Lionel K. McPherson

Tufts University Department of Philosophy Medford, MA 02155 (617) 627-2346 [email protected]

Education

Harvard University PhD, Philosophy, 1999

Princeton University AB, Philosophy, summa cum laude

Academic Employment

Tufts University Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, 2006-present Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, 1999-2006

Areas of Specialization

Moral, Political, and

Publications

“The Costs of Violence: Militarism, Geopolitics, and Accountability,” in To Shape a New World: The of Martin Luther King, Jr., eds. Tommie Shelby and Brandon Terry ( Press, 2018).

“The Moral Problem of Individual Self-Defense in War,” in Cambridge Handbook of Just War Theory, ed. Larry May (Cambridge University Press, 2018).

“Legalism, Justice, and the War on Terrorism,” in Who Should Die? The Ethics of Killing in War, eds. BJ Strawser, Ryan Jenkins, and Mike Robillard (Oxford University Press, 2017).

“The Blackness of African American Identity,” in Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Race, ed. Naomi Zack (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016).

“Deflating ‘Race’,” Journal of the American Philosophical Association 1 (2015): 674–93.

“Righting Historical Injustice in Higher Education,” in The Aims of Higher Education: Problems of Morality and Justice, eds. Harry Brighouse and Michael McPherson, (University of Chicago Press, 2015).

“The Instability of ‘Executive Discretion’,” in Nomos L: Getting to the Rule of Law, ed. James E. Fleming ( Press, 2011).

“Non-Egalitarian Global Fairness” (with Erin Kelly), in Thomas Pogge and His Critics, ed. Alison M. Jaggar (Polity Press, 2010).

“The Normative Gap in Ethics” (with Erin Kelly), in Naturalism and Normativity, ed. David Macarthur and Mario De Caro (Columbia University Press, 2010).

“Is Terrorism Distinctively Wrong?” Ethics 117 (2007): 524-546. Reprinted in Exploring Ethics: An Introductory Anthology, ed. Steven M. Cahn (Oxford University Press, 2008).

“Normativity and the Rejection of Rationalism,” Journal of Philosophy 104 (2007): 55-70.

“Prisoner’s Mistrust” (with Erin Kelly), Ratio 20 (2007): 57-70.

“Excessive Force in War: A ‘Golden Rule’ Test,” Theoretical Inquiries in Law 7 (2005): 81-95.

“The Limits of the War Convention,” Philosophy & Social Criticism 31 (2005): 147-163.

“Halfway Revolution: From That Gangsta Hobbes to Radical Liberals,” in Hip Hop and Philosophy: Rhyme 2 Reason, eds. Derrick Darby and Tommie Shelby (Open Court, 2005).

“Blackness and Philosophy: A Reply to Our Critics” (with Tommie Shelby), Symposia on Gender, Race and Philosophy 1 (2005): 1-5.

“Blackness and Blood: Interpreting African American Identity” (with Tommie Shelby), Philosophy & Public Affairs 32 (2004): 171-192.

“Innocence and Responsibility in War,” Canadian Journal of Philosophy 34 (2004): 485-506.

“The Moral Insignificance of ‘Bare’ Personal Reasons,” Philosophical Studies 110 (2002): 29-47.

“On Tolerating the Unreasonable” (with Erin Kelly), Journal of Political Philosophy 9 (2001): 38-55. Reprinted in John Rawls: Critical Assessments of Leading Political , ed. Chandran Kukathas (Routledge, 2002).

Book Reviews and Commentaries

Killing in War, by Jeff McMahan, Mind 119 (2010): 511-515.

“The Racial Refusenik’s Issues, and Ours: Commentary on Eamonn Callan’s ‘The Ethics of Assimilation’,” Symposia on Gender, Race and Philosophy 2 (2006): 1-4.

Presented Papers

University of Delaware, Workshop on the Ethics of War II, March 2017.

University of Pennsylvania, “The *B*lack in Black Social Identity,” October 21016.

Tufts University, seminar with Mara Marin, “Commitment and Oppression,” March 2015.

