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Upcoming talks February 17, 6:30-8 'Counter-Composition: Conversations on Ethics'. With a lecture by Steve Pyke. LSE Arts/Forum for European Philosophy, Wolfson Theatre, LSE. March 5, 4-6 'Why Death Isn't Bad if You're Supremely Self-Satisfied: A Defence of Epicurus.' University of Bristol Philosophy Seminar March 11, 3-5 'Evaluating Social Risks: Ex Ante or Ex Post?' (With Marc Fleurbaey) Leeds University Ethics Colloquium. May 20-21 'What Do We See from the Moral Point of View?' The Philosophers' Rally, Rotterdam. May 26 ''Evaluating Social Risks: Ex Ante or Ex Post?' (With Marc Fleurbaey) Hebrew University of Jerusalem Political Theory Seminar. |
Alex Voorhoeve I'm a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at the LSE. I am currently pursuing two research projects: 1. Liberal Egalitarianism I'm interested in several questions that are central to liberal egalitarian theory:
2. The Economy of the Soul I am interested in what psychology reveals to us about how we actually make moral decisions and what rational choice theory and moral reflection tell us about how we should make moral decisions. |
Photograph by Sarah Sloboda E-mail: a.e.voorhoeve [at] lse.ac.uk
'A superb collection of interviews with leading figures in moral philosophy: Voorhoeve deftly limns the broad outlines of their thought and paints a physical picture of the setting, before interrogating his subjects' theories. (...) [A]n exemplary demonstration of philosophical discussion in action.' Steven Poole's Non-Fiction Choice, The Guardian. Full review here.
'The book is both richly instructive and delightful to read. Voorhoeve has a sophisticated command of his interlocutors' philosophical views, and his questions often hit the nail on the head. He has the talent to ask difficult questions in a welcoming way, setting the stage for his interviewees to explain their positions as clearly as they can. For the reader interested in moral theory this is a true asset, since Voorhoeve managed to assemble quite a few of the figures that have shaped the face of moral philosophy in the past generation to discuss fundamentals of their moral views. (...) The conversational method, with its unique ability to dwell on the more obscure or vulnerable junctions of a philosophical view, helps deepen our understanding of what is sometimes hidden between the lines of systematic texts. (...) A more special contribution of conversation, however, is its capacity to promote deeper philosophical understanding by illuminating the sources of ideas in the philosophers themselves. (...) [Finally,] an achievement of Voorhoeve's interviews is that they repeatedly lead the thinkers to touch upon the points of conflict and indeterminacy in their views, or at least the indeterminacies they see as non-eliminable in moral philosophy. (...) [I}t provides the most valuable insights on the nature of ethics.' Shlomo Cohen, in Iyyun: The Jerusalem Philosophical Quarterly 59 (2010): 63-77. Full review here.
'In the introduction to his first interview, Voorhoeve cites Nietzsche's dictum that all great problems demand great love. (...) Nietzsche was a hard man to please. But he would have felt some satisfaction with Voorhoeve's eleven interviews. His philosophers are passionate devotees of their own moral systems. They fight for their theories, defending them ferociously and lovingly. (...) Each of them argues his or her case convincingly. Almost always, one falls in with their reasoning--at least, this is what happened to me. But, of course, this leads to inconsistency. For the difference in their views is far too great. This is bewildering, and teaches us a good lesson: not to be unmovable in one's attachments to one's moral views. (...) Voorhoeve shows just how difficult moral calculation and justification of one's views to others is.' Jan Greven, Trouw (a Dutch daily newspaper; click here for the full article; translation mine.) 'I have rarely enjoyed a philosophy
book as much. Voorhoeve's bold effort really works. He cunningly brings
ethical theory to life through insightful conversations with key
philosophers and scientists. Not only do the issues come alive, but the
participants do as well. Don't miss the chance to eavesdrop on these
conversations.' 'This
volume is an extraordinarily rich resource. Alex Voorhoeve has
interviewed many of the most interesting and influential recent thinkers
on ethical topics, expertly focusing on their core positions and
arguments in a series of insightful philosophical dialogues. In doing so
he has produced not only a comprehensive introduction to contemporary
ethical thought, but also a real sense of the human beings behind the
writings.' 'Drawing on the tradition of the Socratic dialogue, but also relying on the more considered character of writing, [Voorhoeve] weaves together his interviewees' responses in sharp, analytical prose. The conversations are intended to solve three central puzzles. The first concerns our reliance on intuitive responses to particular cases when making moral judgments: what are the determinants of such judgements --and are they reliable? The second involves the objectivity of our judgments. We often find that even the most rational, careful and articulate enquirers arrive at different ethical conclusions simply because they 'see' certain basic issues differently. The last puzzle is that morality appears to give us reasons of great importance for acting, but that it is not always clear what these reasons are.'King's Parade (Winter 2009). Full review here (on p. 15). Information on an evening on the book at the Harvard Humanities Center.. Reported in the Harvard Crimson. A link to the podcast of the event is here.
