Michael Sandel

For the British artist, seeMichael Sandle.

Michael Sandel
Sandel in 2012
Born	Michael Joseph Sandel (1953-03-05)March 5, 1953 Minneapolis,Minnesota,U.S.
Alma mater	Brandeis University(BA) Balliol College, Oxford(DPhil)
Notable work	Liberalism and the Limits of Justice(1982) Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?(2009)
Awards	American Academy of Arts and Sciences(2002)
Era	Contemporary philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Analytic communitarianism Republicanism
Institutions	Harvard University
Thesis	Liberalism and the Problem of the Moral Subject(1980)
Doctoral advisor	Charles Taylor
Doctoral students	Yascha Mounk
Other notable students	Ketanji Brown Jackson
Main interests	Political philosophy jurisprudence ethics
Notable ideas	Communitarian critique of liberalism

Michael Joseph Sandel(/sænˈdɛl/;born March 5, 1953) is an Americanpolitical philosopherand the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government atHarvard University,where his courseJusticewas the university's first course to be made freely available online and on television. It has been viewed by tens of millions of people around the world, including in China, where Sandel was named the 2011's "most influential foreign figure of the year" (China Newsweek).He is also known for his critique ofJohn Rawls'A Theory of Justicein his first book,Liberalism and the Limits of Justice(1982). He was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciencesin 2002.

Early life and education

Sandel was born in 1953into a Jewish family, which moved to Los Angeles when he was thirteen.He was president of his senior class atPalisades High Schooland graduatedPhi Beta KappafromBrandeis Universitywith a bachelor's degree in politics in 1975. He received his doctorate fromBalliol College, Oxford,in 1985, as aRhodes Scholar,where he studied under philosopherCharles Taylor.

Philosophical views

Sandel subscribes to a certain version ofcommunitarianism(although he is uncomfortable with the label), and in this vein he is perhaps best known for hiscritiqueofJohn Rawls'sA Theory of Justice.Rawls's argument depends on the assumption of theveil of ignorance,which Sandel argues commits Rawls to a view of people as "unencumbered selves". Sandel's view is that we are by nature encumbered to an extent that makes it impossible even hypothetically to have such a veil. Some examples of such ties are those with our families, which we do not make by conscious choice but are born with, already attached. Because they are not consciously acquired, it is impossible to separate oneself from such ties. Sandel believes that only a less-restrictive, looser version of the veil of ignorance should be postulated. Criticism such as Sandel's inspired Rawls to subsequently argue that his theory of justice was not a "metaphysical" theory but a "political" one, a basis on which an overriding consensus could be formed among individuals and groups with many different moral and political views.

Teaching

Justice

Sandel joined the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University in 1981.He has taught the Justice course at Harvard University for two decades. More than 15,000 students have taken the course,making it one of the most highly attended in Harvard's history. The fall 2007 class was the largest ever at Harvard, with a total of 1,115 students.The fall 2005 course was recorded, and is offered online for students through theHarvard Extension School.

An abridged form of this recording is now a 12-episode TV series,Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?,in a co-production ofWGBHand Harvard University. Episodes are available on the Justice with Michael Sandel website.There is also an accompanying book,Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?and the sourcebook of readingsJustice: A Reader.

The popularity of the show is attributed to the discussion-oriented format (theSocratic method)—rather than recitation and memorization of facts—and to Sandel's engaging style, incorporating context into discussion; for example, he starts one lecture with a discussion of the ethics ofticket scalping.

TheBBCbroadcast eight 30-minute segments from the series onBBC Fourstarting on 25 January 2011.

In April 2012,BBC Radio 4broadcast a three-part series and later podcast presented by Sandel titledThe Public Philosopher.These followed a format similar to the Justice lectures, this time recorded in front of an audience at theLondon School of Economics.Across three programs, Sandel debates with the audience whether universities should give preference to students from poorer backgrounds, whether a nurse should be paid more than a banker, and whether it is right to bribe people to be healthy.

edX

Sandel is currently teaching his Justice course onedX. On April 29, 2013, the philosophy department faculty of San Jose State University addressed an open letter to Sandel protesting the use of MOOCs (massively open online courses) such as his Justice course.Sandel publicly responded: "The worry that the widespread use of online courses will damage departments in public universities facing budgetary pressures is a legitimate concern that deserves serious debate, at edX and throughout higher education. The last thing I want is for my online lectures to be used to undermine faculty colleagues at other institutions."

Other teaching

Sandel also co-teaches, withDouglas Melton,the seminar "Ethics and Biotechnology", which considers the ethical implications of a variety ofbiotechnologicalprocedures and possibilities.

Politics

Sandel's politics are "squarely on the left" according to the UK left-leaning newspaperThe Guardianin 2020. According to an interviewer: "In 2012, he added intellectual lustre toEd Miliband’s renewal project for theLabour Party (UK),speaking to that year’s party conference on the moral limits of markets... helped inspire Miliband’s critique of “predatory capitalism” ".

Authorship

Sandel is the author of several publications, includingDemocracy's DiscontentandPublic Philosophy.Public Philosophyis a collection of his own previously published essays examining the role of morality and justice in American political life. He offers a commentary on the roles of moral values and civic community in the American electoral process—a much-debated aspect of the 2004 US election cycle and of current political discussion.

Sandel gave the 2009Reith Lectureson "A New Citizenship" on BBC Radio, addressing the "prospect for a new politics of the common good".The lectures were delivered in London on May 18, Oxford on May 21, Newcastle upon Tyne on May 26, and Washington, DC, in early June, 2009.

