Thomas A. Spragens | Scholars@Duke

Thomas A. Spragens
Professor Emeritus of Political Science

Professor of Political Science, specializes in modern political theory and the contemporary theory of liberal democracy. He has written The Dilemma of Contemporary Political Theory: Toward a Post-Behavioral Science of Politics (1973), The Politics of Motion: The World of Thomas Hobbes(1973), and Understanding Political Theory (1976). His book, The Irony of Liberal Reason, published by the University of Chicago Press (1981), examines the impact of changing conceptions of rationality upon the liberal tradition. A sequel to that volume, entitled Reason and Democracy(1990), provides a constructive account of the relationship between rational practices and democratic institutions. His 1999 book, Civic Liberalism: Reflections on Our Democratic Ideals, which was awarded the Elaine and David Spitz Book Prize for 2001, argues for a more complex and ambitious set of democratic aspirations than those found in the most prominent alternative theories. His most recent book is Getting the Left Right: The Transformation, Decline, and Reformation of American Liberalism. It was selected in 2010 as one of the two featured books for the Critical Dialogue section of the APSA journal Perspectives on Politics. His current research concerns the civic practices important to meet the challenges of democratic self-governance in today's world.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Political Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2016

Contact Information

140 Science Drive, 204F Gross, Box 90204, Durham, NC 27708
Box 90204, Durham, NC 27708-0204
thomas.spragens@duke.edu (919) 660-4300

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., Duke University 1968
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Professor of Political Science, Political Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1981 - 2016
- Associate Professor with Tenure, Political Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1975 - 1981
- Acting Chairman, Political Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1978 - 1979
- Assistant Professor, Political Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1968 - 1975
- Instructor (Part Time), University, Political Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 1967 - 1968
Expertise
Global Scholarship
- Expertise
  - United States of America (Country)
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Books
  - Spragens, T. A. Getting the Left Right: The Transformation, Decline, and Reformation of American Liberalism. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2009.
  - Spragens, T. A. Civic Liberalism: Reflections on Our Democratic Ideals. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 1999.
  - Spragens, T. A. Reason and Democracy. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1990.
  - Spragens, T. A. The Irony of Liberal Reason. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981.
  - Spragens, T. A. Understanding Political Theory. New York: St. Martin’s, 1976.
  - Spragens, T. A. The Dilemma of Contemporary Political Theory: Toward a Postbehavioral Science of Politics. New York: Dunellen Co., 1973.
  - Spragens, T. A. The Politics of Motion: The World of Thomas Hobbes. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 1973.
- Academic Articles
  - Spragens, T. A., and Bruce Miroff. “Critical Dialogue.” Edited by Jeffrey Isaac. Perspectives on Politics Vol. 8 (June 2010): 617–23.
  - Spragens, T. A. “Reply to Bruce Miroff's review of Getting the Left Right: The Transformation, Decline, and Reformation of American Liberalism.” Perspectives on Politics 8, no. 2 (January 1, 2010): 622–23. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592710000484.
    Full Text
  - Spragens, T. A. “Democratic Reasonableness.” Contemporary Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 11, no. 2 (June 2008): 193–214.
  - Spragens, Thomas A. “POPULIST PERFECTIONISM: THE OTHER AMERICAN LIBERALISM.” Social Philosophy and Policy 24, no. 1 (January 2007): 141–63. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0265052507070069.
    Full Text
  - Spragens, T. A. “Communitarianism: Epitaph for a Monument to a Successful Reminder.” The Responsive Community 14, no. 2/3 (2004).
  - Spragens, T. A. “Justice, Consensus, and Boundaries: Assessing Political Liberalism.” Political Theory 31, no. 4 (August 2003).
  - Spragens, T. A. “Is the Enlightenment Project Worth Saving?” Modern Age 43, no. 1 (December 2001).
  - Spragens, T. A. “The Bounds of Civic Morality.” The Responsive Community 11, no. 4 (October 2001): 41–47.
  - Spragens, T. A. “The Antinomies of Social Justice.” The Review of Politics 55, no. 2 (March 1993).
  - Spragens, T. A. “The Politics of Inertia and Gravitation: The Function of Exemplar Paradigms in Social Theory.” Polity, March 1973.
- Book Sections
  - Spragens, T. A. “Beyond Bigotry and Nihilism: Moral Judgment in Pluralist Democracies.” In Naming Evil, Judging Evil, edited by Ruth Grant. University of Chicago Press, 2006.
  - Spragens, T. A. “Theories of Justice, Rights, and Duties: Negotiating the Interface Between Normative and Empirical Theory.” In Human Rights and Duties: Psychology’s Contributions, the Law’s Commentary, edited by Norman J. Finkel and Fathali M. Moghaddam. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2005.
  - Spragens, T. A. “Legislating Morality in Liberal Democracies.” In The Communitarian Reader: Beyond the Essentials, edited by Amitai Etzioni, Andrew Volmert, and Elanit Rothschild. Rowman and Littlefield (Lanham, Maryland), 2004.
  - Spragens, T. A. “Between Bigotry and Nihilism: Moral Judgment in Pluralist Democracies.” In Speak No Evil: Moral Judgment in the Modern Age, edited by Ruth Grant. University of Chicago Press (Chicago, Illinois), 2004.
  - Spragens, T. A. “Legislating Morality in Liberal Democracies.” In The Communitarian Reader: Beyond the Essentials, edited by Amitar Etzioni, Andrew Volmert, and Elanit Rothschild. Lanham, Maryland: Rowan and Littlefield Publishers, 2004.
  - Spragens, T. A. “Church and State in Liberal America: Locke and Tocqueville Revisited.” In Politics, Reason, and the Human Good, edited by Robert P. Hunt, 2003.
  - Spragens, T. A. “Rationality in Liberal Politics.” In Political Theory and Partisan Politics, edited by Adolf Gundersen and Ruth Shively. Albany, N.Y: SUNY Press, 2000.
  - Spragens, T. A. “Communitarian Liberalism.” In New Communitarian Thinking, edited by Amitai Etzioni. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 1995.
  - Spragens, T. A. “The Limitations of Libertarianism, Parts 1 and 2.” In Responsive Community, Vol. 2, Issues 1 and 2, 1991.
  - Spragens, T. A. “Reconstructing Liberal Theory: Reason and Liberal Culture.” In Liberals on Liberalism, edited by A. J. Damico. Totowa, N.J.: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 1986.
  - Spragens, T. A. “Justification, Practical Reason, and Political Theory.” In Justification, Vol. NOMOS. New York and London: New York University Press, 1986.
  - Spragens, T. A. “David Hume’s Experimental Science of Morals and the Natural Law Tradition.” In The Ethical Bases of Political Life, edited by Francis Canavan. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1983.
Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
Presentations & Appearances
- Liberty Fund Conference on "Liberty and the Limits of Constructivist Rationality". July 1, 2008 2008
Service to the Profession

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

Global Scholarship

Expertise

Selected Publications

Books

Academic Articles

Book Sections

Presentations & Appearances

Service to the Profession