Andreas T Schmidt | Philosophy

I work in ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of public policy.

On the more theoretical side, I have worked on freedom, domination, consequentialism, rationality, and egalitarianism. In my writings on freedom, for example, I develop a new measure of freedom, discuss how to distribute freedom across lives, persons, generations and even species, and how to apply freedom as a value in institutional design. In my writings on equality, I argue that relational equality implies responsibility-sensitive distributions, that distributive egalitarianism is implausible across generations, and that longtermists have reason to reduce inequality at current margins.

I have also written on various issues in public policy and applied ethics. I have explored issues such as health behaviour change, behavioural policies and nudging, non-human animals, tobacco control, mindfulness-based interventions, gun control, and euthanasia. For example, I have defended so-called endgame measures to phase out tobacco products completely and been involved in practical initiatives to pass so-called generational bans on tobacco products. Some of my theoretical themes – such as freedom, paternalism, and consequentialism – also run through my applied work.

Currently, I am writing a book provisionally entitled 'Political Philosophy and the Long-Term Future' where I discuss whether values in political philosophy give us reason to endorse 'institutional longtermism' that is design institutions such that they promote, in expectation, the value of the long-term future. Should one be an institutional longtermist if one really cares about justice, freedom, equality, or democracy? And, if so, what would effective longtermist institutions look like?

You can find my articles in the “Publications section” of this website. If you would like to read my work in progress, do send me an email.