David James
My research interests include classical German philosophy together with responses to it, such as the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory, and the tradition in social and political philosophy that can be traced from Rousseau through Kant, Fichte and Hegel to Marx.
Selected publications
Books
- Property and its Forms in Classical German Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, 2023).
- Practical Necessity, Freedom, and History: From Hobbes to Marx (Oxford University Press, 2021).
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Fichte鈥檚 Republic: Idealism, History and Nationalism (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
- Rousseau and German Idealism: Freedom, Dependence and Necessity (Cambridge University Press, 2013; Chinese translation 2024).
- Fichte鈥檚 Social and Political Philosophy: Property and Virtue (Cambridge University Press, 2011; Chinese translation 2016).
Edited books
- (With Keith Ansell-Pearson) The Empathetic Emotions in the History of Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2025).
- Hegel鈥檚 Elements of the Philosophy of Right: A Critical Guide (Cambridge University Press, 2017; Chinese translation 2025).
- (With G眉nter Z枚ller) The Cambridge Companion to Fichte (Cambridge University Press, 2016).
Articles and book chapters
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鈥楢dorno鈥檚 Critique of Fichte鈥檚 Idealism: An Appraisal鈥�, Archiv f眉r die Geschichte der Philosophie (forthcoming)
- 鈥楾he Social Truth of Schopenhauer鈥檚 鈥淢etaphysics of Pity鈥�: Compassion and Critical Theory鈥�, European Journal of Philosophy (forthcoming)
- 鈥楩ichte鈥檚 Social Division of Labour and its Relation to his Idealism鈥�, European Journal of Philosophy 33(3) (2025): 942-957
- 鈥楻ousseau on the Natural Goodness of Pity鈥�, in Keith Ansell-Pearson and David James (eds.), The Empathetic Emotions in the History of Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2025).
- 鈥楻ousseau and Kant on the Moral Value of Compassion鈥�, Kantian Review 29(4) (2024): 551–568
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鈥楥ompassion, Egoism and Selflessness: Schopenhauer鈥檚 Problematic Debt to Rousseau鈥�, in David Bather Woods and Timothy Stoll (eds.), The Schopenhauerian Mind (London: Routledge, 2023).
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鈥楾he Relevance of Personality, Slavery, and Property to the Question Whether Hegel Seeks to Justify Colonial Oppression鈥�, The Review of Metaphysics 76 (2023): 587–610.
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鈥楽ituating the Enlightenment in Herder鈥檚 Philosophy of History鈥�, Journal of the Philosophy of History 16(3) (2022): 247–270.
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鈥楾he Idea of Universal Monarchy in Fichte鈥檚 Practical Philosophy鈥�, in Giovanni Pietro Basile and Ansgar Lyssy (eds.), Freedom and System in Kant and Fichte (London: Routledge, 2022).
- 鈥楳arx鈥檚 Genealogy of the Idea of Equality鈥�, European Journal of Philosophy 27(4) (2020): 898-911.
- 鈥楩rom Kant to Sade: A Fragment of the History of Philosophy in the Dialectic of Enlightenment鈥�, British Journal for the History of Philosophy 26(3) (2018): 557-577.