An evening on the book at philosophical cafe Felix & Sofie (Amsterdam); on their books of the month list for November 2009.
An interview about the book by Jon Adams.
Counter-Composition VI by Theo van Doesburgh (TATE modern) |
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Publications Grants Teaching Organisation Education PhD students CV Band |
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Book Conversations on Ethics. Oxford University Press (2009). A book of conversations on moral philosophy with leading thinkers from philosophy, psychology and evolutionary game theory. With photographs by Steve Pyke (click here for full cover; here for reviews). CONTENTS
I. Ethics and Intuitions 1. Frances Kamm In Search of the Deep Structure of Morality 2. Peter Singer Each of Us Is Just One Among Others 3. Daniel Kahneman Can We Trust Our Intuitions? II. Virtue and Flourishing 4. Philippa Foot The Grammar of Goodness 5. Alasdair MacIntyre The Illusion of Self-Sufficiency III. Ethics and Evolution 6. Ken Binmore The Origin of Fairness 7. Allan Gibbard A Pragmatic Justification of Morality IV. Unity and Dissent 8. T.M. Scanlon The Kingdom of Ends on the Cheap 9. Bernard Williams A Mistrustful Animal V. Love and Morality 10. Harry Frankfurt The Necessity of Love 11. David Velleman Really Seeing Another
Research articles (English) Why It Matters that Some Are Worse Off Than Others. With Michael Otsuka. Philosophy & Public Affairs 37 (2009): 171-99. Heuristics and Biases in a Purported Counterexample to the Acyclicity of "Better Than". Politics, Philosophy and Economics 7 (2008): 285-99. Scanlon on Substantive Responsibility. Journal of Political Philosophy 16 (2008): 184-200. Preference Change and Interpersonal Comparisons of Welfare. In Serena Olsaretti (ed.) Preferences and Well-Being. Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 59 (2006): 265-79. Transitivity, the Sorites Paradox, and Similarity-Based Decision-Making. With Ken Binmore. Erkenntnis 64:1 (2006): 101-14. Equal Opportunity and Opportunity Dominance. With Matthias Hild. Economics and Philosophy 20 (2004): 117-45. Defending Transitivity Against Zeno's Paradox. With Ken Binmore. Philosophy & Public Affairs 31 (2003): 272-79.
Research articles (Dutch) Prioriteit voor patienten met een lagere levenskwaliteit! (Priority for patients who are worse off!) Forthcoming in Filosofie & Praktijk (Philosophy & Practice). Schuldverlichting: niet voor niets. (Debt relief: not for nothing.) With R.M. Oort. Economisch-Statistische Berichten (Economic-Statistical Letters) 85 (2000): 141-43. Dollarisering gewenst? (Is dollarisation desirable?) Economisch-Statistische Berichten 84 (1999): 577-81.
Work in progress Should Losses Count? A Critique of the Complaint Model. Choice Group Working Papers Vol 2 (2006). Epicurus on Death. An Experimental Test of the Hurwicz Criterion for Decision-Making Under Uncertainty. With Ken Binmore and Lisa Stewart. Similarity-Based Decision-Making in Moral Decisions: An Experiment. With Ken Binmore and Brian Wallace. Evaluating the distribution of risks: ex ante or ex post? With Marc Fleurbaey.
