Richard J. Arneson

Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1975.

Richard J. Arneson has been a professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego since July, 1973. He received the Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, 1975.  He was department chair from 1992-1996.  He has also been departmental graduate advisor. His UCSD rank since July, 2008 is Professor, Above Scale (Distinguished Professor). As of July, 2011, he holds the Valtz Family Chair in Philosophy here at UCSD.

Starting in November, 2011 he has an affiliation as Visiting Research Professor at the the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom and Department of Philosophy at the University of Arizona. He visited there in winter, 2013.

He is a Co-Director of the Institute for Law and Philosophy at the School of Law, University of San Diego.

He has been visiting professor at the University of California, Davis (1990) and at the Program in Ethics, Politics, and Economics at Yale University  (1996). In spring 1999 he was a visiting fellow at the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University.  In January-February 2007 he was visiting professor (unpaid) at Charles Sturt University, the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Australian National University branch. From August-December, 2008, he was Adjunct Professor at the School of Law, University of San Diego.

Teaching interests:

Research interests:

Recent and forthcoming publications

1. "Exploitation and Outcome," forthcoming in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.
2. "Rethinking Luck Egalitarianism and Unacceptable Inequalities," forthcoming in Philosophical Topics (2013).
3. "The Enforcement of Morals Reconsidered," forthcoming in Criminal Law and Philosophy.
4. "Locke and the Liberal Tradition," forthcoming in Mathew Stuart, ed., A Companion to Locke (Oxford: Blackwell).
5. "Equality of Opportunity: Derivative not Fundamental," forthcoming in Journal of Social Philosophy.
6. "Political Liberalism, Religious Liberty, and Religious Establishment," Hanoch Dagan, Shahar Lifshitz, and Yedidia Z. Stern, eds., The Role of Religion in Human Rights Discourse, forthcoming in 2013.
7. "Discrimination, Disparate Impact, and Theories of Justice," forthcoming in Sophia Moreau and Deborah Hellman, eds.,Philosohical Foindations of Discrimination Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press., probably 2014).
8. "Theories, Types, and Bounds of Justice," forthcoming in Darrel Moellendorf and Heather Widdows, eds., Handbook of Global Ethics (Durham, UK: Acumen Publishing Limited, probably 2013).
9. "From Primary Goods to Capabilities to Well-Being," review essay on work of Amartya Sen, Critical Reviews in Social and Political Philosophy (2013).
10. "Democratic Equality and Relating as Equals," in Justice and Equality, Colin Macleod, ed., supp. vol. 36, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, supp. vol. 36 (2010), pp. [Actual date of publication: 2012.]
11. "Paternalism and the Principle of Fairness," forthcoming in Christian Coons and Michael Weber, eds., Paternalism: Theory and Practice (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), pp. 134-156.
12. "Neutrality and Political Liberalism," forthcoming in Roberto Merrill.ed., Political Neutrality: A Reevaluation (Basingstoke, Hampshire, England: Palgrave Macmilan, probably 2013).
13. "Justice," forthcoming in David Estlund, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012).
14. "Side Constraints, Lockean Individual Rights, and the Moral Basis of Libertarianism," forthcoming in Ralf. M. Bader and John Meadowcroft, eds., The Cambridge Companion to Nozick's 'Anarchy, State, and Utopia' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), pp. 15-27.
15. "Liberalism, Capitalism, and 'Socialist' Principles," Social Philosophy and Policy 28, No. 2 (Summer, 2011), pp. 232-261.
16. "Good, Period," review essay on Judith Thomson, Normativity, in Analysis, supp. vol. (2010).
17. "Against Freedom of Conscience, "San Diego Law Review, 47, No. 4 (Fall, 2010), pp. 1015-1040.
18. "Luck Egalitarianism--A Primer," in Carl Knight and Zofia Stemplowska, eds., Responsibility and Distributive Justice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 24-50..
19. "Disadvantage, Capability, Commensurability, and Policy," review of Jonathan Wolff and Avner de-Shalit, Disadvantage, in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics 9 (2010), pp. 339-357.
20. "Self-Ownership and World Ownership: Against Left-Libertarianism," Social Philosophy and Policy 27, No. 2 (Winter, 2010), pp. 168-194.
21. "Meaningful Work and Market Socialism Revisited," Analyse & Kritik 31, Issue 1 (2010), pp. 139-151.
22. "Value Pluralism Does Not Support Liberalism," San Diego Law Review 46, No. 4 (Fall, 2009), pp. 925-940.
23. "The Supposed Right to a Democratic Say," in John Christman and Thomas Christiano, eds., Contemporary Debates in Contemporary Political Philosophy (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), pp. 197-212.
24. "Justice Is Not Equality," review essay on book by G. A. Cohen, in Ratio 21, No. 4 (2008), pp. 379-391.
25. "Two Cheers for Capabilities," forthcoming in Measuring Justice: Primary Goods and Capability (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), Harry Brighouse and Ingrid Robeyns, eds.
26. "What Do We Owe to Distant Needy Strangers?", forthcoming in Singer under Fire, Jeffrey A. Schaler, ed., 2008.
27. "Rawls, Responsibility, and Distributive Justice," in Justice, Political Liberalism, and Utilitarianism: Themes from Harsanyi and Rawls, Marc Fleurbaey and John A. Weymark, eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.)
28. "What Is Wrongful Discrimination?", San Diego Law Review 43 (2006), pp. 775-807
29. "Does Social Justice Matter? Brian Barry's Applied Political Philosophy," Ethics 117 (April, 2007).
30. "Just Warfare and Noncombatant Immunity," in Cornell International Law Journal, 39, No. 3 (2006), pp. 663-688..
31. "Shame, Stigma, and Disgust in the Decent Society,"Journal of Ethics 11 (2007), pp. 31-63.
32. "Luck Egalitarianism: An Interpretation and Defense," Philosophical Topics 32, Nos. 1 & 2 (Spring-Fall 2004), pp. 1-20 .[Actual date of publication: September, 2006.]
33. "Joel Feinberg and the Justification of Hard Paternalism," Legal Theory 11 (2005), pp. 259-284.
34. "Desert and Equality," in Nils Holtug and Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen, eds. Egalitarianism: New Essays on the Nature and Value of Equality (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), pp. 262-293.
35. "The Meaning of Marriage and State Efforts to Facilitate Friendship, Love, and Child-Rearing," San Diego Law Review 42, No. 3 (Summer 2005), pp. 979-1001.
    
