羅伯特•L•西濛（Robert L．Simon），漢密爾頓學院哲學教授。著有大量社會政治哲學的著作，包括《公平競賽》（Fair Play，1991）、《中立性和經院倫理》（Neutrality and the Academic Ethic，1994），以及與諾曼•E•鮑伊閤著的《個人和政治秩序》（The Individual and the Political Order，1998）。曾任國際運動哲學協會會長，目前正從事倫理和體育問題的研究。

The Blackwell Guide to Social and Political Philosophy brings together a collection of newly commissioned essays which examine fundamental issues in social and political theory. Written by leading social and political philosophers, each essay provides a history of the issue at hand and a judicious assessment of the main arguments that have been brought to bear upon that issue. The collection deals with traditional topics in social and political philosophy, such as liberty, authority, justice, and equality as well as with issues raised by diversity and pluralism within the democratic state. The contributors offer a sustained dialogue on the merits of liberal political theory and on the views of some of its critics. Each essay begins with an accessible introduction but develops into a philosophically acute evaluation of the issue in question. The compilation is ideal as a self-standing text for an introductory or intermediate course in social and political philosophy.