Short pieces
Review of The Practice of Ethics by Hugh LaFollette. Social Choice and Welfare (forthcoming). 'Peter Singer Interviewed' Esquire Russia 52 (2010): 82-9. [A translation by Ivan Bogantsev of an excerpt of chapter 2 of Conversations on Ethics.] Erasmus, The Philosophers' Magazine 48 (2010): 98-100. [Reprint of the entry in The Great Thinkers A-Z.] Mill and Barry on the Foundations of Liberal Rights. Published in a shortened version as 'The Limits of Autonomy', The Philosophers' Magazine 46 (2009): 78-82. Security and the War on Terror (contribution to a roundtable) in What More Philosophers Think. Eds. J. Baggini and J. Stangroom Continuum (2007): 19-32. In Search of the Deep Structure of Morality. An Interview with Frances Kamm. Imprints 9:2 (2006): 93-117. [The link is to the penultimate draft of the revised version that appears in Conversations on Ethics.] Is Poverty Our Problem? The Philosophers' Magazine 36 (2006): 46-9. Incentives and Principles for Individuals in Rawls' Theory of Justice. Ethics & Economics 3 (2005): 1-7. (In Russian) Взрывная волна ('Shockwave'--an interview with me by Mika Velikovskiy about the response to the London bombings of 7/7/05.) Political Journal 27 (2005): 48-9. Review of Pursuing Equal Opportunities: The Theory and Practice of Egalitarian Justice by Lesley A. Jacobs. Economics and Philosophy 21 (2005): 155-61. A Mistrustful Animal: Bernard Williams Interviewed. The Harvard Review of Philosophy XII (2004): 81-92. [A revised version appears in Conversations on Ethics.] Erasmus and Rawls in The Great Thinkers A-Z. Eds. J. Baggini and J. Stangroom, Continuum (2004): 91-3 and 199-201. Harry Frankfurt on the Necessity of Love. Philosophical Writings 23 (2003): 55-70. [A revised version appears in Conversations on Ethics.] The House that Jack Built. The Philosophers' Magazine 22 (2003): 28-31. The Grammar of Goodness. An Interview with Philippa Foot. The Harvard Review of Philosophy XI (2003): 32-44. [A revised version appears in Conversations on Ethics.] The Good, the Right, and the Seemly. Ken Binmore Interviewed. The Philosophers' Magazine 21 (2002): 48-51. [A revised and expanded version appears in Conversations on Ethics.] Mandeville. The Philosophers' Magazine 20 (2002): 53. Review of The Philosophy of Science by A. Rosenberg. Philosophy Today 14 (2001): 8-9. Kant on the Cheap. Thomas Scanlon Interviewed. The Philosophers' Magazine 16 (2001): 29-30. [A revised and expanded version appears in Conversations on Ethics.]
2008-09: STICERD grant for the proposal 'An Experimental Test of the Hurwicz Criterion for Decision-Making Under Uncertainty' (with Ken Binmore). 2008-09: Faculty Fellowship at the Center for Ethics of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. 2006-08: British Academy Small Research Grant for the proposal 'Rational Choice Theory and Moral Decision-Making' (with Ken Binmore).
Since arriving at LSE, I have taught (part of) the following courses: PH 103 Reason, Knowledge and Values PH 214 Morality and Values PH 416 Philosophy, Morals, and Politics PH 211 Philosophy of Economics PH 413 Philosophy of Economics M.Sc. Seminar PH 415 Philosophy of Public Policy
'The Economy of the Soul: Rational Choice and Moral Decision-Making' LSE, November 21-22, 2008. Debate on 'The Power of Religion in Society'. (With Tijs Broeke for the Dutch Labour Party in London.) January 24, 2008. Conference 'World Poverty and the Duty of Assistance'. LSE June 27, 2006. (With Catherine Audard and Nick Bunnin.)
Seminar in Philosophy and Public Policy, LSE 2004-08. (With Luc Bovens.) Workshop in Philosophy, Economics, and Public Policy, ECAP5, Lisbon August 27-31 2005. (With Luc Bovens and Geoffrey Brennan.)
PhD in Philosophy at University College London, 2005. M.Phil. in Philosophy at King's College, Cambridge, 2000. Post-graduate diploma in Financial and Economic Policy from the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), 1999. M.A. in Philosophy, EUR, 1999. M.Sc. in Economics, EUR, 1997. Dr. Vincent Guillin: Auguste Comte and John Stuart Mill on Sexual Equality, 2006. Winner: Prix du Maison d'Auguste Comte 2006 (Paris). Now published. From January 2010: Assistant Professor (tenure track), Universite de Montreal; 2007- December 2009: Assistant Professor, College de France. Dr. Michael Moehler: A Theory of Minimal Morality, 2007. 2009-10: Fellowship at the Murphy Institute, Tulane; 2007-09: Visiting Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Katherine King (on justice for children). Ittay Nissan (on emotions and moral decision-making). Esha Senchaudhuri (on political liberalism). Allison Mallard (on Kant's theory of progress and the right to revolution). Harald Schmidt (on responsibility in health care). Alice Obrecht (on the moral obligations of NGOs). Ben Ferguson (on exploitation). Mischa van den Brandhof (on incentives for healthy behaviour). |
