John Hacker-Wright
Associate Professor
College of Arts, Department of Philosophy
Biography
My work focuses on metaethics and moral psychology, approached from a neo-Aristotelian perspective. I have broad philosophical interests in metaphysics, normative ethics, and ancient philosophy. My education at the State University of New York at Stony Brook included study at the University of Paris , and it immersed me in a wide range of philosophy from Continental and North American traditions.
I especially welcome students with an interest in any area of moral philosophy. I have supervised students working on a broad range of topics from William James and philosophy of action to aesthetics in the work of Emmanuel Levinas.
I am editor in chief of the Journal of Value Inquiry.
Education
M.A., State University of New York, Stony Brook
Ph.D., State University of New York, Stony Brook
Research
My research focuses on metaethics and moral psychology. I draw my inspiration from the history of moral philosophy, especially Aristotle, Aquinas, and Kant. I think and write about contemporary neo-Aristotelian approaches such as found in the writings of G.E.M. Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Rosalind Hursthouse, and Michael Thompson.
My current research focuses on investigating the nature of virtue: what constitutes a virtue? What makes it good? What role should virtues play in ethical evaluation?
Here is a talk I gave in 2018 at the Royal Institute of Philosophy in London: Virtues as Perfections of Human Powers
Here is a PEA Soup Debate that I participated in on Mencius and neo-Aristotelian ethical naturalism from 2019.
Publications
Books
Philippa Foot's Metaethics, Cambridge University Press, 2021
Philippa Foot on Goodness and Virtue, (ed.), Palgrave-MacMillan, 2018
Philippa Foot's Moral Thought, Bloomsbury, 2013
Articles/Book Chapters
"The Practical Unity of Practical Wisdom," Topoi, 2024
"Heidegger's fundamental ontology and the human good in Aristotelian ethics," The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 2023
"Practical Wisdom, Extended Rationality, and Agency," Philosophies, 2023
"National Identity and the Human Good," Political Identity and the Metaphysics of Polities, ed. Gabriele De Anna and Manuele Dozzi, Routledge, 2023
"Practical Truth, Ethical Naturalism, and the Constitution of Agency in Anscombe's Ethics" in The Oxford Handbook of Elizabeth Anscombe, ed. Roger Teichmann, 2022
"Charity and Ethical Naturalism" in Neglected Virtues, ed. Glen Pettigrove and Christine Swanton, Routledge, 2022
"Phronesis and Contemplation" in Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review, 2022
"Interpreting the Human Form of Life: A Response to Brüllmann" in Aristotelian Naturalism: A Research Companion, Springer, 2020
"Virtues as Perfections of Human Powers," Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements, 2020.
"Passion, Virtue, and Rational Life," Philosophy and Social Criticism, 2020
"Philippa Foot," Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2018
"Moral Growth: A Thomistic Account," The Theory and Practice of Virtue Education, Routledge, 2018
"Skill, Practical Wisdom, and Ethical Naturalism, " Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 2015
"Human Nature, Virtue, and Rationality," in Aristotelian Ethics in Contemporary Perspective, ed. Julia Peters, Routledge, 2013.
"Ethical Naturalism and the Constitution of Agency" The Journal of Value Inquiry, Volume 46, 2012, pp 13-23
"Virtue Ethics without Right Action," The Journal of Value Inquiry, Vol. 44, 2010, pp 209-224
"What is Natural About Foot's Ethical Naturalism?," Ratio, Vol. 22, No. 3, September 2009, 308-321.
"Human Nature, Personhood, and Ethical Naturalism," Philosophy, Vol. 84, No. 3, July 2009, 413-427.
"Moral Status in Virtue Ethics" Philosophy, Vol. 82, Number 3, July 2007, 449-473.
As John R. Wright:
"Moral Discourse, Pluralism, and Moral Cognitivism" Metaphilosophy, Volume 37, Issue 1, January 2006, 91-111
"Transcendence Without Reality" Philosophy, Volume 80, Number 313, July 2005, 361-384