View source for John Hospers


'''John Hospers''' (June 9, 1918 – June 12, 2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/john-hospers-first-libertarian-presidential-nominee-dies-at-93 |title=John Hospers, first Libertarian presidential nominee, dies at 93 |date=June 13, 2011 |publisher=[[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]] (press release) |accessdate=June 13, 2011}}</ref> was an American philosopher and politician.  In 1972 he became the first presidential candidate of the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]], and was the only [[minor party]] candidate to receive an electoral vote in [[United States presidential election, 1972|that year's U.S. Presidential election]].<ref>[[Jesse Walker|Walker, Jesse]] (June 13th, 2011) [http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/13/john-hospers-rip "John Hospers, RIP"], ''[[Reason Online]]''. Retrieved June 14th, 2011.</ref>

==Education and career==
Born in [[Pella, Iowa]], Hospers graduated from [[Central College (Pella, Iowa)|Central College]]. Hospers earned advanced degrees from the [[University of Iowa]] and [[Columbia University]]. He conducted research, wrote, and taught in areas of [[philosophy]], including [[aesthetics]] and [[ethics]]. He taught philosophy at [[Brooklyn College]] and at the [[University of Southern California]], where for many years he was chairman of the philosophy department and [[professor emeritus]].<ref>[http://johnhospers.com/Hospers.html "Who Is John Hospers? First Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate (1972)"], www.Johnhospers.com.</ref>

In 2002, an hour-long video about Hospers' life, work, and philosophy was released by the [[Liberty Fund]] of [[Indianapolis]], as part of its ''Classics of Liberty'' series.<ref name="hospersdvd">[http://www.libertyfund.org/details.asp?displayID=1933 ''John Hospers: The Intellectual Portrait Series''], [[Liberty Fund]].</ref>

==Works==
Hospers' books include: ''Meaning and Truth in the Arts'' (1946), ''Introductory Readings in Aesthetics'' (1969), ''Artistic Expression'' (1971), ''Libertarianism – A Political Philosophy for Tomorrow'' (1971), ''Understanding the Arts'' (1982), ''Law and the Market'' (1985), ''Human Conduct'' (now in its 3rd edition, 1995), and ''An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis'' (now in the 4th edition, 1996).<ref name="Hamowy">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Boaz |first=David |authorlink= David Boaz |editor-first=Ronald |editor-last=Hamowy |editor-link=Ronald Hamowy |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism |title=Hospers, John (1918– )|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yxNgXs3TkJYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Encyclopedia+of+libertarianism&source=bl&ots=8RVra_NxZR&sig=hOBVoAZW67v65Y7LVvcvGry0hTA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fwwYUJzCC-Gf6wGT3YCICQ&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=%22John%20Hospers%22&f=false  |accessdate= |edition= |year=2008 |publisher= [[SAGE Publications|SAGE]]; [[Cato Institute]] |location= Thousand Oaks, CA |id= |isbn= 978-1-4129-6580-4 |oclc=750831024| lccn = 2008009151 |page= 228|quote= |ref= }}</ref>  He was editor of three anthologies, and contributed to books edited by others.  He wrote more than 100 articles in various scholarly and popular journals.<ref>{{cite book | title= [https://books.google.com/books?id=ojsdcVGZyq8C&pg=PA321&dq=%22John+Hospers%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UhIYUOPVI8nr6wHau4C4CA&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22John%20Hospers%22&f=false ''Contemporary Moral Problems''] | publisher= [[Cengage Learning]] | author= White, James E. | year= 2005 | pages= 321 |isbn= 9780534584306}}</ref>

Hospers was editor of ''The Personalist'' (1968–1982) and ''[[The Monist]]'' (1982–1992),<ref name="Hamowy"/> and was a senior editor at ''[[Liberty (1987)|Liberty]]'' magazine.<ref>[[Stephen D. Cox|Cox, Stephen]] (June 17, 2011) [http://www.libertyunbound.com/node/587 "John Hospers, R.I.P."], ''[[Liberty (1987)|Liberty]]''. Retrieved July 31, 2012.</ref>

==Friendship with Ayn Rand==
During the period he taught philosophy at Brooklyn College, Hospers was much interested in [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]].  He appeared on [[Talk radio|radio shows]] with [[Ayn Rand]], and devoted considerable attention to her ideas in his ethics textbook ''Human Conduct''.<ref>{{cite book | title=[[Letters of Ayn Rand]] | publisher=[[E.P. Dutton|Dutton]] | author=Berliner, Michael S. | year=1995 | pages= 502–564| isbn=0-525-93946-6}}</ref>

