A Sample of John Finnis

For those of us watching Scotty win on American Idol (Yeah, Garner, NC!!) a small taste of John Finnis can be found on SSRN. This is the introduction to Intention and Identity: Collected Essays Vol. II. It "introduces the volume’s 19 published and unpublished essays, and follows the volume’s division into four Parts: Nature and Freedom in Personal Identity; Group Identity and Group Acts; Acts and Intentions; and Persons Beginning and Dying." Finnis describes the introduction and its place among the volumes this way:

The Introduction, like the volume, intersects with the Introductions to, and contents of, the other volumes in the five-volume set, which is published just before the second edition of Natural Law and Natural Rights, reformatted to accompany the set and incorporating a 65-page Postscript. The Collected Essays are I Reason in Action, II Intention and Identity, III Human Rights and Common Good, IV Philosophy of Law, V Religion and Public Reasons. Each volume includes the index for the set, and the author’s bibliography.

The publication of this massive work will be a feast for Finnis fans, and a useful reference for many years to come.