William J. FitzPatrick

William J. FitzPatrick is the Gideon Webster Burbank Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy at the University of Rochester. He serves as an Undergraduate Adviser and has been an Associate Editor for Ethics since July 2013. His academic journey includes prior faculty roles at Virginia Tech (2005-2010 as Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies; 1999-2005 as Assistant Professor), Yale University (1996-1999) as Lecturer, and UCLA (1991-1994) as Instructor.

• PhD, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1995
• MA, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1988
• AB, with Honors, Princeton University, 1986

FitzPatrick’s research focuses on Moral Philosophy, particularly Ethical Realism and Non-Naturalism, critiquing evolutionary and naturalistic explanations for moral facts. He defends Metaethics with a non-naturalistic metaphysics of ethical facts and external reasons theory. His work in Normative Ethics challenges consequentialism through the Doctrine of Double Effect, and in Applied Ethics, he explores Bioethics (end-of-life contexts, embryo moral status) and Environmental Ethics (climate change, future generations).

His recent publications analyze trends in Evolutionary Debunking Arguments, Moral Epistemology, and Normative Ignorance. Key contributions include responses to cognitive science overreach in ethics and realist defenses against evolutionary challenges.

• 2014 Res Philosophica Essay Prize
• 2000 Aristotle Prize from The Metaphysical Society of America
• 2015 Edward Peck Curtis Teaching Award
• 2008-09 Certificate of Teaching Excellence

FitzPatrick has advised graduate students and taught courses such as Moral Problems and Ethical Decisions in Medicine, emphasizing the intersection of philosophy, ethics, and empirical sciences.