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Charles Taylor (philosopher)
Encyclopedia
Charles Margrave Taylor, (born November 5, 1931) is a Canadian
philosopher from Montreal
, Quebec
best known for his contributions in political philosophy
, the philosophy of social science
, and in the history of philosophy
. His contributions to these fields have earned him both the prestigious Kyoto Prize
and the Templeton Prize
, in addition to widespread esteem among fellow philosophers. In 2007, Taylor served with Gérard Bouchard
on the Bouchard-Taylor Commission on Reasonable Accommodation with regard to cultural differences in the province of Quebec. Taylor currently teaches at McGill University
in the Department of Philosophy. He is a practicing Roman Catholic
.
(B.A. in History in 1952). He continued his studies at the University of Oxford
, first as a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College (B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics) in 1955, and then as a post-graduate, (D.Phil. in 1961), under the supervision of Isaiah Berlin
and G.E.M. Anscombe
.
He succeeded John Plamenatz
as Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory
at the University of Oxford
and became a Fellow of All Souls College
. For many years, both before and after Oxford, he was Professor of Political Science
and Philosophy
at McGill University
in Montreal
, Canada
, where he is now professor emeritus. Taylor was also a Board of Trustees Professor of Law and Philosophy at Northwestern University
in Evanston
for several years after his retirement from McGill.
Taylor was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1986. In 1991, Taylor was appointed to the Conseil de la langue française in the province of Quebec
, at which point he critiqued Quebec's commercial sign laws. In 1995, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada
. In 2000, he was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec
. He was awarded the 2007 Templeton Prize
for progress towards research or discoveries about spiritual realities, which includes a cash award of US$1.5 million. In 2007 he and Gérard Bouchard
were appointed to head a one-year Commission of Inquiry into what would constitute "reasonable accommodation" for minority cultures in his home province of Quebec, Canada. In June 2008 he was awarded the Kyoto Prize
in the arts and philosophy category. The Kyoto Prize is sometimes referred to as the Japanese Nobel.
and formalist epistemologies. He is part of an influential intellectual tradition of Canadian idealists along with John Watson
, Paxton Young, C.B. Macpherson, and George P. Grant.
In his essay "To Follow a Rule", Taylor explores why people can fail to follow rules, and what kind of knowledge
it is that allows a person to successfully follow a rule, such as the arrow on a sign. The intellectualist tradition presupposes that to follow directions we must know a set of proposition
s and premise
s about how to follow directions. But how do we know whether or not the directions are adequate?
Taylor argues that Wittgenstein's solution is that all interpretation of rules draws upon a tacit background. This background is not mere rules or premises, but what Wittgenstein calls "forms of life"
. More specifically, Wittgenstein says in the Philosophical Investigations
that "Obeying a rule is a practice." Taylor situates the interpretation of rules within the practices that are incorporated into our bodies in the form of habits, dispositions, and tendencies.
Following Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Gadamer, Michael Polanyi
, and Wittgenstein, Taylor argues that it is mistaken to presuppose that our understanding of the world is primarily mediated by representations. It is only against an unarticulated background that representations can make sense to us. On occasion we do follow rules by explicitly representing them to ourselves, but Taylor reminds us that rules do not contain the principles of their own application: application requires that we draw on an unarticulated understanding or "sense of things"--the background.
, Michael Walzer
, Michael Sandel
, and Gad Barzilai
) is associated with a communitarian critique of liberal theory's understanding of the "self." Communitarians emphasize the importance of social institutions in the development of individual meaning and identity.
In his 1991 Massey Lecture, "The Malaise of Modernity," Taylor argued that political theorists, from John Locke
and Thomas Hobbes
to John Rawls
and Ronald Dworkin
, have neglected the way in which individuals arise within the context supplied by societies. A more realistic understanding of the "self" recognizes the social background against which life choices gain importance and meaning.
in Mount Royal
on three occasions in the 1960s, beginning with the 1962 federal election
when he came in third place behind Liberal
Alan MacNaughton
. He improved his standing in 1963
, coming in second. Most famously, he also lost in the 1965 election
to newcomer and future prime minister
, Pierre Trudeau
. This campaign garnered national attention. Taylor's fourth and final attempt to enter the Canadian House of Commons
was in the 1968 federal election
, when he came in second as an NDP candidate in the riding of Dollard
. In 2008, he endorsed the NDP candidate in Westmount—Ville-Marie, Anne Lagacé Dowson
. He was also a professor to Canadian politician and former leader of the New Democratic Party Jack Layton
.
