Gerald Lang

Profile

Metaethics; Moral Psychology; Normative Ethics; Applied Ethics; Political Philosophy.

I obtained a BSc degree in Philosophy and Economics from the University of Bristol, and spent my graduate years at the University of Oxford, where I was awarded the degrees of BPhil and DPhil. I held lectureships at Reading and Oxford, and a research fellowship at the IDEA Centre in Leeds, before taking up a lectureship in 2006.

I am currently working on luck and responsibility, and have recently completed a monograph titled Strokes of Luck: A Study in Moral and Political Philosophy. I am also at work on various aspects of non-ideal theory (mainly war, terrorism, and self-defence). I have a standing interest in certain aspects of practical reason and metaethics, particularly metaethical quietism.

Research Interests

• Ethics, including metaethics, moral psychology, normative ethics, and applied ethics
• Political Philosophy, particularly theories of justice, liberty 

Selected Publications

• 'What Follows from Defensive Non-Liability?' Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 117 (2017): 231-52
• 'Legitimating Torture?', Criminal Law and Philosophy 11 (2017): 331-49 
• 'Rawlsian Incentives and the Freedom Objection’, Journal of Social Philosophy 47 (2016): 231-49
• ‘Numbers Scepticism, Equal Chances, and Pluralism: Taurek Revisited’ (with Rob Lawlor), Politics, Philosophy, and Economics 15 (2016): 298-315
• ‘How Interesting is the “Boring Problem” for Luck Egalitarianism?’, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 91 (2015): 698-722
• 'Why Not Forfeiture?', in How We Fight: Ethics in War, edited by H. Frowe and G. Lang (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014)
• 'What Should Ivan Ilyich Be Rescued From?', Philosophy 89 (2014): 325-47
• 'Jobs, Institutions, and Beneficial Retirement', Ratio 27 (2014): 205-21
• 'In Defense of Batman: Reply to Bradley' (with Rob Lawlor), Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy (2013)
• 'Should Utilitarianism be Scalar?', Utilitas 25 (2013): 80-95
• 'Invigilating Republican Liberty', The Philosophical Quarterly 62 (2012): 273-93
• 'Discrimination, Partial Concern, and Arbitrariness', in Luck, Value and Commitment: Themes from the Ethics of Bernard Williams, edited by U Heuer and G. Lang (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012)
• 'Excuses for the Moral Equality of Combatants', Analysis 71 (2011): 512-23
• 'How Far Can You Go with Quietism?', Problema 4 (2010): 3-37
• 'Luck Egalitarianism, Permissible Inequalities, and Moral Hazard', Journal of Moral Philosophy 2 (2009): 317-38
• 'Nudging the Responsibility Objection', Journal of Applied Philosophy 25 (2008): 56-71
• 'The Right Kind of Solution to the Wrong Kind of Reason Problem', Utilitas 20 (2008): 472-89
• 'Luck Egalitarianism and the See-Saw Objection', American Philosophical Quarterly 43 (2006): 43-56
• 'Fairness in Life and Death Cases', Erkenntnis 62 (2005): 313-43
• 'The Rule-Following Considerations and Metaethics: Some False Moves', European Journal of Philosophy 9 (2001): 190-209

 

Responsibilities

• Deputy Director of Postgraduate Studies in Philosophy

Research interests

You can find out more about my research here: https://philpeople.org/profiles/gerald-lang

<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Any research projects I'm currently working on will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://ahc.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Aesthetic, Moral and Political Philosophy

Current postgraduate researchers

• Sam Mason

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>