Jonathan Jacobs

Jonathan Jacobs is a Professor of Philosophy at John Jay College, City University of New York (CUNY), and a member of the Doctoral Faculty at CUNY Graduate Center. His work bridges Moral Psychology, Medieval Philosophy, Metaethics, and Jewish Philosophy, with a focus on character responsibility and punishment justification.

• Education:
  • BA in Philosophy from Wesleyan University
  • PhD in Philosophy from University of Pennsylvania

Research Interests center on the moral psychology of punishment, retributivism, and the intersection of liberal democracy with criminal justice. He employs historical philosophical frameworks (particularly medieval Jewish thought) to analyze modern ethical dilemmas, arguing for the moral legitimacy of resentment in justice and the role of character in ethical cognition.

His recent publications (2020-2022) include explorations of incarceration ethics, punitiveness, and the integration of empirical criminology with moral philosophy. Notable works examine the Liberal State and Criminal Sanction (2020) and Causal Powers: A Neo-Aristotelian Metaphysic (2022).

Scientific Awards include prestigious grants such as the

• Fulbright Scholar Grant
• NEH Summer Seminar Director
• American Philosophical Society Grant
• Hayek Fund for Scholar Grant
• PSC/CUNY Grant

As Director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics, he contributes to interdisciplinary dialogues between philosophy, criminology, and legal theory, emphasizing the need for penal reforms aligned with liberal democratic values.