According to Rand's biographer, [[Barbara Branden]], Hospers met Rand when she addressed the student body at Brooklyn College.  They became friends, and had lengthy philosophical conversations.  Rand's discussions with Hospers contributed to her decision to write [[nonfiction]].  Hospers read ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'' (1957), which he considered an aesthetic triumph.<ref>Hospers, John. [http://www.objectivistliving.com/forums/index.php?s&showtopic=1389&view=findpost&p=13583 ''Atlas Shrugged'': A Twentieth Anniversary Tribute], ''Libertarian Review'', Vol. VI, No. 6, October 1977.</ref>  Hospers also became convinced of the validity of Rand's [[Morality|moral]] and [[Ideology|political]] views, but disagreed with her about issues of [[epistemology]], the subject of their extensive correspondence.<ref>{{cite book | title= [[The Passion of Ayn Rand]] |publisher=[[Doubleday & Company]] | author= [[Barbara Branden|Branden, Barbara]] |year= 1986 | pages= 323–324, 413 |isbn= 0-385-19171-5}}</ref>  Rand broke with Hospers after he criticized her talk on "''Art as Sense of Life''," before the American Society of Aesthetics at [[Harvard University|Harvard]].<ref>Branden, Barbara, ''The Passion of Ayn Rand''. ibid. p. 324.</ref>

==1972 presidential candidacy==
In the [[United States presidential election, 1972|1972 U.S. Presidential election]], Hospers and [[Tonie Nathan]] were the first presidential and vice-presidential nominees, respectively, of the newly formed Libertarian Party.<ref name="Hamowy"/> The Libertarian Party was poorly organized, and Hospers and Nathan managed to get on the ballot in only two states<ref name="Dionne">[[E. J. Dionne|Dionne, E. J.]] ''Why Americans Hate Politics''. New York: [[Simon & Schuster]], 1991. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-671-68255-2</ref> ([[Washington state|Washington]] and [[Colorado]]), receiving 3,674 popular votes.<ref name="leip">[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1972&f=0&off=0&elect=0 "1972 Presidential General Election Results"], Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.</ref>  They received one [[U.S. Electoral College|electoral vote]] from [[faithless elector]] [[Roger MacBride]], a [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] from [[Virginia]], resulting in Nathan becoming the first woman to receive an electoral vote in a United States presidential election.<ref name="Dionne"/><ref>{{cite book | title=[[Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement]] | publisher=[[PublicAffairs]] | author=[[Brian Doherty (journalist)|Doherty, Brian]] | year=2008 | pages=392–393 | isbn=9781586485726}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[American philosophy]]
* [[List of American philosophers]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://johnhospers.com/ JohnHospers.com]
* {{C-SPAN|johnhospers}}
* {{FAG|71700427|Dr John Hospers}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{Succession box|
 before=No one (Party not yet created)|
 title=[[United States Libertarian Party|Libertarian Party]] [[President of the United States|Presidential]] [[List of United States Libertarian Party presidential tickets|candidate]]|
 years=[[U.S. presidential election, 1972|1972]] (3rd in the electoral college)|
 after=[[Roger MacBride]]
}}
{{S-end}}
{{LibertarianPresidentialNominees}}
{{United States presidential election, 1972}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME              =Hospers, John
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =American philosopher and politician
| DATE OF BIRTH     =June 9, 1918
| PLACE OF BIRTH    =Pella, Iowa
| DATE OF DEATH     =June 12, 2011
| PLACE OF DEATH    =Los Angeles, California
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hospers, John}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:American academics]]
[[Category:American book editors]]
[[Category:American magazine editors]]
[[Category:American philosophers]]
[[Category:American political philosophers]]
[[Category:American political writers]]
[[Category:American male writers]]
[[Category:Brooklyn College faculty]]
[[Category:California Libertarians]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Determinists]]
[[Category:Libertarian Party (United States) presidential nominees]]
[[Category:Libertarian theorists]]
[[Category:People from Pella, Iowa]]
[[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1972]]
[[Category:University of Southern California faculty]]
[[Category:Writers from California]]
[[Category:Writers from Iowa]]
[[Category:Writers from New York City]]