معرفی
Debbie Roberts is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Philosophy in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, where she has been a faculty member since 2014. She previously served as a lecturer at the University of York (2011-2014) and as a teaching fellow at the University of Sussex. Roberts earned her PhD from the University of Reading in 2011 under the supervision of Jonathan Dancy and Philip Stratton-Lake, following earlier teaching experience at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa.
Roberts specializes in metaethics, with particular focus on thick evaluative concepts, the metaphysics of the normative, naturalism and non-naturalism, supervenience, and grounding. Her research explores connections between metaethics and philosophy of mathematics, as well as the role of thick concepts in scientific contexts. She has developed significant contributions to understanding how thick concepts function in evaluative discourse and their implications for moral ontology and semantics.
Her publication record demonstrates a consistent trajectory of influential work in metaethics, with recent articles examining normative indispensability arguments, the relevance of supervenience, and the epistemic dimensions of thick concepts. Roberts' research shows increasing engagement with interdisciplinary connections, particularly between metaethics and philosophy of mathematics, while maintaining a strong focus on the foundational questions of moral philosophy.
As an academic leader, Roberts serves as Deputy Head of Subject Area and Phil Skills Co-ordinator. She has held significant editorial positions including Associate Editor of Analysis (2016-2021) and member of the Mind Executive Committee (2015-2020). Roberts is actively involved in PhD supervision, currently working with Declan O'Gara and Ethan Moore, and has previously supervised Brian Ness.
She welcomes PhD supervision inquiries from students working in metaethics and normative ethics, particularly on issues related to realism, naturalism and non-naturalism, the metaphysics of the normative, and thick concepts. Her teaching includes the first-year course on Morality and Value.
