Peter Stillman (academic)
Encyclopedia
Peter Stillman is a Professor of political science at Vassar College
. He has taught there since 1970. He has an extensive range of publications and his interests cover modern political philosophy, especially that related to ecological thought, utopian political theory, and Hegel and Marx's political philosophy.
Stillman has all his academic degrees from Yale University
.
Stillman notes that while Marx is often represented as an "economic determinist" (that is he believed economic structures basically determine almost every aspect of human life) and used simple models such as "base"/"superstructure" to support this, and that holding the view that individuals have the scope for meaningful thought and action "determined" by their social context it does not follow from this that there is a "direct causal relationship between "economic" circumstances and spheres such as religion, politics or culture".
Philosophy of Spirit (1987), a co-edited translation of Rousseau's
Confessions
(1995), a collection of essays on The New Utopian Politics of Ursula K. Le Guin
's The Dispossessed
(2005), and a special issue of the journal Utopian Studies on Henry Neville's
The Isle of Pines
(2006). More recent work includes a co-authored book chapter with Adelaide Villmoare entitled "Social Justice after Katrina: The Need for a Revitalized Public Sphere" and a chapter in Andrew Davison and Himadeep Muppidi, eds., Europe and Its Boundaries: Words and Worlds, Within and Beyond. entitled "Hegel as a Colonial, Anti-Colonial, and Post-Colonial Thinker".
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
. He has taught there since 1970. He has an extensive range of publications and his interests cover modern political philosophy, especially that related to ecological thought, utopian political theory, and Hegel and Marx's political philosophy.
Stillman has all his academic degrees from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Stillman notes that while Marx is often represented as an "economic determinist" (that is he believed economic structures basically determine almost every aspect of human life) and used simple models such as "base"/"superstructure" to support this, and that holding the view that individuals have the scope for meaningful thought and action "determined" by their social context it does not follow from this that there is a "direct causal relationship between "economic" circumstances and spheres such as religion, politics or culture".
Publications
Stillman most noted works include: a book on Hegel'sGeorg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
Philosophy of Spirit (1987), a co-edited translation of Rousseau's
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
Confessions
Confessions (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)
Confessions is an autobiographical book by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In modern times, it is often published with the title The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in order to distinguish it from St. Augustine of Hippo's Confessions...
(1995), a collection of essays on The New Utopian Politics of Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
's The Dispossessed
The Dispossessed
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia is a 1974 utopian science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, set in the same fictional universe as that of The Left Hand of Darkness . The book won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1974, both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1975, and received a nomination for...
(2005), and a special issue of the journal Utopian Studies on Henry Neville's
Henry Neville (writer)
Henry Neville was an English author and satirist, best remembered for his tale of shipwreck and dystopia, The Isle of Pines published in 1668.-Life:...
The Isle of Pines
The Isle of Pines
The Isle of Pines is a book by Henry Neville published in 1668. An example of Utopian fiction, the book presents its story through an Epistolary frame: a "Letter to a friend in London, declaring the truth of his Voyage to the East Indies" written by a fictional Dutchman "Henry Cornelius Van...
(2006). More recent work includes a co-authored book chapter with Adelaide Villmoare entitled "Social Justice after Katrina: The Need for a Revitalized Public Sphere" and a chapter in Andrew Davison and Himadeep Muppidi, eds., Europe and Its Boundaries: Words and Worlds, Within and Beyond. entitled "Hegel as a Colonial, Anti-Colonial, and Post-Colonial Thinker".