36. "Broadly Utilitarian Theories of Exploitation and Multi-National Clinical Research," in Ezekiel Emanuel and Jennifer Hawkins, eds., volume on exploitation in medical research (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007).
    
37. "Desire Formation and Human Good," Royal Institute of Philosophy, supp. vol. 59, Preferences and Well-Being, Serena Olsaretti, ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), pp. 9-32.
    
38. "Justice after Rawls," in John Dryzek and Anne Phillips, eds., Oxford Handbook of Political Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).       
39. "Distributive Justice and Basic Capability Equality: 'Good Enough' Is Not Good Enough," in Alexander Kaufman, ed., Capabilities Equality: Basic Issues and Problems (London: Routledge, 2005).
    
40. "Sophisticated Rule Consequentialism: Some Simple Objections," Philosophical Issues, supp. vol. to Nous (2005).
    
41. "Do Patriotic Ties Limit Global Justice Duties?", Journal of Ethics 9 (2005), pp. 127-150.
    
42. "The Shape of Lockean Natural Rights: Pareto, Fairness, and Consent," Social Philosophy and Policy 22, No. 1 (Winter, 2005), pp. 255-285.
    
43. "Cracked Foundations of Liberal Equality," in Justine Burley. ed.,  Ronald Dworkin and His Critics (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 2005), pp. 79-98.
    
44. "Democracy Is Not Intrinsically Just," in Justice and Democracy, ed. by Keith Dowding, and Robert E. Goodin, and Carole Pateman (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 40-58.
    
