Christopher Heath Wellman

Christopher “Kit” Heath Wellman (born February 22, 1967) is an American philosopher. He teaches at Washington University in St. Louis, where he is also dean of academic planning for Arts & Sciences.^[1] He is best known for his distinctive views on core questions in political theory, including political legitimacy, secession, the duty to obey the law, immigration, and the permissibility of punishment.

Topics[edit]

Political legitimacy[edit]

In his 1996 article, “Liberalism, Samaritanism, and Political Legitimacy,” Wellman introduced his “samaritan” account of political legitimacy. According to Wellman, political states can be legitimate when:

C. H. Wellman, A Theory of Secession (, 2005)

Cambridge University Press

C.H. Wellman and A.J. Simmons, Is There a Duty to Obey the Law? (Cambridge University Press, 2005)

[2]

A. Altman and C.H. Wellman, A Liberal Theory of International Justice (, 2009)^[3]

Oxford University Press

C.H. Wellman and P. Cole, Debating the Ethics of Immigration (Oxford University Press, 2011)

C.H. Wellman, Liberal Rights and Responsibilities (Oxford University Press, 2013)

C.H. Wellman, Rights Forfeiture and Punishment (Oxford University Press, 2017)