Valin Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 The American: Professor Jim Wilson was, for many of us, a strong beacon light. He dispelled darkness with nearly every word he wrote. Peter Wehner March 2, 2012 With the death of James Q. Wilson earlier today, America has lost a towering intellectual figure. The mind reels when thinking about the issues Professor Wilson wrote about with such precision, intelligence, originality, and elegance: crime and human nature; drug legalization, science, and addiction; moral character; benevolence; free will; families and communities; race; business ethics and capitalism; American government; democracy and the Islamic world; and much more. James Q. Wilson was not only America’s pre-eminent political and social scientist, he was one of our leading moral philosophers. There was no subject, it seemed, on which he couldn’t deepen our understanding. He was also a monumental presence within conservatism. Professor Wilson brought to the movement what it desperately needed: rigorous and cogent analysis; respect for social science and empirical data; and a calm, measured style that never exceeded what the evidence indicated. (Snip) More Here "to be a political commentator in James Q. Wilson’s era is to know how Mel Torme must have felt being a singer in Frank Sinatra’s era. We’re all competing for the silver medal; Wilson has won the gold." George Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valin Posted March 5, 2012 Author Share Posted March 5, 2012 James Q Wilson September 15, 2008 - Pepperdine University School of Public Policy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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