Michael Huemer
Birth dateDecember 27, 1969 (age 56)
InstitutionsUniversity of Colorado, Boulder
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley (BA)
Rutgers University (PhD)
Region

Western philosophy

EraContemporary philosophy
School tradition
Notable works
Main interests
Notable ideasPhenomenal conservatism
Websiteowl232.net

Michael Huemer (/ˈhjuːmər/; born December 27, 1969) is an American professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder.[1] He has defended ethical intuitionism, direct realism, political libertarianism,[2] phenomenal conservatism, substance dualism, reincarnation, the repugnant conclusion,[3] and philosophical anarchism.

Education and career

Huemer graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned his Ph.D. at Rutgers University in 1998 under the supervision of Peter D. Klein.[4]

Philosophical work

Huemer is a philosophical dualist[5] and an agnostic.[6]

His 2005 book, Ethical Intuitionism, was reviewed in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews,[7] Philosophy and Phenomenological Research,[8] and Mind.[9]

In 2013, he published The Problem of Political Authority, in which he argues that modern arguments for political authority fail and that society can function properly without state coercion.[10]

Phenomenal conservatism

Huemer has defended phenomenal conservatism, the epistemological view that it is reasonable to assume that things are as they appear, except when there are positive grounds for doubting this.[11][12]

Problem of evil

Huemer has stated that the presence of evil in the world, such as children with terrible diseases, is strong evidence that an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent God does not exist.[6]

Reincarnation

Huemer defended reincarnation in his 2021 paper "Existence Is Evidence of Immortality".[13] He has argued that immaterial souls exist,[6] and in 2022, he debated Graham Oppy on the topic.[14]

Animal ethics

On the ethics of eating meat, Huemer has commented that "In the overwhelming majority of actual cases, meat eaters do not have any reasons that could plausibly be claimed to justify the pain and suffering caused by their practice."[15]

In 2016, he debated Bryan Caplan on the ethical treatment of animals, including insects.[16] Regarding killing insects, he has argued that they are not raised in horrible conditions like animals in factory farms and that animal farming requires killing more insects, claiming that it is "much less likely that insects feel pain".[17]

His 2019 book, Dialogues on Ethical Vegetarianism, is a series of dialogues on the ethics of eating meat. Peter Singer, who wrote the foreword to the book, commented that "In the future, when people ask me why I don't eat meat, I will tell them to read this book."[18][19]

Ostroveganism

Huemer is an advocate of ostroveganism, a plant-based diet with the addition of oysters and other bivalves.[20][21] In a 2023 interview, Huemer stated that it is "fair game" to eat animals without brains such as scallops and that he also occasionally eats pasture-raised eggs.[22] He has argued that is impossible to inflict pain on bivalves, because they do not have a brain.[23]

Personal life

Huemer is married to Iskra Fileva,[5] a philosophy professor at the University of Colorado Boulder.[24]

Books

Authored

  • Skepticism and the Veil of Perception (Rowman & Littlefield, 2001)
  • Ethical Intuitionism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)
  • The Problem of Political Authority (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013)
  • Approaching Infinity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016)
  • Paradox Lost (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018)
  • Dialogues on Ethical Vegetarianism (Routledge, 2019)
  • Knowledge, Reality, and Value: A Mostly Common Sense Guide to Philosophy (independently published, 2021)
  • Justice Before the Law (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021)
  • Understanding Knowledge (independently published, 2021)
  • Progressive Myths (independently published, 2024)

Book chapters

  • Huemer, Michael (2018). "Part III: The Role of Property and the Market; Ch. 18: Is Wealth Redistribution a Rights Violation?". The Routledge Handbook of Libertarianism. London and New York: Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 259–271. ISBN 978-0367870591.

Co-authored

  • Is Political Authority an Illusion?: A Debate (with Daniel Layman, Routledge, 2022)
  • Can We Know Anything?: A Debate (with Bryan Frances, Routledge, 2023)

Edited

  • Epistemology: Contemporary Readings (Routledge, 2002)

References

  1. ^ "Michael Huemer". March 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Huemer, Michael (August 30, 2025). "Intuitive Libertarianism". fakenous.substack.com
  3. ^ Huemer, Michael (2008). "In Defence of Repugnance". Mind. 117 (468): 899–933. doi:10.1093/mind/fzn079. ISSN 0026-4423. JSTOR 20532700
  4. ^ "Curriculum Vitae". Archived from the original on February 23, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  5. ^ Sosis, Cliff (2021). "Michael Huemer Interview". What is it like to be a Philosopher?
  6. ^ Lemieux, Pierre (2022). "A Wide Ranging Libertarian Philosopher, Reasonable and Radical". Cato Institute. Archived February 25, 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ McNaughton, David (September 10, 2006). "Michael Huemer: Ethical Intuitionism". Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews. ISSN 1538-1617
  8. ^ Schroeder, Mark (2009). "Review: Huemer's Clarkeanism: Ethical Intuitionism by Michael Huemer". Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 78 (1): 197–204. doi:10.1111/j.1933-1592.2008.00239.x. JSTOR 40380419
  9. ^ Lemos, Noah (2008). "Review: Michael Huemer: Ethical Intuitionism". Mind. 117 (466): 483–486. doi:10.1093/mind/fzn063. ISSN 0026-4423
  10. ^ Skoble, Aeon J. (2014). "Reviewed Work: The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the Duty to Obey by Michael Huemer". The Independent Review. 19 (1): 144–147. JSTOR 24563269
  11. ^ Huemer, Michael (2007). "Compassionate Phenomenal Conservatism". Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 74 (1): 30–55. doi:10.1111/j.1933-1592.2007.00002.x. ISSN 0031-8205
  12. ^ "Phenomenal Conservatism". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  13. ^ Jäger, Jens (2021). "Immortal Beauty: Does Existence Confirm Reincarnation?". Australasian Journal of Philosophy. 100 (4): 789–807. doi:10.1080/00048402.2021.1938150
  14. ^ "Do Souls Exist?:Mike Huemer (Yes): Graham Oppy (No): ep. 183". Youtube. 2022. Archived April 28, 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ^ D'Amico, Michael Huemer, Daniel (September 26, 2018). "Debate: Libertarians Should Be Vegetarians". Reason.com. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  16. ^ "Do animals have rights? Professors Bryan Caplan and Michael Huemer discuss". Learnliberty.org. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Huemer, Michael. (2019). Dialogues on Ethical Vegetarianism. Routledge. pp. 74–75. ISBN 978-1138328297
  18. ^ "Interview with Michael Huemer, the author of "Dialogues on Ethical Vegetarianism"". animainternational.org. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  19. ^ Huemer, Michael (December 9, 2017). "Dialogues on Ethical Vegetarianism". Between the Species. 22 (1)
  20. ^ Huemer, Michael (December 9, 2017). "Dialogues on Ethical Vegetarianism". Between the Species. 22 (1)
  21. ^ Milburn, Josh; Bobier, Christopher (2022). "New Omnivorism: a Novel Approach to Food and Animal Ethics". Food Ethics. 7. doi:10.1007/s41055-022-00098-z
  22. ^ Seferoğlu, Berat Mutluhan (2023). "Michael Huemer: Defending Ethical Vegetarianism". YouTube. Archived July 19, 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  23. ^ Huemer, Michael (2018). "Dialogues on Ethical Vegetarianism". Between the Species. 22 (1): 20–135.
  24. ^ "Iskra Fileva". colorado.edu. Retrieved September 18, 2024.

Further reading