Lisa C. Tessman

Professor

Philosophy

Background

In addition to being a Binghamton University philosophy professor, Lisa Tessman is also a senior researcher at the University of Oslo, where she is currently doing collaborative work on the topic of moral residue.

Her research is in ethics, moral psychology and feminist philosophy, with a focus on how people experience morality under difficult conditions. She is currently (2023-2024) president of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association.

Publications

Tessman, Lisa. 2023. “When the Heavens Fall: The Unintelligible and the Unthinkable.” Journal of Ethics Special Issue on the 50^th Anniversary of the Publication of Michael Walzer’s “Political Action: The Problem of Dirty Hands”. doi.org/10.1007/s10892-023-09444-7

Tessman, Lisa. 2023. “Moral Injury and Moral Failure.” In How to End a War: Essays on Justice, Peace, and Repair, edited by Graham Parsons and Mark Wilson. Cambridge University Press: 31-58.

Tessman, Lisa. 2017. When Doing the Right Thing Is Impossible. Oxford University Press.

Tessman, Lisa. 2015. Moral Failure: On the Impossible Demands of Morality. Oxford University Press.

Tessman, Lisa. 2005. Burdened Virtues: Virtues Ethics for Liberatory Struggles. Oxford University Press.

Education

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA: MA in Philosophy 1992; PhD in Philosophy 1996.
Carleton College, Northfield, MN: BA in Philosophy 1988.

Research Interests

Normative ethics
Metaethics
Moral psychology
Feminist ethics

Teaching Interests

Ethical theory
Moral value pluralism
Moral responsibility
Moral psychology
Feminist ethics

Awards

“Moral Residue—Epistemological Ramifications, Ethical Implications, and Didactic Opportunities.” Principal Investigator: Jan Helge Solbakk, University of Oslo.
Senior researcher on “Advanced Grant” project funded by the European Research Council. Funding awarded: 2.455 million Euros. 2022-2027.
President of the American Philosophical Association, Eastern Division, July 2023-present.
State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities, 2017-2018.

More Info

Lisa Tessman personal site

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