John Michael Parrish teaches and studies political theory, focusing especially on
the history of political thought and on the ethics of political leadership. A native of
Oklahoma and a graduate of William Jewell College, he has studied at Oxford and Cambridge
and earned his Ph.D. in political science from Harvard. Prior to coming to Loyola
Marymount, he was assistant professor of political science at Ohio State University. He
has published a book, Paradoxes of Political Ethics: From Dirty Hands to the Invisible
Hand (Cambridge University Press, 2007), as well as articles in such journals as
International Theory, History of Political Thought, and The Historical Journal , and
several book chapters. He has co-edited two volumes of essays: one entitled Manipulating
Democracy: Democratic Theory, Political Psychology, and Mass Media (with Wayne Le
Cheminant) (Routledge, 2010); the other entitled, Damned If You Do: Dilemmas of Action in
Literature and Popular Culture (with Margaret Hrezo) (Lexington, 2010). He is currently
engaged in a book-length study of the development of mercy as a political concept (with
Alex Tuckness), funded by a grant from the University of Chicago’s “A New Science of
Virtues” project. Together with Eric Beerbohm, he is the coordinator of the American
Political Science Association’s Working Group on Political Ethics.

Articles

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The Theological Origins of Modernity, by Michael Allen Gillespie, Political Science Faculty Works (2009)
 

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Defining Dilemmas Down: The Case of 24, Essays in Philosophy (2002)

One of the most important concepts in the field of political ethics is the idea...