Hartwick-J. Jeremy Wisnewski

J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Areas of Interest:

Most of my work is in moral and political philosophy, broadly construed. I have published on a wide range of issues that fall under this rubric-from arguing for alternative approaches to critical social science to attempting to justify the view that we have actual obligations to the dead. In all of my work, I try to recognize the significant ethical issues that reside sometimes just beneath the surface of our everyday activities. In particular, I am interested in questions of moral phenomenology-i.e. the experience we have of moral duties to other agents. I am specifically interested in something that might be called moral perception, and the way this category of perception might enable us to better understand instances of moral failure.

Currently, I am interested in investigating the moral questions surrounding torture: what exactly is it, and what makes it morally problematic? Are there cases in which torture might be permissible? What is it that leads average persons to engage in such deplorable activities, and is it possible to eliminate torture? Are there features of institutions that lead to the diffusion of moral responsibility, and can these be adequately countered by rational deliberation?

In relation to this project, I am currently working on two manuscripts: The Ethics of Torture (with R. D. Emerick, under contract with Continuum Press), and Torture: A Philosophical Analysis (under contract with Edinburgh University Press).

I also have a strong interest in and dedication to the history of philosophy, including what is most likely an unhealthy obsession with Immanuel Kant.

Education:
B.A., College of William and Mary
M.Sc., London School of Economics and Political Science
MA, Ph.D., University of California, Riverside

Books: