Christopher Woodard
Professor of Moral & Political Philosophy, Faculty of Arts
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Biography
I am Co-Editor of Utilitas, the leading journal for moral and political philosophy in the utilitarian tradition.
Expertise Summary
My research interests are in moral and political philosophy. Much of my work has been about different versions of consequentialism, especially those versions that accept some form of the idea that each of us can have a reason to do something because it is part of a good pattern of action. I have explored different formulations of this idea -- how they could be motivated, and their implications -- in a number of works including my two books.
I have also worked on other topics in moral and political philosophy, including the nature of well-being and ill-being, and theories of distributive justice.
Teaching Summary
My teaching interests are in moral and political philosophy. I am especially interested in normative ethics (general views about right and wrong), theories of welfare or wellbeing, theories of… read more
Research Summary
My most recent book defended a novel form of utilitarianism. It aimed to present a rich and rounded version of utilitarianism, incorporating novel views about well-being, reasons, rightness, moral… read more
My teaching interests are in moral and political philosophy. I am especially interested in normative ethics (general views about right and wrong), theories of welfare or wellbeing, theories of distributive justice, theories of virtue, and theories of state legitimacy.
My approach to teaching is always to try to communicate two main things: why the issue under discussion matters, and how one might try to make progress in thinking about it. This motivates students to think for themselves and gives them the tools to do so.
In July 2016 I was honoured to receive a Lord Dearing Award for my teaching. I am also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Current Research
My most recent book defended a novel form of utilitarianism. It aimed to present a rich and rounded version of utilitarianism, incorporating novel views about well-being, reasons, rightness, moral rights, justice, democracy, decision-making, virtue, and praise and blame. I am very interested in collaborating with others, including research students, on any of these topics.
Past Research
I have worked on theories of distributive justice, pattern-based reasons, actualism and possibilism in deontic logic, and well-being. I continue to be interested in these areas.
Future Research
I plan to develop further my work on utilitarian approaches to moral and political philosophy, including the accounts of moral rights, justice, and virtue that I presented in my 2019 book. I will also be starting a new project on the nature and value of dignity.