In 2010, Taylor said multiculturalism was a work in progress that faced challenges. He identified tackling Islamophobia
in Canada as the next challenge.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
philosopher from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
best known for his contributions in political philosophy
Political philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
, the philosophy of social science
Philosophy of social science
The philosophy of social science is the study of the logic and method of the social sciences, such as sociology, anthropology and political science...
, and in the history of philosophy
History of philosophy
The history of philosophy is the study of philosophical ideas and concepts through time. Issues specifically related to history of philosophy might include : How can changes in philosophy be accounted for historically? What drives the development of thought in its historical context? To what...
. His contributions to these fields have earned him both the prestigious Kyoto Prize
Kyoto Prize
The has been awarded annually since 1985 by the Inamori Foundation, founded by Kazuo Inamori. The prize is a Japanese award similar in intent to the Nobel Prize, as it recognizes outstanding works in the fields of philosophy, arts, science and technology...
and the Templeton Prize
Templeton Prize
The Templeton Prize is an annual award presented by the Templeton Foundation. Established in 1972, it is awarded to a living person who, in the estimation of the judges, "has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical...
, in addition to widespread esteem among fellow philosophers. In 2007, Taylor served with Gérard Bouchard
Gérard Bouchard
Gérard Bouchard is a historian, sociologist and writer from Quebec, Canada, affiliated with the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Born in Jonquière, Quebec, he obtained his master's degree in sociology from Université Laval in 1968 and later obtained his PhD degree in history from the University...
on the Bouchard-Taylor Commission on Reasonable Accommodation with regard to cultural differences in the province of Quebec. Taylor currently teaches at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in the Department of Philosophy. He is a practicing Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic (term)
The term Roman Catholic appeared in the English language at the beginning of the 17th century, to differentiate specific groups of Christians in communion with the Pope from others; comparable terms in other languages already existed...
.
Career
Taylor began his undergraduate education at McGill UniversityMcGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
(B.A. in History in 1952). He continued his studies at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, first as a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College (B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics) in 1955, and then as a post-graduate, (D.Phil. in 1961), under the supervision of Isaiah Berlin
Isaiah Berlin
Sir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation...
and G.E.M. Anscombe
G. E. M. Anscombe
Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe , better known as Elizabeth Anscombe, was a British analytic philosopher from Ireland. A student of Ludwig Wittgenstein, she became an authority on his work and edited and translated many books drawn from his writings, above all his Philosophical Investigations...
.
He succeeded John Plamenatz
John Plamenatz
John Petrov Plamenatz was a Montenegrin political philosopher, who spent most of his academic life at the University of Oxford. He became a Fellow of All Souls College, and succeeded Isaiah Berlin as Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at Oxford...
as Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory
Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory
The Chichele professorial chair in social and political theory is one of the statutory Chichele Professorships at All Souls College, Oxford. This Chair was established 1944.-Chichele Professors of Social and Political Theory:* G. D. H...
at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and became a Fellow of All Souls College
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
. For many years, both before and after Oxford, he was Professor of Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where he is now professor emeritus. Taylor was also a Board of Trustees Professor of Law and Philosophy at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
for several years after his retirement from McGill.
Taylor was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1986. In 1991, Taylor was appointed to the Conseil de la langue française in the province of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, at which point he critiqued Quebec's commercial sign laws. In 1995, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
. In 2000, he was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...
. He was awarded the 2007 Templeton Prize
Templeton Prize
The Templeton Prize is an annual award presented by the Templeton Foundation. Established in 1972, it is awarded to a living person who, in the estimation of the judges, "has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life's spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical...
for progress towards research or discoveries about spiritual realities, which includes a cash award of US$1.5 million. In 2007 he and Gérard Bouchard
Gérard Bouchard
Gérard Bouchard is a historian, sociologist and writer from Quebec, Canada, affiliated with the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Born in Jonquière, Quebec, he obtained his master's degree in sociology from Université Laval in 1968 and later obtained his PhD degree in history from the University...
were appointed to head a one-year Commission of Inquiry into what would constitute "reasonable accommodation" for minority cultures in his home province of Quebec, Canada. In June 2008 he was awarded the Kyoto Prize
Kyoto Prize
The has been awarded annually since 1985 by the Inamori Foundation, founded by Kazuo Inamori. The prize is a Japanese award similar in intent to the Nobel Prize, as it recognizes outstanding works in the fields of philosophy, arts, science and technology...
in the arts and philosophy category. The Kyoto Prize is sometimes referred to as the Japanese Nobel.
