Robert Nozick
In his lectures he devised a case where one is responsible without having been able to do otherwise, before Frankfurt published his.
Life
American philosopher (1938-2002), professor at Harvard. His book Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974) argues that individuals have rights no one may violate and that only a minimal state is justified. He also wrote on knowledge, free will and the meaning of life.
Main works
Individual rights limit what the state may do; only a minimal state is justified.
Essays on personal identity, knowledge, free will and the value of life.
More personal reflections on love, death, happiness and meaning.
In his own words
« Individuals have rights and there are things no person or group may do to them (without violating their rights). »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceHe takes seriously that free choices are not fully fixed by prior causes and tries to make room for self-originated choice.
Nozick, Philosophical Explanations (1981), ch. 4
Individuals have rights that act as side constraints: they may not be violated even to produce better outcomes.
Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974)
Only a minimal state limited to protection against force and fraud is justified; more violates individual rights.
Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (1974)