=http://www.johndavidlewis.com/press/curriculum-vitae/ |title=John David Lewis Ph.D. | C.V |publisher=Johndavidlewis.com |date= |accessdate=January 5, 2012}} where contention surrounding his denial of promotion to tenured professor drew national attention.{{cite web |url=http://chronicle.com/article/Tenure-Shrugged/17731/ |title=Tenure Shrugged |date=July 13, 2007 }}{{cite web |url=http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines/2007/07/13/bias-and-thought-policing-on-all-sides/ |title=Bias and Thought Policing on All Sides |date=July 13, 2007 }}{{cite web |url=http://thefire.org/article/8226.html |title=Ashland University: No Objectivists Need Apply |date=July 12, 2007 }}{{cite web |url=http://thefire.org/case/745.html |title=Ashland University: Professor Denied Tenure Because of Objectivist Scholarship }}{{cite web |url=http://the-undercurrent.com/?p=137 |title=Faith and Reason: Friends or Foes? }}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Lewis was a member of the American Political Science Association, the Association of Ancient Historians, the Society for Military History, the American Philological Association, and the Cambridge Philological Society. Lewis published three books, was a contributing editor to The Objective Standard and contributed to Capitalism Magazine and contributed to multiple publications including Journal of Business Ethics, Social Philosophy and Policy, Polis, Dike, and Bryn Mawr Classical Review.{{Cite web |url=https://theobjectivestandard.com/author/jlewis/ |title=The Objective Standard: John David Lewis |access-date=September 25, 2023 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111093321/http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/contributors/john-david-lewis.asp |url-status=dead }} Lewis frequently spoke at Objectivist conferences and Tea Party events. He also spoke on the morality of free markets in medicine, arguing that innovators ought to be freed from unnecessary regulation.{{cite web|last=Biddle |first=Craig |url=http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/john-david-lewis-a-man-who-lived/ |title=John David Lewis: A Man Who Lived |publisher=www.theobjectivestandard.com |date= January 5, 2012|accessdate=January 5, 2012}} In 2008 Lewis held a presentation at the "Facing Jihad" conference in Jerusalem,{{cite web|url=http://facingjihad.com/schedule|title=About Facing Jihad: A Lawmakers' Summit|accessdate=January 21, 2023|work=Facing Jihad|archive-date=February 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204130510/http://facingjihad.com/schedule|url-status=bot: unknown}} a counter-jihad summit hosted by MK Aryeh Eldad that included a screening of the film Fitna by Geert Wilders.{{cite book|title=Das Fanal von Wangen: Der Schweizer Minarettdiskurs - Ursachen und Folgen|first=Oliver|last=Wäckerlig|year=2014|pages=213–214|publisher=Akademikerverlag|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260115101|language=German|isbn=978-3-639-49757-1}}

Lewis died on January 3, 2012, after a long battle with cancer.{{cite web |url=http://www.johndavidlewis.com/press/2012/01/in-memoriam-john-david-lewis-1955-2012/ |title=In Memoriam: John David Lewis, 1955-2012 |date=January 5, 2012 |accessdate=January 5, 2012}} He was 56.