Adam Etinson

Adam Etinson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Philosophical & Anthropological Studies at the University of St Andrews, where he is also affiliated with the Institute of Legal and Constitutional Research. His academic work spans ethics, political philosophy, moral psychology, and social epistemology, with a recent focus on human rights, dignity, anger, and wonder.

• Education: PhD in Philosophy from the University of Oxford (2011), with a thesis on human rights and ethnocentrism.

His research explores the philosophical underpinnings of human dignity, moral imperfection, and emotional dynamics like remorse and wonder. He has edited the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's entry on human rights and is currently working on projects addressing anger, dignity, guilt, and wonder. His publications include contributions to journals such as Philosophy and Public Affairs, European Journal of Political Theory, and Journal of Global Ethics, with a focus on interdisciplinary and critical approaches to human rights and dignity.

Etinson's academic writing intersects with public engagement, appearing in The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, and Dissent. At the University of St Andrews, he teaches courses on moral sainthood, human dignity, political philosophy, and the philosophy of human rights, often incorporating interdisciplinary and historical perspectives. He has served as Assistant Director of the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs (CEPPA) and organized workshops like Epistemic Breakthroughs (2020).