45. "Moral Limits on the Demands of Beneficence?", in The Ethics of Assistance: Morality, Affluence, and the Distant Needy, ed. by Deen K. Chatterjee (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), pp. 33-58.
    
46.  "Opportunity for Welfare, Priority, and Public Policy," in Globalization, Culture, and the Limits of the Market: Essays in Economics and Philosophy, ed. by Steven Cullenberg and Prasanta K. Pattanaik (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 177-214.
    
47. "Consequentialism versus Special-Ties Partiality," The Monist 86, No. 3 (July, 2003), pp. 382-401.
    
48. "Liberal Neutrality on the Good: An Autopsy," in Perfectionism and Neutrality: Essays in Liberal Theory, ed. by George Klosko and Steven Wall (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003), pp. 191-208.
    
49.  "Equality, Coercion, Culture, and Social Norms," in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics 2, No. 2 (June, 2003), pp. 139-163.
    
50.  "The Smart Theory of Responsibility and Desert," in Desert and Justice, ed. by Serena Olsaretti (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), pp. 233-258.
    
51.  "Defending the Purely Instrumental Account of Democratic Authority," The Journal of Political Philosophy 11, No. 1 (March,2003), pp. 122-13.
52.  "Is Moral Theory Perplexed by New Genetic Technology?", San Diego Law Review 39, No. 3 (August/September, 2002).
53.  "Why Justice Requires Transfers to Offset Income and Wealth Inequalities," Social Philosophy and Policy 19, No. 1 (2002), pp. 172-200x.
54.  "The End of Welfare as We Know It?  Scanlon versus Welfarist Consequentialism," Social Theory and Practice 28, No. 2 (April, 2002).
55.  "Luck and Equality," Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, supp. vol. (2001), pp. 73-90.
56.  "Against Rights," Philosophical Issues, vol. 11(December, 2001).
57.  "Critical Notice" of Equality, Responsibility, and the Law by Arthur Ripstein, Canadian Journal of Philosophy 31, No. 2 (June, 2001), pp. 245-262.
58.  "Welfare Should Be the Currency of Justice," Canadian Journal of Philosophy 30, No. 4 (December, 2000), pp. 497-524.
59.  "Disability, Priority, and Social Justice," in Americans with Disabilities: Exploring the Implications of the Law for Individuals and Institutions, ed. by Leslie A. Francis and Anita Silvers (London: Routledge, 2000).
60.  "Perfectionism and Politics," Ethics 111, No. 1 (October, 2000), pp. 37-63.
61.  "Economic Analysis Meets Distributive Justice" (review essay), Social Theory and Practice 26, No. 2 (Summer, 2000).
62.  "Egalitarian Justice versus the Right to Privacy," Social Philosophy and Policy 17, No. 2 (Summer, 2000), pp. 91-119.
63.  "Rawls versus Utilitarianism in the Light of Political Liberalism," in The Idea of a Political Liberalism: Essays on Rawls, ed. by Clark Wolf and Victoria Davion (Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littelfield, 2000).
64.  "Luck Egalitarianism and Prioritarianism," Ethics 110, No. 2 (January, 2000).
65.  "Egalitarianism and Responsibility," Journal of Ethics 3, No. 3 (1999), pp. 225-247.
66.  "What, If Anything, Renders All Humans Morally Equal?," in Peter Singer and His Critics, ed. by Dale Jamieson (Oxford: Blackwell, 1999).
67.  "Equal Opportunity for Welfare Defended and Recanted," Journal of Political Philosophy 7, No. 4 (December, 1999).
68.  "Human Flourishing versus Desire Satisfaction," Social Philosophy and Policy 16, No. 1 (Winter, 1999).
69.  "Against Rawlsian Equality of Opportunity," Philosophical Studies 93, No. 1 (January, 1999).
70.  "What Sort of Sexual Equality Should Feminists Seek?", Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues 9 (Spring, 1998).
71.  "Real Freedom and Distributive Justice," in Freedom in Economics: New Perspectives in Normative Analysis, ed. by Jean-Francois Laslier, Marc Fleurbaey, Nicolas Gravel, and Allain Trannoy (London and New York: Routledge, 1998).
72.  "Feminism and Family Justice," Public Affairs Quarterly 11, No. 4 (October, 1997).
73.  "Egalitarianism and the Undeserving Poor," Journal of Political Philosophy 5, No. 3 (1997).