Views
In order to understand his views it is helpful to understand his philosophical background, especially his writings on Hegel, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, and Merleau-Ponty. Taylor rejects naturalismNaturalism (philosophy)
Naturalism commonly refers to the philosophical viewpoint that the natural universe and its natural laws and forces operate in the universe, and that nothing exists beyond the natural universe or, if it does, it does not affect the natural universe that we know...
and formalist epistemologies. He is part of an influential intellectual tradition of Canadian idealists along with John Watson
John Watson
John Watson may refer to:In politics:* John Christian Watson , known as Chris Watson, Australia's third Prime Minister* John Bertrand Watson , British Member of Parliament for Stockton-on-Tees, 1917–1923* John S...
, Paxton Young, C.B. Macpherson, and George P. Grant.
In his essay "To Follow a Rule", Taylor explores why people can fail to follow rules, and what kind of knowledge
Knowledge
Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something unknown, which can include information, facts, descriptions, or skills acquired through experience or education. It can refer to the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject...
it is that allows a person to successfully follow a rule, such as the arrow on a sign. The intellectualist tradition presupposes that to follow directions we must know a set of proposition
Proposition
In logic and philosophy, the term proposition refers to either the "content" or "meaning" of a meaningful declarative sentence or the pattern of symbols, marks, or sounds that make up a meaningful declarative sentence...
s and premise
Premise
Premise can refer to:* Premise, a claim that is a reason for, or an objection against, some other claim as part of an argument...
s about how to follow directions. But how do we know whether or not the directions are adequate?
Taylor argues that Wittgenstein's solution is that all interpretation of rules draws upon a tacit background. This background is not mere rules or premises, but what Wittgenstein calls "forms of life"
Form of life (philosophy)
Form of life is a non-technical term used by Ludwig Wittgenstein and others in the analytic philosophy and philosophy of language traditions...
. More specifically, Wittgenstein says in the Philosophical Investigations
Philosophical Investigations
Philosophical Investigations is, along with the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, one of the most influential works by the 20th-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein...
that "Obeying a rule is a practice." Taylor situates the interpretation of rules within the practices that are incorporated into our bodies in the form of habits, dispositions, and tendencies.
Following Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Gadamer, Michael Polanyi
Michael Polanyi
Michael Polanyi, FRS was a Hungarian–British polymath, who made important theoretical contributions to physical chemistry, economics, and the theory of knowledge...
, and Wittgenstein, Taylor argues that it is mistaken to presuppose that our understanding of the world is primarily mediated by representations. It is only against an unarticulated background that representations can make sense to us. On occasion we do follow rules by explicitly representing them to ourselves, but Taylor reminds us that rules do not contain the principles of their own application: application requires that we draw on an unarticulated understanding or "sense of things"--the background.
Communitarian critique of Liberalism
Taylor (as well as Alasdair MacIntyreAlasdair MacIntyre
Alasdair Chalmers MacIntyre is a British philosopher primarily known for his contribution to moral and political philosophy but known also for his work in history of philosophy and theology...
, Michael Walzer
Michael Walzer
Michael Walzer is a prominent American political philosopher and public intellectual. A professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, he is co-editor of Dissent, an intellectual magazine that he has been affiliated with since his years as an undergraduate at...
, Michael Sandel
Michael Sandel
Michael J. Sandel is an American political philosopher and a professor at Harvard University. He is best known for the Harvard course 'Justice' which is available to , and for his critique of Rawls' A Theory of Justice in his Liberalism and the Limits of Justice...
, and Gad Barzilai
Gad Barzilai
Gad Barzilai is a scholar of political science and law, famous for his work on the politics of law, human rights and communities. He is a professor of law, societies and justice, and international studies at University of Washington...
) is associated with a communitarian critique of liberal theory's understanding of the "self." Communitarians emphasize the importance of social institutions in the development of individual meaning and identity.
In his 1991 Massey Lecture, "The Malaise of Modernity," Taylor argued that political theorists, from John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
and Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
to John Rawls
John Rawls
John Bordley Rawls was an American philosopher and a leading figure in moral and political philosophy. He held the James Bryant Conant University Professorship at Harvard University....
and Ronald Dworkin
Ronald Dworkin
Ronald Myles Dworkin, QC, FBA is an American philosopher and scholar of constitutional law. He is Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at New York University and Emeritus Professor of Jurisprudence at University College London, and has taught previously at Yale Law School and the...
