Patrick T. Riley

Patrick Thomas Riley (October 27, 1941 – March 10, 2015)[1] was Michael Oakeshott Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

He is notable for his translations of the political writings of Gottfried Leibniz and his research on social contract theory, the general will, and the history of universal jurisprudence.

Riley’s first book, Will and Political Legitimacy,[4] offered "a critical exposition of social contract theory in Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, and Hegel.

[7] Riley edited a volume of Leibniz's political writings, as well as produced translations of Malebranche and Fénelon for Cambridge University Press.

In October 2008, a General Will Symposium was held on campus to honor Riley's career, including numerous former colleagues and students from throughout his career,[9] which was subsequently published by Cambridge University Press as The General Will: The Evolution of a Concept, edited by James Farr and David Lay Williams, and it features two of Riley's essays.