Work in progress:

Current Curriculum Vitae

"Cracked Foundations of Liberal Equality." This essay was written in 1994 and in 2004 finally appeared in print.. (I revised this essay in September, 2002.)  Strictly speaking, this is a former unpublication.
"Rawls, Responsibility, and Distributive Justice." This essay was written for a conference that occurred in June, 1996.  The essay is supposed to appear in Justice, Political Liberalism, and Utilitarianism: Themes from Harsanyi and Rawls , ed. by Maurice Salles and John A. Weymark (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). The CUP Web Site used to say the volume was forthcoming in 2004.  News flash: The volume is now in print (2008). So this is also demoted to "former unpublication" status. Or one might revise the idea of an unpublication, as follows: any writing delayed from publication for more than ten years is an unpublication. Even if eventually printed, it's a zombie or ghost.

Graduate seminars:

• Philosophy 267 Spring 2012 Global Justice
• Recent Work on Theories of Justice
• Democracy (2010)
• Justifications of Political Democracy
• Consequentialism and Its Critics
• John Stuart Mill
• Justice and Human Good
• John Rawls versus Robert Nozick
• Fall, 2006: Conseqentialism and its Critics

Graduate students I am currently working with (or recently supervised):

Nanhee Byrnes advanced to candidacy in September, 2012. Her thesis topic is "The Best Results Argument for Democracy." I am chairing her dissertation committee.
Amy Berg advanced to candidacy in June, 2013. Her dissertation project is on "Ideal and Non-Ideal Moral Theory." With David Brink I am co-chairing her dissertation committee.

Daniel Pilchman advanced to candidacy in May, 2012 at UC Irvine and is working on his Ph.D. dissertation in the area of international law. The title of his project is "A New Vision of Law: Legal Authority for the World as We Know it." I am a member of his Ph. D. Committee; Aaron James is the chair.
Theron Pummer advanced to candidacy in spring, 2010 and has substantially completed a thesis project on the principle of equal consideration of interests and the defense of utilitarianism. David Brink and I are co-chairs of his dissertation committee.
Erick Ramirez advanced to candidacy in 2008 and in October, 2011 completed a Ph.D. thesis on the topic, "Toward a Sensible Sentimentalism." David Brink and Dana Nelkin were co-chairs. I was a member of the dissertation committee.
Per Milam advanced to candidacy in 2009 and is working on a Ph.D. dissertation project on moral responsibility. Dana Nelkin is chair of his committee, of which I am a member.
Casey Hall of UC Irvine advanced to candidacy in 2009 and as of May, 2013 has completed a Ph.D thesis on "Shame, Humiliation, and Punishment in the Liberal Society." Her supevisor was Professor Bonnie Kent of UC Irvine. I was a member of her committee.
Michael Tiboris advanced to candidacy in September, 2007 and successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation in March, 2012. His topic was "Youth and Diminished Responsibility." Dana Nelkin and I co-chaired his doctroral committee. He currently is working on iossues concerning autonomy in education. He is being supported by a post-doctoral fellowship from the Spencer Foundation.
Eric Campbell advanced to candidacy in September, 2007. In June, 2012 he successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation on "Breakdown of Morality" and now has the Ph.D. degree in hand. David Brink and I co-chaired his dissertation committee..
Erin Frykholm successfully completed her Ph.D. requirements in July, 2011, after advancing to candidacy in 2009. Her thesis topic is "Hume's Account of Character." Donald Rutherford and I co-chaired her thesis committee. As of 2011, she is assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas.
Kory Schaff advanced to candidacy in June, 2002 and successfully defended his thesis in June, 2005.   His Ph.D. dissertation is on "Work, Freedom, and Community: Hegel's Normative Economics."  Michael Hardimon and I served as co-chairs of his committee.  Since September, 2005 he has been assistant professor of philosophy at Occidental College.

