Ruth Chang

Ruth Chang is the Chair and Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Oxford's Faculty of Philosophy, and a Professorial Fellow at University College, Oxford. She holds a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and an A.B. from Dartmouth College. Her career includes prior roles at Rutgers University and visiting positions at UCLA and the University of Chicago Law School. Before academia, she practiced law in New Jersey, focusing on pro bono death penalty cases and non-pro bono product liability/medical malpractice cases.

Her research interests span moral philosophy, practical reason, and practical ethics, with a focus on normativity, value structure, agency, rationality, population ethics, love, commitment, and decision-making. Her work has been featured in media across 12+ countries and she has advised industries ranging from video gaming to the U.S. Navy and the World Bank. Chang’s theoretical contributions include groundbreaking work on 'comparativism' in rational choice theory and the concept of 'parity' in value comparisons.

Her academic outputs include influential articles on hard choices, incommensurability, and normative frameworks, as well as edited volumes like The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Practical Reason. She maintains an active public philosophy engagement through lectures, media commentary, and interdisciplinary collaborations.