Nielsen, Kai 1926-

PERSONAL:

Born 1926. Education: University of North Carolina, B.A.; Duke University, Ph.D, 1959.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Montréal, Quebec, Canada. Office—Department of Philosophy, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve W., Montréal, Quebec H3G 1M8, Canada.

CAREER:

University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, professor emeritus of philosophy; Concordia University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada, adjunct professor, 2002—.

MEMBER:

Canadian Philosophical Association, Royal Society of Canada.

WRITINGS:

Contemporary Critiques of Religion, Herder & Herder (New York, NY), 1971.

Reason and Practice: A Modern Introduction to Philosophy, Harper & Row (New York, NY), 1971.

(Editor, with Virginia Heid and Charles Parsons) Philosophy and Political Action, Society for Philosophy and Public Affairs (New York, NY), 1972.

Scepticism, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1973.

Ethics without God, Prometheus Books (Buffalo, NY), 1973, revised edition, 1990.

(Editor, with Roger A. Shiner) New Essays on Contract Theory, Canadian Association for Publishing in Philosophy (Guelph, Ontario, Canada), 1977.

(Editor, with Wesley E. Cooper and Steven C. Patten) New Essays on John Stuart Mill and Utilitarianism, Canadian Association for Publishing in Philosophy (Guelph, Ontario, Canada), 1979.

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1983.

Philosophy and Atheism: In Defense of Atheism, Prometheus Books (Buffalo, NY), 1985, published with a new preface by the author as Atheism and Philosophy, Prometheus Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Equality and Liberty: A Defense of Radical Egalitarianism, Rowan & Allanheld (Totowa, NJ), 1985.

(Editor, with Marsha P. Hanen) Science, Morality and Feminist Theory, University of Calgary Press (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1987.

Marxism and the Moral Point of View: Morality, Ideology, and Historical Materialism, Westview Press (Boulder, CO), 1989.

God, Scepticism, and Modernity, University of Ottawa Press (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada), 1989.

Why Be Moral?, Prometheus Books (Buffalo, NY), 1989.

Analyzing Marxism: New Essays on Analytical Marxism, University of Calgary Press (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1989.

(Editor and contributor, with James Porter Moreland) Does God Exist? The Great Debate, T. Nelson (Nashville, TN), 1990.

(With Hendrik Hart) Search for Community in a Withering Tradition: Conversations between a Marxian Atheist and a Calvinian Christian, University Press of America (Lanham, MD), 1990.

After the Demise of the Tradition: Rorty, Critical Theory, and the Fate of Philosophy, Westview Press (Boulder, CO), 1991.

(Editor, with David P. Gauthier, Jan Narveson, and Jocelyne Couture) Ethique et rationalite: conferences de David Gauthier, Jan Narveson et Kai Nielsen, P. Mardaga (Liege, Belgium), 1992.

On the Track of Reason: Essays in Honor of Kai Nielsen, edited by Rodger Beehler, David Copp, and Bela Szabados, Westview Press (Boulder, CO), 1992.

(Editor, with Jocelyne Couture) Meta-philosophie: Reconstructing Philosophy? New Essays on Metaphilosophy, University of Calgary Press (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1993.

On Transforming Philosophy: A Metaphysical Inquiry, Westview Press (Boulder, CO), 1995.

(Editor, with Jocelyne Couture) On the Relevance of Metaethics: New Essays on Metaethics, University of Calgary Press (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1996.

Naturalism without Foundations, Prometheus Books (Amherst, NY), 1996.

(Editor, with Robert Ware) Exploitation, Humanities Press International (Atlantic Highlands, NJ), 1997.

(Editor, with Jocelyne Couture and Michel Seymour) Rethinking Nationalism, University of Calgary Press (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), 1998.

Naturalism and Religion, Prometheus Books (Amherst, NY), 1998.

Walking the Tightrope of Faith: Philosophical Conversations about Reason and Religion, Rodopi (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1999.

Globalization and Justice, Humanity Books (Amherst, NY), 2003.

Contributor to journals and periodicals. Author's works have been translated into several languages, including German, Dutch, and French.