Tufts University, Freedom Dreams Conference, “Redefining Jim Crow” panel, March 2015.

University of Delaware, Workshop on the Ethics of War, October 2014.

Tufts University, National Dialogue on Race Day panel, September 2014.

Yale University, guest seminar, “Obligations of Solidarity,” April 2013.

University of New Orleans, guest seminar, “Apology and the False Dream of Integration,” March 2013.

Vanderbilt University, “Obligations of Solidarity,” October 2012.

SUNY Oneonta, keynote address, “Putting ‘Race’ in Its Place,” April 2012.

APA Eastern Division, author meets critics: Elizabeth Anderson’s The Imperative of Integration, “Why Argue about Integration Now?” December 2011.

Spencer Foundation conference: Achieving the Aims of Higher Education, invited paper, “Righting Injustice in Higher Education,” October 2011.

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Wits Centre for Ethics conference: Living with the Past, keynote paper, “Half-Hearted Reconciliation,” June 2011.

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, “Mixed-Race Essentialism,” May 2011.

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, “Deflating ‘Race’,” May 2011.

University of Pennsylvania, Workshop on Utopianism in Moral and Political Philosophy, invited commentary, “Kafka’s ‘The Administration of Things’,” April 2010.

American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy conference: Getting to the Rule of Law, invited commentary, “Kleinerman on ‘Executive Discretion’,” January 2010.

APA Eastern Division, author meets critics: Virginia Held’s How Terrorism Is Wrong, “Framing Terrorism,” December 2009.

United States Military Academy at West Point, “Justice and the War on Terrorism,” April 2009.

Columbia University, “Values Integrity,” April 2008.

APA Central Division, symposium: Is Terrorism Ever Justifiable?, invited commentary, “Philosophers on Terrorism,” April 2008.

University of Rochester, “Fairness as a Dummy Concept,” January 2008.

University of Connecticut, “Fairness as a Dummy Concept,” December 2007.

University of Pennsylvania, Penn Law symposium: Executive Compensation, invited paper, “Some Ethical Dimensions of Executive Compensation,” February 2007.

University of Colorado, Boulder, “Fairness as a Dummy Concept,” January 2007.

Brown University, Political Philosophy Workshop, invited paper, “Fairness as a Dummy Concept,” December 2006.

Libera Universita Internazionale degli Studi Sociali (LUISS) University, Orvieto, “War and Terrorism,” June 2006.

University of Minnesota, “Rethinking Why Terrorism Is Wrong,” April 2006.

University of Montreal, conference: War and Moral Responsibility, invited paper, “Rejecting Battlefield Equality, Practically Speaking,” September 2005.

APA Pacific Division, symposium: War in a Time of Terrorism, invited paper, “What Is Distinctively Wrong about Terrorism?” March 2005.

University of Washington, “Excessive Force in War,” October 2004.

Hebrew and Tel Aviv Universities, conference: The Use of Excessive Force, invited paper, “Excessive Force in War,” May 2004.

Libera Universita Internazionale degli Studi Sociali (LUISS) University, Rome, “The Moral Agency of Combatants,” May 2004.

APA Pacific Division, symposium: Rethinking Just War Theory, invited paper, “The Moral Agency of Combatants,” March 2004.

Colby College, “Responsibility in War,” March 2004.

Tufts University, symposium: Reexamining Terrorism, invited paper, “Terrorism and Moral Consistency,” April 2002.

APA Central Division, colloquium paper, “The Moral Insignificance of ‘Bare’ Personal Reasons,” April 2000.

Honors and Awards

Mellon Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of the Witswatersrand, Johannesburg, May-June 2011.

Senior Research Semester Fellowship, Tufts University, Fall 2010.

Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, Faculty Fellow, Tufts University, 2003-05.

Faculty Research Award, Tufts University, Summer 2004.

Harvard University Center for Ethics and the Professions, Faculty Fellow, 2002-03.

Summer Stipend Award, National Endowment for the Humanities, 2002.