School of Philosophy, Religion and the History of Science
Academic & Teaching staff
Dr Pekka Väyrynen
Senior Lecturer
+44 (0)113 34 31890
Before coming to Leeds in 2008, where he is also Director of the Centre for Ethics and Metaethics, Pekka completed his PhD at Cornell University in 2002 and then worked at UC Davis in 2002-08.
His research interests focus on moral philosophy, and especially metaethics. Other areas of interest relevant to his work include metaphysics, epistemology and philosophy of language. He is available to supervise graduate work in ethics and metaethics.
Pekka has published widely on issues regarding the semantics, metaphysics and epistemology of ethics, including moral generalism and particularism, the relationship between value and reasons and their relationship to the natural world, moral intuitionism and so-called "thick" concepts in ethics. His work has been supported by AHRC and the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme. The focus of his current research is how normative explanations work.
Research Interests
- Moral Philosophy
- Metaethics
- Value Theory
Selected Publications
- The Lewd, the Rude and the Nasty: A Study of Thick Concepts in Ethics (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).
- 'Shapelessness in Context', Noûs (forthcoming).
- 'Thick Concepts: Where's Evaluation?', Oxford Studies in Metaethics, Volume 7 (2012), 235-70.
- 'Normative Appeals to the Natural', Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 79 (2009), 279-314.
- 'A Theory of Hedged Moral Principles', Oxford Studies in Metaethics, Volume 4 (2009), 91-132.
- 'Moral Generalism: Enjoy in Moderation', Ethics 116 (2006), 707-41.
See Pekka's personal page for full CV and publication details.
Research Supervision
- Metaethics
- Normative Ethics
- Practical Reason
Research Students
- Wouter Kalf, 'A Defence of Moral Error Theory' (2009-; jointly supervised with Andrew McGonigal).
- Brooke Barnum-Roberts, 'A Reactive Attitudes Account of Desert' (at UC Davis; 2008 award).
- Christian Coons, 'The Value of Individuals and the Value of States' (at UC Davis; 2006 award; jointly supervised with Connie Rosati).