SIDELIGHTS:

Kai Nielsen has written or edited more than forty books focusing primarily on his major interests in the field of philosophy, which include metaphilosophy, contemporary ethical and political theory, and Marxism. For example, in his book Equality and Liberty: A Defense of Radical Egalitarianism the author discusses his idea that everyone should receive roughly the same income for their work, either in monetary payment or in goods. In the process of clarifying his theory, the author discusses such issues as human dignity and equality before the law. He also presents his idea that the government should ultimately be responsible for paying people and providing their incomes after common needs are met and paid for, from hospitals to public parks. Writing in the Freeman, John Hospers pointed out that "Nielsen is committed to the socialist state." Nielsen is also the author of Philosophy and Atheism: In Defense of Atheism, first printed in 1985 and republished in 2005 as Atheism and Philosophy. The book includes eleven essays by Nielsen discussing topics such as how an individual becomes an atheist and the idea of religion and commitment. A Reference & Research Book News contributor appreciated how the author "avoid[s] technical jargon."

Nielsen served as an editor and contributor to Does God Exist? The Great Debate. The book includes arguments from various philosophers concerning the existence of God, as well as a survey of different responses to the question. Nielsen and collaborator James Porter Moreland also write their own opinions on the matter in a series of exchanges between the two, including the transcript of a spoken debate between them. "The style of the contributions throughout is nontechnical and in this respect the book will be accessible to novices in the philosophy of religion," reported Peter Byrne and Leslie Houlden in Religious Studies. "For the most part the arguments pro and con turn around matters of science, history and morality."

On Transforming Philosophy: A Metaphysical Inquiry presents Nielsen's view of how the field of philosophy should change to focus on the real problems people face in life. The author discusses philosophy as metaphysics, the idea of skepticism and the need to establish philosophical foundations, and the author's specific proposal for a transformation of philosophy. G.E. Dann, writing in the Review of Metaphysics, noted that that the author "has once again focused attention on providing a post-mortem for traditional philosophy." Dann added: "Yet this post-mortem is not altogether morbid or tragic."

In his Naturalism and Religion, Nielsen presents his case that naturalism—the idea that the world can best be explained by scientific means without turning to spiritual or supernatural explanations—is a better way to understand and value human life and society rather than a religious approach. "There is much to learn from this book," wrote T. Michael McNulty in Theological Studies. McNulty went on to note that the author presents "an articulate and challenging statement of what a truly secular worldview would be like." Journal of Religion contributor Charles Taliaferro commented: "This book is a useful summary of Nielsen's secular philosophy of religion and a helpful clarification of the intramural differences between him and his fellow atheists."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Journal of Sociology, July, 1986, David Rubinstein, review of Equality and Liberty: A Defense of Radical Egalitarianism, pp. 186-188.

American Political Science Review, March, 1990, Oskar Gruenwald, review of Marxism and the Moral Point of View: Morality, Ideology, and Historical Materialism, p. 285.

British Book News, April, 1983, Thomas McPherson, review of An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, p. 223.

Canadian Forum, June-July, 1982, Frank Cunningham, review of Marx and Morality, pp. 32-33.

Canadian Philosophical Reviews, February, 1990, George G. Brenkert, review of Marxism and the Moral Point of View, pp. 73-75; October, 1991, Barry Allen, review of After the Demise of Tradition: Rorty, Critical Theory, and the Fate of Philosophy, pp. 344-346; February, 1996, Robert M. Martin, On Transforming Philosophy: A Metaphysical Inquiry, pp. 39-40.

Canadian Public Policy, March, 2000, review of Rethinking Nationalism, pp. 130-131.

Choice, November, 1973, review of Ethics without God, p. 1401; June, 1983, review of An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, p. 1475; July, 1985, C.T. Kim, review of Equality and Liberty, p. 1646; April, 1989, H.J. John, review of Marxism and the Moral Point of View, p. 1347; November, 1991, P.K. Moser, review of After the Demise of Tradition, p. 465; February, 1996, P.K. Moser, review of On Transforming Philosophy, p. 962; May, 1997, F.S. Weaver, review of Exploitation, p. 1547.

Christian Century, January 15, 1986, James T. Baker, review of Philosophy and Atheism, p. 50.

Contemporary Sociology, January, 1986, George McCarthy, review of Equality and Liberty, pp. 160-161.

Dalhousie Review, summer, 1989, review of God, Scepticism and Modernity, pp. 290-292.

Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review, Volume 29, number 4, 1990, Evan Simpson, "Marxism and Moralism," pp. 583-588; Volume 34, number 4, 1995, John King-Farlow, review of God, Scepticism, and Modernity, pp. 196-201.

