It might be a bit misleading to dub this page “the modern debate” when some of these philosophers were in the thick of things well before Rawls and Nozick, whom I listed on the Top 20 page. But any classification will be subjective, and I bump into the arguments of Rawls and Nozick with sufficient frequency for me to place them where I have. The only criteria used for the selection on this page is the relative frequency with which the names pop up in modern rights and ethical discussions. Trying to mention all the thinkers who've contributed significantly to the rights debate would not only be an exhausting task, but would make the list too cumbersome to be useful to those new to the field. Even this short list may be a bit overwhelming to digest all at once. You might satisfy yourself with a cursory glance at each one at first, and then use the list as a reference when you come across their names in the future. Alphabetically: (Note: These links will take you off site, typically to an outside biography or article on the philosopher. In order to return to this site, you will need to use your “back” button.) Appiah, Kwame Anthony also see: his Tanner Lectures,and The New York Review of Book archives Arendt, Hannah also see: The Hannah Arendt Papers at the Library of Congress Chomsky, Noam also see: The Noam Chomsky Archive Cohen, G. A. also see: review of Self-ownership, Freedom, and Equality Dworkin, Ronald also see: "Assisted Suicide: The Philosophers' Brief" (co-written with Rawls, Thomson, Nozick, Scanlon, and Nagel), and The New York Review of Books archive Finnis, John also see: papers at the Pontificia Academia Pro Vita Foot, Philippa Gewirth, Alan Gilligan, Carol Habermas, Jürgen also see: Habermas Online Hart, H.L.A. Hohfeld, Wesley (this is an article on legal rights where Hohfeld figures prominently) Igniateff, Michael also see: Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry from the Tanner Lectures series, and The New York Review of Books archive MacIntyre, Alasdair also see: article on MacIntyre at First Things, Mackie, J.L. Maritain, Jacques Nagel, T. also see: "The Limits of Objectivity" from the Tanner Lectures series Pettit, Philip also see: online papers at princeton.edu Popper, Karl see especially: The Open Society and Its Enemies Rand, Ayn also see: "Introducing Objectivism" at the Ayn Rand Institute Raz, Joseph also see: "The Practice of Value" from the Tanner Lectures series Sandel, Michael also see: "What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets," from the Tanner Lectures series Scanlon, T.M. also see: "The Status of Well-Being," and "The Significance of Choice" from the Tanner Lectures series Sen, Amartya also see: "Equality of What?" and "The Standard of Living" from the Tanner Lectures series Singer, Peter also see: the Peter Singer Links page Thomson, Judith Jarvis also see: "Goodness and Advice" from the Tanner Lectures series,  "Abortion" from the Boston Review, and "A Defense of Abortion" from Philosophy and Public Affairs Willams, Bernard