Judith N. Shklar

Judith Nisse Shklar (September 24, 1928 – September 17, 1992) was a Latvian-born American philosopher and political theorist who studied the history of political thought, notably that of the Enlightenment period. She was appointed the John Cowles Professor of Government at Harvard University in 1980. Born Judita Nisse in Riga, Latvia, to Jewish Latvian parents, her family fled Europe during World War II, eventually settling in Canada. She began her studies at McGill University and later earned her PhD from Radcliffe College. Shklar joined the Harvard faculty in 1956, becoming the first woman to receive tenure in the Government Department. Her work focused on two main ideas: cruelty as the worst evil and the "liberalism of fear," advocating for constitutional democracy as a means to protect citizens from governmental abuse. Shklar was a renowned teacher and advisor, and her former students and colleagues contributed to a volume of essays in her honor. She was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and served as president of the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy and vice president of the American Political Science Association. She received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1984. Her notable works include *After Utopia*, *Legalism*, *Men and Citizens*, *Ordinary Vices*, and *The Faces of Injustice*.