Stephen Darwall Named the Andrew Downey Orrick Professor

Stephen L. Darwall, the newly named Andrew Downey Orrick Professor of Philosophy, has focused his research on the foundations of ethics, moral psychology, moral theory and the history of these subjects.

Stephen L. Darwall, the newly named Andrew Downey Orrick Professor of Philosophy, has focused his research on the foundations of ethics, moral psychology, moral theory and the history of these subjects.

Also a visiting lecturer in law at the Yale Law School, Darwall is a widely published author of books and scholarly articles. His books include “Impartial Reason,” a theory of practical reason; “The British Moralists and the Internal ‘Ought’: 1640-1740,” a discussion of 17th- and 18th-century theories of obligation and motivation; “Philosophical Ethics,” a textbook in moral philosophy; “Welfare and Rational Care,” on the metaethics of well-being; and “The Second-Person Standpoint: Morality, Respect and Accountability,” which explores the interpersonal nature of moral obligations. He has edited or co-edited seven books, including “Contractarianism/Contract­ualism,” “Consequentialism,” “Deontology” and “Virtue Ethics,” and has written more than 100 scholarly articles, abstracts and reviews. His works in progress include a history of ethical philosophy from the 17th century to the present.

A 1968 graduate of Yale, Darwall earned his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh. He began his teaching career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972 and joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1984. He was named the John Dewey Collegiate Professor there in 2000, became the John Dewey Distinguished University Professor in 2007 and was designated the John Dewey Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in 2008. At the University of Michigan, he also served as chair and director of graduate studies in the philosophy department.

The University of Michigan honored Darwall with several awards for his teaching and research contributions. These include the College of Literature, Science and the Arts Excellence in Research Award, the University of Michigan Humanities Award, the Julia Jean Lockwood Award for excellence in research and two University of Michigan Faculty Fellowship Enhancement Awards.

Darwall has held the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship on four occasions. He has also received a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts for a year-long seminar and distinguished lecture series. He has been a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2001.

Darwall is a past president of the American Philosophical Association’s Central Division. He is an associate editor of “Ethics” and founding co-editor of “The Philosophers’ Imprint.” He has been an invited lecturer or speaker at universities and for professional organizations throughout the United States and Europe, as well as in South America and China.

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