He is also the author of the bookWhat Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets(2012), which argues some desirable things—such as body organs and the right to kill endangered species—should not be traded for cash.In the book, Sandel argues that stimulating a market-oriented approach in people may lead to relaxation or even corruption of their moral values.

In his 2020 bookThe Tyranny of MeritSandel makes a case for overhauling western neo-liberalism, citingMichael Young's work as a precedent (Young popularized the term "meritocracy"), and developing a line of thought shared withDaniel Markovits'sThe Meritocracy Trap.Elite institutions including the Ivy League and Wall Street have corrupted our virtue, according to Sandel, and our sense of who deserves power.Ongoing stalled social mobility and increasing inequality are laying bare the crass delusion of theAmerican Dream,and the promise "you can make it if you want and try". The latter, according to Sandel, is the main culprit of the anger and frustration which brought some Western countries towardspopulism.

In various reviews of the 2020 book: theEvening Standardheadline was: "Diagnosis but no cure for the ills of an unfair society",inKirkus Reviews"Sandel’s proposals for change are less convincing than his deeply considered analysis.";in the British Education Studies Association:"We must abandon the elitism of the university degree... Of course, higher education is a good thing, even ‘a common good’. But the university should return to its role of defining and creating knowledge, not credits."In theHarvard Magazinereview: "But even if equality of opportunity were attainable, which Sandel doubts, he thinks meritocracy would be neither desirable nor sustainable: even a perfect meritocracy has multiple flaws that make it unjust.";The Wall Street Journalheadlines: "Review: The Cream Also Rises: The meritocratic ideal makes elites arrogant and threatens communal solidarity. Identity-based policies make the problem worse."

Personal life

Sandel is married to fellow Harvard professor Kiku Adatto.

Public service

Sandel served on theGeorge W. Bushadministration'sPresident's Council on Bioethics.

Awards and honors

• 1985: Harvard-Radcliffe Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Prize
• 2012:Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award,shortlist,What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets
• 2012:Foreign Policymagazine Top Global Thinker
• 2014: Honorary doctorate,Utrecht University
• 2018:Premio Princesa de Asturiasde las Ciencias Sociales
• 2023: Honorary doctorate,Radboud University

Works

External videos
Booknotesinterview with Sandel onDemocracy's Discontent,May 19, 1996,C-SPAN
Presentation by Sandel onDemocracy’s Discontent,February 26, 1997,C-SPAN
Presentation by Sandel onPublic Philosophy,February 23, 2006,C-SPAN
Presentation by Sandel onJustice: What's the Right Thing to Do?,November 9, 2009,C-SPAN
After Wordsinterview with Sandel onWhat Money Can't Buy,April 13, 2012,C-SPAN
Presentation by Sandel onWhat Money Can't Buy,November 17, 2012,C-SPAN

• Democracy's Discontent: America in Search of a Public Philosophy.Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 1998.ISBN9780674197459.
• Liberalism and the Limits of Justice.Cambridge, UK New York: Cambridge University Press. 1998.ISBN9780521567411.
  • French translation:Le libéralisme et les limites de la justice.Paris: Editions du Seuil. 1999.ISBN9782020326308.
  • Spanish translation:El liberalismo y los límites de la justicia.Barcelona: Gedisa. 2000.ISBN9788474327069.
• Public Philosophy: Essays on Morality in Politics.Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 2005.ISBN9780674023659.
• The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering.Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 2007.ISBN9780674019270.
  • German translation:Plädoyer gegen die Perfektion: Ethik im Zeitalter der genetischen Technik.Berlin: Berlin Univ. Press. 2008.ISBN9783940432148.
  • Spanish translation:Contra la perfección.Barcelona: Marbot. 2013.ISBN9788493574444.
• Justice: A Reader.Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. 2007.ISBN9780195335125.
• Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?.New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2010.ISBN9780374532505.
  • Translated into Chinese, German, Spanish, French, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Vietnamese editions; see the article on the book for the full citations.
• What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets.New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2012.ISBN9780374203030.
  • German translation:Was man für Geld nicht kaufen kann: die moralischen Grenzen des Marktes.Berlin: Ullstein. 2012.ISBN9783550080265.
  • French translation:Ce que l'argent ne saurait acheter: les limites morales du marché.Paris: Editions du Seuil. 2014.ISBN9782021173239.
  • Also translated into Spanish and other languages.
• The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good?.Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2020.ISBN9780374289980.

See also

• American philosophy
• List of American philosophers

External links

• Harvard University Bio
• Michael Sandel: On the Good LifeonBerggruen Institute's YouTube channel
• Podcast interview with Nigel Warburton onPhilosophy Biteson What Shouldn't Be Sold
• "The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering, by Michael J. Sandel (2007)" by N. Antonios at the Embryo Project Encyclopedia
• Podcast interview with Nigel Warburton onEthics Biteson the topic of Genetic Enhancement in Sports
• The President's Council on Bioethics
• A page of links relating to the 2009 Reith Lectures
• What's The Right Thing To Do?on Harvard University'sYouTubechannel
• Fairness and the Big Society Debateon BBC
• Justice: a series of lectures by Michael Sandelon BBC
• AppearancesonC-SPAN
• Michael SandelatTED
• Talk and Q&A on "Populism, Trump and the Future of Democracy" held at The American Academy in Berlin, April 2018
• "Michael Sandel, philosopher",Desert Island Discs,BBC Radio 4,October 2021.