John Finnis
Professor of Law and Legal Philosophy; Biolchini Family Professor of Law
Oxford Law; University of Notre Dame Law School
John Finnis has been a Professor of Law & Legal Philosophy at Oxford Law since 1989 and the Bolchini Family Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame Law School since 1995. He earned his LL.B. from Adelaide University (Australia) in 1961 and his Ph.D. from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 1965. Currently, Finnis shares his time between Notre Dame and Oxford University, where he has held the positions of lecturer, reader and a chaired professor in law for over three decades. In addition, he has served as associate in law at the University of California at Berkeley (1965-66), as professor of law at the University of Malawi (Africa) (1976-78), and as the Huber Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the Boston College Law School (1993-94). He is admitted to the English Bar (Gray's Inn). Finnis teaches courses in Jurisprudence and the Social, Political and Legal Theory of Thomas Aquinas. He has published numerous articles and book segments on the subjects of natural law, the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, Catholic moral teachings and legal philosophy. A number of committees benefit from his leadership in the field of Catholic legal philosophy including the Linacre Centre for Health Care Ethics (governor 1981-96), the Catholic Bishops' Joint Committee on Bioethical Issues (1981-88), the International Theological Commission (1986-92), the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (1990-95), and the Pontifical Academy Pro Vita (2001-present). His work has brought him international recognition as one of the late-20th century's leading moral philosophers and the world's leading natural-law theorist.
Professor Finnis will give a lecture on Shakespeare at the Center's Catholic Culture Lecture Series in the fall of 2007.
