Kelvin Knight
Senior Lecturer in Politics
Course Leader, M.A. in Human Rights and Social Justice
Department of Law, Governance and International Relations
London Metropolitan University
Dr Kelvin Knight received his PhD for a thesis on functional representation at the London School of Economics, where he also taught. Since moving to London Metropolitan University he has been active in its excellent Human Rights and Social Justice Research Institute and established the MA in Human Rights and Social Justice. He supervises doctoral research on Aristotelianism, amongst other subjects, and convenes and teaches several modules, especially in undergraduate political theory, in postgraduate international relations, and, at both levels, in political and human rights. Over the past year he has made invited presentations (as well as uninvited ones in the US and UK) in Ireland, Switzerland, and Finland, where he enjoyed participating in the foundation of the Baltic Philosophy Network's new MA in Practical Philosophy. He now looks forward to establishing an MA in practical philosophy at London Met.
In the summer of 2010 Kelvin became Director of CASEP, the new Centre for Contemporary Aristotelian Studies in Ethics & Politics (please visit). This "aims to promote research informed by, and into ... Aristotelian principles", and to promote debate both between Aristotelians and with protagonists of rival traditions. Kelvin's understanding of Aristotelianism is indebted to the work of Alasdair MacIntyre, and his work presently focusses on exploring the ontological, ethical and political implications of MacIntyre's account of common goods and social practices. He is the author of Aristotelian Philosophy: Ethics and Politics from Aristotle to MacIntyre (Polity Press, 2007), which has been said to "to make the case for ... a powerful contemporary alternative to both conservatism and liberal democracy". His publications in 2008-2009 include "Practices: The Aristotelian Concept", in the 30th anniversay issue of Analyse & Kritik (30/2: 317-329), "Agency and Ethics, Past and Present" (Historical Materialism), "Paul Hirst's Pluralism" (Political Studies, 56/3: 737-741; with Jason Edwards), "MacIntyre's Progress" (Journal of Moral Philosophy, 6/1: 115-126), "Hannah Arendt's Heideggerian Aristotelianism" (Topos, 19/2: 5-30), "Goods" (Philosophy of Management, 7/1: 107-122), and "After Tradition?: Heidegger or MacIntyre, Aristotle and Marx" in a special issue of Analyse & Kritik (30/1: 33-52) that he co-edited (with Paul Blackledge). The latter journal issue was simultaneously published as a book, Revolutionary Aristotelianism: Ethics, Resistance and Utopia (Lucius & Lucius, 2008). Publications in 2010-11 will include "Revisionary Aristotelianism", in Fran O’Rourke ed., Moral Philosophy in the Twentieth Century (University of Notre Dame Press), at least one paper co-authored with Ron Beadle, and another co-edited book, Virtue and Politics (University of Notre Dame Press), carrying two of Kelvin's papers, "Revolutionary Aristotelianism" and "Virtue, Politics, and History: Rival Enquiries into Action and Order", along with papers from the inaugural conference (hosted by the HRSJRI) of the International Society for MacIntyrean Enquiry, of which he is General Secretary.
Kelvin would love to make time to work on a monograph interrogating the idea of universal human rights, and perhaps then another book on post-Wittgensteinian social and moral theory, but CASEP and teaching are likely to prohibit this for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, he is keen to supervise doctoral research into the idea of human rights or, still more, into past or present Aristotelian moral or political philosophy.
Contact Information
Tel: 020 7133 5136
E-mail: k.knight@londonmet.ac.uk
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Publications:
Books
Kelvin Knight, Aristotelian Philosophy: Ethics and Politics from
Aristotle to MacIntyre (Polity Press, 2007).
Kelvin Knight & Paul Blackledge (eds.), Virtue and Politics: Alasdair MacIntyre's Revolutionary Aristotelianism (University of Notre Dame Press, 2009)
"Agency and Ethics, Past and Present" (Historical Materialism 17:1, 2009),
"Hannah Arendt's Heideggerian Aristotelianism" (Topos 19, 2009),
"MacIntyre's Progress" (Journal of Moral Philosophy 5:3, 2008),
"After Tradition?: Heidegger or MacIntyre, Aristotle and Marx", Analyse & Kritik: Zeitschrift für Sozialtheorie 30:1, 2008), and
"Goods" (Philosophy of Management 6:3, 2008). He has also edited or co-edited The MacIntyre Reader (Polity Press / University of Notre Dame Press, 1998), the journal Nations and Nationalism, a special issue of Analyse & Kritik, and Virtue and Politics , which is due out in 2009 with the University of Notre Dame Press.
Chapters
"Revolutionary Aristotelianism", in Kelvin Knight & Paul Blackledge (eds.), Virtue and Politics, University of Notre Dame Press, 2009).
"Grounds for Hope", in Kelvin Knight & Paul Blackledge (eds.), Virtue and Politics, University of Notre Dame Press, 2009.
"Comment on «desoublier» la philosphie pratique d’Aristote et comme on l'oublie", in Stamatios Tzitzis (ed.), La mémoire, entre silence et oubli, Laval University Press, 2006.
Articles
Agency and Ethics, Past and Present", Historical Materialism 17(1), 2009.
"Hannah Arendt's Heideggerian Aristotelianism", Topos 19, 2009.
"Paul Hirst's Pluralism: A Response to Mark Wenman" (with Jason Edwards), Political Studies, 2008.
"MacIntyre's Progress", Journal of Moral Philosophy 5(3), 2008.
"Editorial Introduction" (with Paul Blackledge), Analyse & Kritik: Zeitschrift für Sozialtheorie 30(1), 2008.
"After Tradition?: Heidegger or MacIntyre, Aristotle and Marx", Analyse & Kritik: Zeitschrift für Sozialtheorie 30(1), 2008.
"Goods", Philosophy of Management 6(3), 2008.
"Seems and Is", Philosophy of Management 6(3), 2008.
"Aristotelianism versus Communitarism",
Analyse & Kritik: Zeitschrift für Sozialtheorie, 2006, 27(2), pp. 259-273
Conference Papers
"Reply", 'What Happened In and To Moral Philosophy in the Twentieth Century?' conference, University College Dublin, 2009.
"Comment on John O’Neill's 'Decisions and Institutions", Towards the Center of Pragmatism conference, Ethics Centre, University of Zurich, 2008.
"Goods and Rules", International Society for MacIntyrean Philosophy annual conference, Saint Meinrad School of Theology, Indiana, 2008.
"Grounds for Hope", Political Studies Association of the United Kingdom annual conference, Swansea University, 2008.
"After Tradition?: Heidegger or MacIntyre, Aristotle and Marx", Alasdair MacIntyre's Revolutionary Aristotelianism: Ethics, Resistance and Utopia conference, London Metropolitan University, 2007.
"Politics and Ethics in Arendt and MacIntyre", The Legacy of Hannah Arendt in the Early 21st Century conference, Vilnius University, 2007.
"The Importance of Politics and Philosophy for Management", ISM University of Management and Economics, Vilnius, 2007.
"What can Lithuanian New Left Intellectuals Learn from the British Left?", Lithuanian New Left, Vilnius, 2007.
"Practices and Institutions", MacIntyre symposium, Durham Business School, Durham University, 2007.
"MacIntyre and Marxism", Historical Materialism annual conference, School of Oriental and African Studies, 2006.
