Obituary: Sir Stuart Hampshire

British philosopher Sir Stuart Hampshire, who has died aged 89, encouraged a coup against Hitler and taught that people should be given the freedom to argue.

As a professor of philosophy at Oxford and Princeton universities, Hampshire wrote influential works of moral and political theory that were deeply influenced by 17th century thinker Benedictus Spinoza.

In his 1999 book Justice is Conflict, Hampshire argued the freest society is the one that best allows people to resolve their arguments peacefully and fairly, rather than relying on politicians to find a consensus. During World War II, he monitored Nazi radio traffic.

He was said to be one of the authors of a study that suggested German generals opposed Hitler and should be encouraged to plot a coup. That study was squelched by Kim Philby, later revealed to be the Soviet Union's most important spy in the West.