This is the philosophical homepage for Elise Springer), designed to share philosophical work and ideas with colleagues, students, and other web visitors.
My concerns ethics and moral change โ especially about how moral priorities emerge around themes such as ecological relations, systemic racism, and gender expectations. My first book, Communicating Moral Concern (MIT, 2013), offers a radically social and emergent account of moral phenomena. My most recent publication is โBlaming Evil: A Philosophical Paradox, unpackedโ at The Conversation
Find out more about my at Wesleyan University
Beyond academic philosophy, my interests include aikido, shakuhachi, bicycling, and computer geekery.
At The Conversation, my most recent (short!) essay on the concept of evil and its relation to blame.
A couple thoughts not included in that short piece:
- Are you aware that many languages don't have any single word like "evil" to contrast against ordinary badness? Among these are the classical Greek and Latin behind much of the European philosophical tradition, as well as classical Chinese.
- The practice of blame, at its best, supports the development of moral responsibility. Yet some thinkers are satisfied with seeing an expressive point to blame โ even when there seems to be no hope at all of its message "getting across" in a constructive way. For an extended argument about how different communication is from expression, see my book, Communicating Moral Concern (MIT, 2013)
