Shelly Ian Kagan serves as the Clark Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, a position he has held since 1995. His academic career spans decades of teaching and writing on moral philosophy, normative ethics, and the concept of death, leading to his election into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2016.
Academic Foundation and Appointments
Born in Skokie, Illinois, in 1956, Kagan pursued his undergraduate studies at Wesleyan University, graduating in 1976. He later earned his PhD from Princeton University in 1982. His professional career began at the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught from 1981 to 1986. He subsequently joined the faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago, serving there until his transition to Yale University.
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Kagan published his first book, The Limits of Morality, in 1989. In this text, he challenges the common-sense moral views held by most individuals. Specifically, he contests the assumption that moral rules strictly prohibit certain actions, such as harming innocent people, even when such actions could produce a greater overall good. He also argues against the notion that individuals are not obligated to make their maximum possible contribution to the collective welfare.
Lectures on Death and Desert
In 2007, Yale University recorded Kagan's course on the philosophy of death, which was subsequently made available online via Open Yale Courses. The popularity of these lectures, particularly among international students in China, led to the publication of his book Death in 2012. That same year, he released The Geometry of Desert, an investigation into the complexities of moral desert—the concept concerning what individuals deserve based on their moral standing.
Animal Ethics and Modal Personism
Kagan’s 2019 work, How to Count Animals, More or Less, proposes a hierarchical framework for animal ethics. Rejecting standard utilitarian approaches, he assigns moral weights to creatures based on their sentience and interests. He advocates for modal personism, which considers a being's potential to become a person as a factor in their moral status. This research has influenced his personal dietary choices, leading him to exclude fish from his consumption.
Fast facts
- Born: 1956, Skokie, Illinois
- Education: Wesleyan University (BA), Princeton University (PhD)
- Current Position: Clark Professor of Philosophy, Yale University
- Election: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2016
- Notable Course: Death (Open Yale Courses)
- Primary Fields: Moral philosophy, normative ethics, animal ethics
Questions readers ask
What is modal personism?
It is an ethical theory Kagan defends where a being's potential to become a person contributes to its moral status.
Did Kagan write about the necessity of God for morality?
Yes, he debated this topic against theologian William Lane Craig at Columbia University.
Achievements
- Held posts at Yale University, University of Pittsburgh and University of Illinois Chicago
