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
Recent Publications
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.
WOODARD, C, 2022. Reasons for Rule Consequentialists RATIO. 35(4), 251-260 WOODARD, C, 2022. The Value and Significance of Ill-Being Midwest Studies in Philosophy. Online first, CRESWICK, HELEN, DOWTHWAITE, LIZ, KOENE, ANSGAR, VALLEJOS, ELVIRA PEREZ, PORTILLO, VIRGINIA, CANO, MONICA and WOODARD, CHRISTOPHER, 2019. "... They don't really listen to people" Young people's concerns and recommendations for improving online experiences JOURNAL OF INFORMATION COMMUNICATION & ETHICS IN SOCIETY. 17(2), 167-182
WOODARD, C., 2017. Three Conceptions of Group-Based Reasons Journal of Social Ontology. 3(1), WOODARD, C., 2017. What Good is Meaning in Life? De Ethica. 4(3), 67-79 ELVIRA PEREZ VALLEJOS, ANSGAR KOENE, CHRISTOPHER JAMES CARTER, DANIEL HUNT, CHRISTOPHER WOODARD, LACHLAN URQUHART, AISLINN BERGIN and RAMONA STATACHE, 2017. Accessing Online Data for Youth Mental Health Research: Meeting the Ethical Challenges Philosophy and Technology. 1-24 WOODARD, C., 2015. Hybrid Theories. In: GUY FLETCHER, ed., The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Well-Being Routledge. 161-74 WOODARD, C., 2013. Classifying theories of welfare Philosophical Studies. 165(3), 787-803 WOODARD, C., 2013. Collective Utilitarianism. In: JAMES E. CRIMMINS, ed., The Bloomsbury Encyclopedia of Utilitarianism Bloomsbury Academic. 82-83 WOODARD, C., 2011. Rationality and the unit of action Review of Philosophy and Psychology. 2(2), 261-277 WOODARD, C., 2009. Pedro's significance The Southern Journal of Philosophy. XLVII(3), 301-319 WOODARD, C., 2009. What's wrong with possibilism Analysis. 69(2), 219-226 WOODARD, C., 2008. A New Argument Against Rule Consequentialism Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. 11, 247-261 WOODARD, C., 2005. Egalitarianism Philosophical Books. 46(2), 97-112 WOODARD, C., 2003. Group-based reasons for action Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. 6(2), 215-229 WOODARD, C., 2000. The Concept of Acquiescence Journal of Political Philosophy. VOL 8(PART 4), 409-432 WOODARD, C., 2000. Cohen and the Basic Structure Objection Acta Politica. VOL 35(PART 3), 275-301 WOODARD, C., 1998. Egalitarianism, Responsibility and Desert Imprints; a journal of analytical socialism. 3(1), 25-48 WOODARD, C., 1997. The Practice of Political Theory. In: BURNHAM, P., ed., Surviving the Research Process in Politics London: Pinter.
WOODARD, C., 1997. Responsibility, Desert and Liberal Theories of Justice In: Contemporary Political Studies. 1161-1168