The Lockean Theory of Rights

Reviews / Votes

"A powerful analysis. . . . [It] succeeds in demonstrating the depth and cogency of much of Locke's moral and political thought and leaves us with a number of excellent reasons for believing that . . . talk of natural rights of a distinctly Lockean kind is indispensable for any satisfactory account of the just society."---G. A. J. Rogers, The Times Higher Education Supplement ". . . a remarkable volume--by far the best treatment of Locke's account of rights and one that is likely to remain so, because it treats the texts with intelligent scholarship and argues with a high degree of sophistication. . ."---Ian Harris, American Political Science Review "[Simmon's] densely argued and heavily referenced work--he reveals deep knowledge of both the primary and secondary literature and overturns many a famous name in a footnote--provides us with a powerful analysis of what is probably the central moral concept of Locke's political philosophy, namely his theory of rights."---G. A. J. Rogers, The Times Higher Education Supplement "[Simmons] succeeds triumphantly in showing that the issues are still alive, and that even if Locke cannot solve our problems, he has much to contribute to an understanding of them."---Susan L. Mendus, Ethics ". . . a comprehensive monograph that goes beyond a learned interpretation of Locke's texts to a reconstruction of a more plausible and contemporarily more acceptable, Lockean theory of rights . . . [T]his penetrating and sympathetic study is a welcome antidote to some tendentious recent monographs, of equal interest to the philosophically and historically inclined."---Ross Rudolph, Canadian Review of Political Science "The Lockean Theory of Rights is an exceptionally good book: Strong, clear, forceful, level-headed, and magnificently patient-an object lesson in educational maturity." * International Studies in Philosophy *