Department of PhilosophyKok-Chor Tan
Professor and Chair of Philosophy
Ph.D. University of Toronto (1998)
Research Interests
- Social and Political Philosophy
- Ethics, Applied Ethics
- International Justice
My area of specialization is political philosophy, and I am especially interested in problems of global justice, nationalism, value pluralism, equality and human rights. My teaching, which reflects these interests, includes courses on global justice, political philosophy (historical and contemporary), ethics, and specialized courses on topics such as distributive justice and equality, multiculturalism and human rights. I have also taught courses in professional ethics, philosophy of law, biomedical ethics, introduction to philosophy and comparative philosophy.
In this universe, I am not an Oil Executive or a leader of the Malayan Kuomintang.
Selected Publications
See my Google Scholar page for more publications.
Books:
1. What is This Thing Called Global Justice? (Routledge, 2017; 2021 2nd ed).
2. Justice, Institutions, and Luck (Oxford University Press, 2012).
3. Justice Without Borders (Cambridge University Press, 2004).
4. Toleration, Diversity, and Global Justice (Penn State Press, 2000).
Random Chapters/Papers
1. “Climate Reparations: why the Polluter Pays Principle is Neither Unfair nor Unreasonable” (2023).
2. "Just Conservation: the question of justice in global wildlife conservation" Philosophy Compass (2021).
3. "Decolonizing Liberal Cosmopolitanism" (2021).
4. "Global Justice and the Problems of Humanity" (2018).
5. "Individual Duties of Climate Justice under Non-ideal Conditions" (2018).
6. "The Problem of Partiality: partiality of what?" (2018).
7. "Taming Human Nature? Hobbes vs. Xunzi" (2017).
8. "The Contours of Toleration: a relational account" (2015).
9. "Equality and Special Concern" (2012).
10. “Cosmopolitanism and Patriotism” (2012).
11. "Two Conceptions of Liberal Global Toleration" (2011).
12. "Enforcing Global Justice: the problem of intervention" (2010).
425 Cohen Hall
Office Hours: Spring 2025 Monday 12-2
