Thomas Jefferson and Philosophy

Essays on the Philosophical Cast of Jefferson's Writings

Contributions by James J. Carpenter, Garrett Ward Sheldon, Richard E. Dixon, Paul B. Thompson, Derek H. Davis, William Merkel, Richard Guy Wilson, M. Andrew Holowchak Edited by M. Andrew Holowchak

Not available to order

Publication date:

11 December 2013

Length of book:

220 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739180921

Thomas Jefferson and Philosophy is a collection of nine new essays on philosophical elements in Jefferson’s writings. The first of its kind, this collection should lead to further philosophical analysis of Jefferson’s thinking—especially by philosophers, who tend to appreciate Jefferson only as the author of the Declaration of Independence—and to greater appreciation for the man who gave to statesmanship a large number of the prime of his years out of a moral sense of duty to others. In that regard, Jefferson was always first a philosopher.

This book will be a valuable read for students and scholars of history, political theory, and philosophy, as well as anyone interested in the thought of Thomas Jefferson.

Preface
Chapter 1: The Philosophical Trinity of Jefferson’s Political Theory
Chapter 2: Thomas Jefferson: A Lawyer’s Path to a Legal Philosophy
Chapter 3: Individual Liberty and Political Unity in an Expanding Nation: The Axiological Primacy of Wards in Jefferson’s Republican Schema
Chapter 4: Thomas Jefferson’s Land Ethics
Chapter 5: Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptist Association: The Meaning of the Famous “Wall of Separation” Metaphor
Chapter 6: Jefferson in Paris: Rewriting the Problems of Slavery, Slaveholding, Family, and Codependency
Chapter 7: The Ultimate Defense of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson’s Philosophy of Education
Chapter 8: The March of Morality: Making Sense of Jefferson’s Moral Sense
Chapter 9: Thomas Jefferson’s Architectural and Landscape Aesthetics: Sources and Meaning
About the Contributors

“This impressive collection of essays offers a good introduction to the central questions of Jefferson scholarship, seeking genuinely to understand his thought rather than only to judge the man by the standards of our own time.”