Brian Berkey

Brian Berkey works in moral and political philosophy (including business ethics and environmental ethics), in particular on questions about the demandingness of morality, individual obligations of justice, ethical issues arising with regard to climate change, and the relationship between ideal and nonideal theory. He is also interested in the notion of collective obligations and their relationship to individual obligations, as well as in methodological issues in ethics and political philosophy, including the appropriate role of appeals to intuitions. His work has appeared in Mind, Philosophical Studies, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Journal of Applied Philosophy, Social Theory and Practice, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy and Public Issues, Ethics, Policy, & Environment, and Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.

Education

Ph.D in Philosophy, University of CaliforniaBerkeley

M.A. in Humanities and Social Thought, New York University

B.A. in Philosophy (with honors) and Politics, New York University, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

Academic Positions

Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, Center for Ethics in Society (201315)

Lecturer, University of CaliforniaBerkeley, Department of Philosophy (2013)

Research Fellow, University of Melbourne, Social Justice Initiative (2012)

Brian is currently working on papers about the ethics of boycotts, corporate obligations of justice, and collective obligations and demandingness.

Brian Berkey (Forthcoming), The Institutional Critique of Effective Altruism.

Brian Berkey (Forthcoming), Review of Dale Dorsey, The Limits of Moral Authority.

Brian Berkey (2017), Human Rights, Harm, and Climate Change Mitigation, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 47 (23), pp. 416435. 10.1080/00455091.2016.1268465

Brian Berkey, “Benefiting from Unjust Acts and Benefiting from Injustice: Historical Emissions and the Beneficiary Pays Principle”. In Climate Justice and Historical Emissions, edited by Lukas H. Meyer and Pranay Sanklecha, (2017), pp. 123140

Brian Berkey (Forthcoming), Obligations of Productive Justice: Individual or Institutional?.

Brian Berkey (2016), The Demandingness of Morality: Toward a Reflective Equilibrium, Philosophical Studies, 173 (11), pp. 30153035. 10.1007/s1109801606489

Brian Berkey (Forthcoming), Business Ethics and Free Speech on the Internet.

Brian Berkey (2016), Against Rawlsian Institutionalism about Justice, Social Theory and Practice, 42 (4), pp. 706732. 10.5840/soctheorpract201642424

Brian Berkey (2016), Review of Darrel Moellendorf, The Moral Challenge of Dangerous Climate Change, Ethics, Policy, & Environment, 19 (1), pp. 108111. 10.1080/21550085.2016.1173285

Brian Berkey (Forthcoming), Prospects for an Inclusive Theory of Justice: The Case of NonHuman Animals.

Past Courses

LGST100 ETHICS & S0CIAL RESP

This course explores business responsibility from rival theoretical and managerial perspectives. Its focus includes theories of ethics and their application to case studies in business. Topics include moral issues in advertising and sales; hiring and promotion; financial management; corporate pollution; product safety; and decisionmaking across borders and cultures.

LGST210 CORP RESP AND ETHICS

This course explores business responsibility from rival theoretical and managerial perspectives. Its focus includes theories of ethics and their application to case studies in business. Topics include moral issues in advertising and sales; hiring and promotion; financial management; corporate pollution; product safety; and decisionmaking across borders and cultures.

LGST299 SEMINAR IN LAW & SOCIETY

A study of the nature, functions, and limits of law as an agency of societal policy. Each semester an area of substantive law is studied for the purpose of examining the relationship between legal norms developed and developing in the area and societal problems and needs.

Penn Integrating Sustainability Across the Curriculum Program, 2016 Description

Awarded halftime undergraduate research assistant to help prepare course on Environmental Ethics and Business.

• Quoted in Article on Corporate Responsibility for Addressing Climate Change, Knowledge@Wharton 06/16/2017
• Quoted in Article on Renewable Energy and Climate Change, Knowledge@Wharton 10/10/2016
• Quoted in Article on Chinese Production of Hereke Carpets, Atlas Obscura 11/17/2015
• Panel Discussion on Campus Free Speech (Clip), Knowledge@Wharton 11/17/2015
• Research Discussion, Knowledge@Wharton 10/09/2015
• Interview on Volkswagen Scandal, This Morning with Alex Jensen 09/30/2015

Knowledge @ Wharton

• How Business Can Take the Lead on Combating Climate Change, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/16/2017
• Solar and Wind Power Are Growing – but Won’t Solve Climate Change, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/10/2016
• How Injustice Affects Decisionmaking, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/09/2015