Charles (Charlie) Kurth advanced to candidacy in fall quarter, 2006 and has now completed a thesis about objectivity in ethics.  His thesis supervisor is David Brink.  I am a member of the dissertation committee. He is assistant professor of philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis as of fall, 2011.
Jeff Stedman advanced to candidacy in December, 2002 and successfully defended his thesis in June, 2006.  His Ph.D. dissertation project is on objective theories of human good.  David Brink and I were co-chairs.
Dale Dorsey advanced to candidacy in spring quarter, 2005.  His thesis topic is "Thresholds and the Good: A Program of Political Evaluation."  He successfully defended his dissertation in June, 2007. I chaired his dissertation committee.  His first employment was as assistant professor of philosophy at The University of Alberta, Canada. As of July, 2012, he is an associate professor with tenure at the University of Kansas.
Brad McHose at UCLA advanced to candidacy in September, 2005 and completed all Ph. D. requirements in August, 2007.  His dissertation was on on "Justice and Desert."  I served as a member of his dissertation committee. In 2007-2008 he has a teaching post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University.
Nina Brewer-Davis completed her PhD. requirements in December, 2009. Her thesis was on "Political Obligation through Connectedness."  I was a member of her dissertation committee. She curently teaches at Auburn University.

Evan Moreno-Davis has completed a M. A. thesis on  moral responsibility.  Dana Nelkin, Pat Churchland,  and I worked with him.
    I served on the dissertation committee of Anna Alexandrova, who advanced to candidacy in March, 2003 and successfully defended her thesis in March, 2006.  Her Ph.D. dissertation is on  "Methods and Causes in Social Science." Nancy Cartwright was her dissertation supervisor. Her first academic position was as assistant professor at the University of Missouri-St.Louis starting in 2007; her current academic affiliation is at Cambridge University.
    With Professor Dana Nelkin, I recently supervised the work on free will and responsibility of Christopher Bignell, who successfuly completed an M.A. thesis in fall, 2005.
    I recently served on the dissertation committee of Luke Robinson.  In October, 2005 he successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation on "The Metaphysics of Morality: A Dispositionalist Account."  He is now assistant profesor of philosophy at Southern Methodist University.
   I recently served as co-supervisor, with Gerald Doppelt, on the M.A. thesis project of Victor Atkins. He was awarded an M.A. desgree in spring, 2005. I recently served on the dissertation committee of James Anderson.  He has written a Marx-inspired critique of liberal theories of justice.  The dissertation title is "The Role of  Interdependence in Moral Theory: Liberalism and its Critics."  He successfully defended the dissertation on December 5, 2002.
    I recently served on the dissertation committee of Jonathan Gunderson.  His dissertation title is "Action and Interaction: The Reality of Reasons and Limits of Physicalism."  He successfully defended his thesis on May 6, 2003.

Informal supervision:

During spring quarter, 2010, I supervised the research of Audrey Cahill, a visiting graduate student from the National University of Ireland, Galway. In prior years I did the same for Kalle Grill from Sweden and before that, Carl Knight who was then finishing a Ph.D. degree at the University of Manchester.

Undergraduate courses:

• Philosophy of Law
• Contemporary Moral Issues  WINTER 2005
• Classics in Political Philosophy
• Contemporary Political Philosophy SPRING 2005
• Ethical Theory
• Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics
• PHILOSOPHY 13 INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY--ETHICS---FALL 2005 WEB PAGE

Fall, 2007

• Philosophy 13 Fall, 2007
• Phil 166
• Phil 285

Winter 2008

• Philosophy 162

Spring 2008

• Philosophy 167

Fall 2008

• Philosophy 13

Winter 2009

• Philosophy 160. This material is superseded. To see web site for this course, go to http://webct.ucsd.edu/

USD SCHOOL OF LAW COURSES

Fall, 2008

• Theories of Justice

Below, pictures of granddaughters Emma and Sarah.

Thanks to Melissa and Michael Esquivel (parents of Emma and Sarah ) for these images.


 


 



 

 

Further pictures of family and friends.