University of Arizona
Department of Philosophy
PhD, 1992
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Meta-Ethics
Normative Ethics
  •  9
    Reason and Responsibility, 16th edition (edited book)
    Cengage. 2017.
  • Methods, goals, and data in moral theorizing
    with John Bengson and Terence Cuneo
    In Aaron Zimmerman, Karen Jones & Mark Timmons (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Moral Epistemology, Routledge. forthcoming.
  •  49
    Socially conscious moral intuitionism
    with John Bengson and Terence Cuneo
    Noûs 57 (4): 986-994. 2023.
    In “Trusting Moral Intuitions” we argued that moral intuitions are trustworthy due to their being the outputs of a cognitive practice, with social elements, in good working order. Backes, Eklund, and Michelson present several criticisms of our defense of a socially conscious moral intuitionism. We respond to these criticisms, defending our claim that social factors enhance the epistemic credentials of moral intuitions, answering worries pertaining to the reliability of the moral intuition practi…Read more
  •  620
    Foundations of Ethics: An Anthology (edited book)
    Wiley-Blackwell. 2006.
    A substantial collection of seminal articles, Foundations of Ethics covers all of the major issues in metaethics. Covers all of the major issues in metaethics including moral metaphysics, epistemology, moral psychology, and philosophy of language. Provides an unparalleled offering of primary sources and expert commentary for students of ethical theory. Includes seminal essays by ethicists such as G.E. Moore, Simon Blackburn, Gilbert Harman, Christine Korsgaard, Michael Smith, Bernard Williams, J…Read more
  •  1015
    The moral fixed points: new directions for moral nonnaturalism
    Philosophical Studies 171 (3): 399-443. 2014.
    Our project in this essay is to showcase nonnaturalistic moral realism’s resources for responding to metaphysical and epistemological objections by taking the view in some new directions. The central thesis we will argue for is that there is a battery of substantive moral propositions that are also nonnaturalistic conceptual truths. We call these propositions the moral fixed points. We will argue that they must find a place in any system of moral norms that applies to beings like us, in worlds s…Read more
  •  12
    Oxford Studies of Metaethics 19 (edited book)
    Oxford University Press USA. 2024.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field. Its broad purview includes work being done at the intersections of ethical theory with metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. The essays included in the series provide an excellent basis for understanding recent developments in the field…Read more
  •  87
    Audi's intuitionism (review)
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 74 (1). 2007.
  •  323
    The Source of Normativity
    with John Bengson and Terence Cuneo
    Mind 132 (527): 706-729. 2023.
    This paper seeks to clarify one of the deepest questions about the source or ground of normativity, while also presenting an essence-based approach to answering it. We call it the ‘Arché Question.’ Though all metanormative theories must address this question, very few realists have explicitly grappled with the challenge it poses; those who have appear to deny any need to give an answer. After critically discussing extant realist responses, this paper outlines an essence-based approach to answeri…Read more
  • Methods, goals, and data in moral theorizing
    with John Bengson and Terence Cuneo
    In Aaron Zimmerman, Karen Jones & Mark Timmons (eds.), Routledge Handbook on Moral Epistemology, Routledge. 2018.
  •  6
    The Philosopher's Role
    with Benjamin McIntosh
    Stance 10 (1): 94-109. 2020.
    Article published in Stance by McIntosh and Shafer-Landau.
  •  60
    Living ethics: an introduction with readings (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2018.
    Living Ethics: An Introduction with Readings is an ideal all-in-one resource for courses in introduction to ethics and contemporary moral problems. In this hybrid textbook/reader, Russ Shafer-Landau brings moral theory and contemporary moral issues to life with a comprehensive and balanced set of readings, uniquely engaging explanations, and clear analysis of arguments. The book balances coverage of moral reasoning (in Part 1) with highly relevant contemporary moral problems (in Part 2)
  •  64
    Philosophical Methodology: From Data to Theory
    with John Bengson and Terence Cuneo
    Oxford University Press. 2022.
    Philosophical Methodology offers an up-to-date assessment of different methods of doing philosophy, and develops a novel account of the structure and goals of inquiry. It allows philosophers and students of philosophy to better understand their topics, and shows how philosophy can continue to make progress in answering its central questions.
  •  50
    A Concise Introduction to Ethics
    Oxford University Press. 2019.
    What is morality? -- Moral reasoning -- Skepticism about morality -- The good life -- Natural law -- Consequentialism -- Kantian ethics -- Social contract theory -- The ethic of prima facie duties -- Virtue ethics -- Feminist ethics and the ethics of care.
  •  484
    Trusting Moral Intuitions
    Noûs (4): 956-984. 2019.
    Noûs, EarlyView.
  •  7
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics Volume 18 (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2023.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field. Its broad purview includes work being done at the intersections of ethical theory with metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. The essays included in the series provide an excellent basis for understanding recent developments in the field…Read more
  •  3
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics, volume 6 (edited book)
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics. 2011.
    'Oxford Studies in Metaethics' is devoted to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field.
  •  68
    Pricean reflection
    with John Bengson and Terence Cuneo
    British Journal for the History of Philosophy 31 (4): 744-761. 2022.
    We offer a reconstruction of Richard Price’s intuition-based epistemology of normative essences, highlighting its key elements and showing how it differs from the approaches taken by other intuitionists such as Thomas Reid and G. E. Moore, as well as sentimentalists such as Francis Hutcheson and David Hume. While our analysis aims to shed light on Price’s moral epistemology, it also seeks to contribute to contemporary debates about the epistemology of essence, advancing a general intuition-based…Read more
  •  168
    Method in the Service of Progress
    Analytic Philosophy 60 (3): 179-205. 2019.
    Analytic Philosophy, EarlyView.
  •  6
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics, vol. 10
    Oxford University Press. 2015.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field. Its broad purview includes work being done at the intersections of ethical theory with metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. The essays included in the series provide an excellent basis for understanding recent developments in the field…Read more
  •  13
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics Volume 16 (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2021.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field. Its broad purview includes work being done at the intersections of ethical theory with metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. The essays included in the series provide an excellent basis for understanding recent developments in the field…Read more
  •  52
    Through the Moral Maze (review)
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 57 (2): 482-485. 1997.
  •  5
    Metaethics (edited book)
    Routledge. 2008.
    Metaethics is the branch of knowledge that considers the foundational issues of morality, and deals especially with the nature of ethical statements. Philosophers doing metaethics ask vital and fundamental questions such as these: • is morality merely conventional, or are there objective standards of right and wrong? • how can we gain moral knowledge? • why should we be moral? • can there be a science of morality? Over the past thirty years, there has been a great surge of interest in metaethics…Read more
  •  2
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics: Volume 6 (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2011.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field.
  • Oxford Studies in Metaethics Volume 14 (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2019.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field.
  •  1
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics, Volume 8 (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2013.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field.
  •  9
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics Volume 15 (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2020.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field.
  •  2
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics 13 (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2018.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field.
  •  2
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics Volume 14 (edited book)
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics. 2019.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field. Its broad purview includes work being done at the intersections of ethical theory with metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. The essays included in the series provide an excellent basis for understanding recent developments in the field…Read more
  •  1
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics 12 (edited book)
    Oxford University Press. 2017.
    Oxford Studies in Metaethics is the only publication devoted exclusively to original philosophical work in the foundations of ethics. It provides an annual selection of much of the best new scholarship being done in the field