, have neglected the way in which individuals arise within the context supplied by societies. A more realistic understanding of the "self" recognizes the social background against which life choices gain importance and meaning.
Politics
Taylor was a candidate for the social democratic New Democratic PartyNew Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
in Mount Royal
Mount Royal (electoral district)
Mount Royal is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1925. Its population in 2006 was 98,888....
on three occasions in the 1960s, beginning with the 1962 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1962
The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...
when he came in third place behind Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
Alan MacNaughton
Alan Macnaughton
Alan Aylesworth Macnaughton, PC, OC, QC was a Canadian parliamentarian and Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1963 to 1966.Macnaughton was born in Napanee, Ontario, and educated at Upper Canada College...
. He improved his standing in 1963
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
, coming in second. Most famously, he also lost in the 1965 election
Canadian federal election, 1965
The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House...
to newcomer and future prime minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, Pierre Trudeau
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
. This campaign garnered national attention. Taylor's fourth and final attempt to enter the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
was in the 1968 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1968
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 28th Parliament of Canada...
, when he came in second as an NDP candidate in the riding of Dollard
Dollard (electoral district)
Dollard was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1953 to 1988.-History:This riding was created in 1952.In 1966, it was defined to consist of:* the City of Saint-Laurent;...
. In 2008, he endorsed the NDP candidate in Westmount—Ville-Marie, Anne Lagacé Dowson
Anne Lagacé Dowson
-Radio career:A longtime host of CBC Radio's Radio Noon, a daily current affairs and phone-in program in Quebec, she left to run in 2008. She also hosted Home Run in Montreal, and was producer of C'est la Vie. She was a news reporter, arts reporter, press reviewer, and has guest hosted Cross...
. He was also a professor to Canadian politician and former leader of the New Democratic Party Jack Layton
Jack Layton
John Gilbert "Jack" Layton, PC was a Canadian social democratic politician and the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the leader of the New Democratic Party from 2003 to 2011, and previously sat on Toronto City Council, serving at times during that period as acting mayor and deputy mayor of...
.
In 2010, Taylor said multiculturalism was a work in progress that faced challenges. He identified tackling Islamophobia
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
in Canada as the next challenge.
Interlocutors
- Hubert DreyfusHubert DreyfusHubert Lederer Dreyfus is an American philosopher. He is a professor of philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley....
- Bernard WilliamsBernard WilliamsSir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams was an English moral philosopher, described by The Times as the most brilliant and most important British moral philosopher of his time. His publications include Problems of the Self , Moral Luck , Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy , and Truth and Truthfulness...
- Alasdair MacIntyreAlasdair MacIntyreAlasdair Chalmers MacIntyre is a British philosopher primarily known for his contribution to moral and political philosophy but known also for his work in history of philosophy and theology...
- Martha NussbaumMartha NussbaumMartha Nussbaum , is an American philosopher with a particular interest in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, political philosophy and ethics....
- Quentin SkinnerQuentin SkinnerQuentin Robert Duthie Skinner is the Barber Beaumont Professor of the Humanities at Queen Mary, University of London.-Biography:...
- Talal AsadTalal AsadTalal Asad is an anthropologist at the City University of New York.Asad has made important theoretical contributions to post-colonialism, Christianity, Islam, and ritual studies and has recently called for, and initiated, an anthropology of secularism...
- Arjun AppaduraiArjun AppaduraiArjun Appadurai is a contemporary social-cultural anthropologist focusing on modernity and globalization, based in New York.Appadurai was born in Mumbai , India and educated in India before coming to the United States. He graduated from St...
- Paul BermanPaul BermanPaul Berman is an American writer. His articles have been published in numerous periodicals, such as: The New Republic, The New York Times Book Review and Slate...
- William E. ConnollyWilliam E. ConnollyWilliam E. Connolly is a political theorist known for his work on democracy and pluralism. He is the Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. His 1974 work The Terms of Political Discourse won the 1999 Benjamin Lippincott Award.-Biography:Connolly was raised in...
- Robert Bellah
- Richard RortyRichard RortyRichard McKay Rorty was an American philosopher. He had a long and diverse academic career, including positions as Stuart Professor of Philosophy at Princeton, Kenan Professor of Humanities at the University of Virginia, and Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford University...
- John MilbankJohn MilbankAlasdair John Milbank is a Christian theologian and the Professor of Religion, Politics and Ethics at the University of Nottingham where he also directs the Centre of Theology and Philosophy. Milbank previously taught at the University of Virginia and before that at the University of Cambridge...