Ethics, July, 1986, Hugh S. Chandler, review of Philosophy and Atheism, p. 892; April, 1989, Lynne Tirrell, review of Science, Morality and Feminist Theory, p. 669; April, 1990, John Van Ingen, review of Why Be Moral?, pp. 670-671; January, 1991, Keith Graham, review of Analyzing Marxism: New Essays on Analytical Marxism, p. 439; March, 1991, Kent Greenwalt, review of Analyzing Marxism, p. 349; April, 1998, William H. Shaw, review of Exploitation, pp. 640-641.

Free Inquiry, summer, 2000, Austin Dacey, "Wittgenstein without a Net," review of Walking the Tightrope of Faith: Philosophical Conversations about Reason and Religion, p. 63.

Freeman, January, 1986, John Hospers, review of Equality and Liberty.

Humanist in Canada, winter 1990, review of Ethics without God, p. 35; autumn, 1990, review of Why Be Moral?, pp. 34-55; summer, 1997, review of Does God Exist?, pp. 37-38.

International Philosophical Quarterly, March, 1986, Brian Leftow, review of Philosophy and Atheism, pp. 101-103.

Journal of Church and State, spring, 1990, Michael D. Beaty, review of Why Be Moral?, pp. 436-438; winter, 1992, Michael Beaty, review of Ethics without God, pp. 151-152.

Journal of Politics, August, 1978, Justine Mann, review of New Essays on Contract Theory, p. 857.

Journal of Psychology and Theology, fall, 2003, Steven L. Porter and Donny Swanson, "Seeker-Sensitive Atheism," review of Naturalism and Religion, pp. 287-289.

Journal of Religion, January, 2003, Charles Taliaferro, review of Naturalism and Religion, pp. 154-156.

Journal of the American Academy of Religion, spring, 1991, David Ray Griffin, review of God, Scepticism, and Modernity, pp. 189-190.

Library Journal, August, 1996, Terry C. Skeats, review of Naturalism without Foundations, p. 76.

New York University Law Review, December, 1985, David A.J. Richards, review of Equality and Liberty, pp. 1188-1201.

Philosophical Review, January, 1975, Alan Zaitchik, review of Ethics without God, pp. 132-135; October, 1975, Robert J. Richman, review of Scepticism, pp. 590-595; April, 1984, Allen W. Wood, review of Marx and Morality, pp. 306-308; July, 1992, Paul Gomberg, review of Why Be Moral?, pp. 700-703; July, 1998, Mark Timmons, review of On the Relevance of Metaethics: New Essays on Metaethics, pp. 452-455.

Philosophy, October, 1990, Richard Norman, review of Marxism and the Moral Point of View, p. 530.

Philosophy and Social Sciences, December, 1992, review of God, Scepticism and Modernity, pp. 519-525.

Reference & Research Book News, February, 1992, review of After the Demise of the Tradition, p. 1; August, 1997, review of Naturalism without Foundations, p. 2; November, 2003, review of Globalization and Justice, p. 157; August, 2006, review of Atheism and Philosophy.

Religious Studies, March, 1985, Vincent Bruemmer, review of An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, pp. 118-120; April, 1992, Terrence Rey- nolds, review of Ethics without God, pp. 132, 134; June, 1994, Peter Byrne and Leslie Houlden, review of Does God Exist?, pp. 258-259.

Religious Studies Review, January, 1986, Malcolm L. Diamond, review of An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion, pp. 17-22.

Review of Metaphysics, June, 1997, G.E. Dann, review of On Transforming Philosophy, pp. 911-912.

Theological Studies, September, 2002, T. Michael McNulty, review of Naturalism and Religion, pp. 640-641.

Thought, September, 1991, John T. Edelman, review of Why Be Moral?, pp. 334-336.

Times Literary Supplement, November 26, 1971, review of Contemporary Critiques of Religion, p. 1489; January 18, 2002, Anthony Kenny, "A Genial Solitude," review of Naturalism and Religion, p. 37.

University of Toronto Quarterly, Volume 60, number 1, 1990, Hendrik Hart, review of God, Scepticism and Modernity, pp. 196-197.

ONLINE

Concordia University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Web page,http://artsandscience1.concordia.ca/ (April 22, 2007), faculty profile of Kai Nielsen.

University of Calgary Department of Philosophy Web site,http://www.phil.ucalgary.ca/ (April 22, 2007), faculty profile of Kai Nielsen.