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An Open Society: Robert Nozick’s Utopian Project

White, Avery F
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3439-4741
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1565805139549975

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Political Science.
How can we help individuals solve the dilemma between living a good life and an ethical life? Doing so will have benefits for both the person in question and those they behave ethically towards, yet most people in American society tend to pursue the material good life of consumption at the expense of their own espoused ethics. In this project, I propose a solution premised on the utopian thought of Robert Nozick, which I suggest is a form of open society as espoused by John Stuart Mill, Karl Popper, and Gerald Gaus. Nozick’s particular approach to utopia would dissolve loci of power that currently limit individual choice, and prevents them from choosing the otherwise appealing forms of life that allow the good life and the ethical life to be pursued simultaneously. Furthermore, Nozick’s approach is feasible due to its ability to piggy-back on the ideological power of neoliberalism. Although this utopian project requires going beyond Nozick’s own libertarianism, we can find the resources to do so hidden within Nozick’s own writings. Although it is the case that full instituting Nozick’s utopia society-wide may not be worth the necessary costs, a bounded form of such a society will go some way towards dissolving the apparent conflict between the good life and the ethical life.
Eric MacGilvray (Committee Chair)
Michael Neblo (Committee Co-Chair)
Piers Turner (Committee Member)
245 p.
Political Science

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • White, A. F. (2019). An Open Society: Robert Nozick’s Utopian Project [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1565805139549975

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • White, Avery. An Open Society: Robert Nozick’s Utopian Project. 2019. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1565805139549975.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • White, Avery. "An Open Society: Robert Nozick’s Utopian Project." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1565805139549975

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1565805139549975
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.