- Stuart HallStuart Hall-People:*Stuart Hall , British radio and television presenter*Stuart Hall , British cultural theorist and first editor of the New Left Review...
- Catherine PickstockCatherine PickstockCatherine Pickstock is a member of the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge and a Reader in Philosophy and Theology, Fellow and Tutor of Emmanuel College, Cambridge...
- James TullyJames TullyJames "Jim" Tully was a prominent Irish trade unionist, politician and Deputy Leader of the Irish Labour Party who served as a minister in a series of Fine Gael-Labour Irish coalition governments....
Selected Books by Taylor
- 1964. The Explanation of Behavior.
- 1975. Hegel.
- 1979. Hegel and Modern Society.
- 1985. Philosophical Papers (2 volumes).
- 1989. Sources of the Self: The Making of Modern IdentitySources of the SelfSources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity is a philosophy book written by Charles Taylor and published in 1989 by Harvard University Press. It is an attempt to articulate and to write a history of the "modern identity".-Summary:...
. Harvard University Press - 1992. The Malaise of Modernity, being the published version of Taylor's Massey LecturesMassey LecturesThe Massey Lectures are an annual week-long series of lectures on a political, cultural or philosophical topic given in Canada by a noted scholar. They were created in 1961 to honour Vincent Massey, Governor General of Canada...
. Reprinted in the U.S. as The Ethics of Authenticity. Harvard University Press - 1993. Reconciling the Solitudes: Essays on Canadian Federalism and Nationalism. McGill-Queen's University Press
- 1994. Multiculturalism: Examining The Politics of Recognition.
- 1995. Philosophical Arguments. Harvard University Press
- 1999. A Catholic Modernity?.
- 2002. Varieties of Religion Today: William James Revisited. Harvard University Press
- 2004. Modern Social Imaginaries.
- 2007. A Secular AgeA Secular AgeA Secular Age is a book written by the philosopher Charles Taylor which was published in 2007 by Harvard University Press. The sociologist Robert Bellah has referred to A Secular Age as "one of the most important books to be written in my lifetime."...
. Harvard University Press - 2011. Dilemmas and Connections: Selected Essays. Harvard University Press.
- Forthcoming. With Hubert Dreyfus, Retrieving Realism.
External links
- A wide-ranging interview with Charles Taylor, including Taylor's thoughts about his own intellectual development.
- An Interview with Charles Taylor Part 1,Part 2 and Part 3
- The Immanent Frame a blogBlogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
with posts by Taylor, Robert Bellah, and others concerning Taylor's book A Secular Age - Text of Taylor's essay "Overcoming Epistemology"
- Charles Taylor's syndicated op/ed column
- Bibliography of Taylor's works and works on Taylor's philosophy
- Links to secondary sources, reviews of Taylor's works, reading notes
- Lecture notes to Charles Taylor's talk on Religion and Violence (with a link to the audio) Nov 2004
- Lecture notes to Charles Taylor's talk on 'An End to Mediational Epistemology', Nov 2004
- Study guide to Philosophical Arguments and Philosophical Papers 2
- Templeton Prize announcement
- Short essay by Dene Baker, philosophers.co.uk
Online Videos of Charles Taylor
- Can Human Action Be Explained?; Charles Taylor gives a lecture at Columbia University
- A Political Ethic of Solidarity; Charles Taylor gives a lecture on a future politics self-consciously based on differing views and foundations in Milan
- The Future of The Secular; Charles Taylor gives lecture at the New School
- "Spiritual Forgetting"; Charles Taylor at awarding of Templeton Prize «Rencontre avec Charles Taylor» (25/11/2001) ; Chasseurs d’idéeshttp://fora.tv/2007/05/04/Keynote_Lecture_with_Charles_Taylor, Télé-QuébecTélé-QuébecTélé-Québec is a French language public educational television network in the Canadian province of Quebec. Known legally as Société de télédiffusion du Québec , it is a provincial crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec...
. «La religion dans la Cité des modernes : un divorce sans issue?» (14/10/2006) ; Charles Taylor and Pierre ManentPierre ManentPierre Manent teaches political philosophy at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, in the Centre de recherches politiques Raymond Aron. Every fall, he is also a visiting teacher at Boston College at the department of Political Science....
, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, «Les grandes conférences Argument». - Charles Taylor Keynote Lecture, Secular Imaginaries Conference at The New SchoolThe New SchoolThe New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
, May 2007