John Finnis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Finnis
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Finnis on After Dark, 1987
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| Born |
John Mitchell Finnis
28 July 1940 |
| Education | University of Adelaide (LLB) University College, Oxford (DPhil) |
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Notable work
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Natural Law and Natural Rights (1980, 2011) |
| Era | Contemporary philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Thomism Natural law theory |
| Institutions | University of Oxford |
| Thesis | The Idea of Judicial Power, with Special Reference to Australian Law (1965) |
| Doctoral advisor | H. L. A. Hart |
| Doctoral students | Neil Gorsuch Robert P. George |
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Main interests
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Philosophy of law Political theory Philosophy of religion |
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Notable ideas
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Criticism of legal positivism |
John Mitchell Finnis AC CBE FBA (born 28 July 1940) is an Australian legal philosopher and jurist specializing in jurisprudence and the philosophy of law. He is an original interpreter of Aristotle and Aquinas, and counts Germain Grisez as a major influence and collaborator. He has made contributions to epistemology, metaphysics, and moral philosophy.
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Early life and education
Finnis was educated at St. Peter's College, Adelaide and the University of Adelaide, where he was a member of St. Mark's College. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree there, winning a Rhodes scholarship to University College, Oxford, in 1962, where he obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree with a thesis on the concept of judicial power, with reference to Australian federal constitutional law. Also in 1962, Finnis converted to Roman Catholicism.
Finnis was a friend of Aung San Suu Kyi, also an Oxford graduate; and, in 1989, Finnis nominated her for the Nobel Peace Prize. Aung San Suu Kyi won the prize but did not receive it until June 2012, when she recalled how her late husband, Michael Aris, had visited her under house arrest and brought her the news "that a friend, John Finnis" had nominated her for the prize.
Career outline
Finnis was Professor of Law and Legal Philosophy at the University of Oxford from 1989 to 2010, where he is now Professor of Law and Legal Philosophy Emeritus. He is also the Biolchini Family Professor of Law, emeritus, at Notre Dame Law School and a permanent senior distinguished research fellow at Notre Dame's de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. He acted as adviser to several Australian State governments, especially Queensland and Western Australia, mostly on the States' relations with the federal Government and with the United Kingdom.
His practice at the English Bar saw him in cases in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal. He is a member of Gray's Inn. He was appointed an honorary Queen's Counsel in 2017. In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours for Australia, Finnis was appointed a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia, the country's highest civilian honour, for his eminent service as a jurist and legal scholar. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to legal scholarship.
He has supervised several doctoral students including Neil Gorsuch, Justice Susan Kenny of the Federal Court of Australia, Robert P. George of Princeton University, and John Keown of Georgetown University.
A selection of articles and video lectures
- Aquinas' Moral, Political and Legal Philosophy
- The Profound Injustice of Justice Posner on Marriage
- Natural Law: The Classical Tradition PDF (Internet Archive)
- The Priority of Persons PDF
Video lectures
- God and Man
- Religious Liberty
See also
In Spanish: John Finnis para niños
