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Meet Marcus

Associate Professor of Philosophy

Education

1998 Tufts University, B.A.
2008 University of Arizona, Ph.D.

View CV

Courses Taught

Introduction to Philosophy
Ethics
Biomedical Ethics
Business Ethics
Social-Political Philosophy
Theories of Justice
International Justice
Human Rights
The Morality of War
Ancient Philosophy

Career Specialties

Marcus Arvan specializes in moral and political theory. He has published two books, Rightness as Fairness: A Moral and Political Theory (Palgrave MacMillan, 2016) and Neurofunctional Prudence and Morality: A Philosophical Theory (Routledge, 2020), defending a unified theory of prudence, morality and justice inspired by cognitive science. He has also published peer-reviewed journals on human rights, free will and the hypothesis that fundamental physics is best explained by the theory that the world is a computer simulation.

Professional and Community Activities

Arvan has coached UT’s highly successful Ethics Bowl and Bioethics Bowl debate teams, and served as education director of the UN Association of Tampa Bay. He has organized a variety of on-campus and off-campus events on human rights and justice, and owns The Philosophers’ Cocoon, a widely trafficked weblog that serves as a supportive forum for early-career philosophers.

Honors and Awards

 2017 CAL Excellence in Teaching Award