PARTICIPANT BIOS

* Jessica Flanigan: Political Philosopher and Chair in Ethics and Democratic Values at the University of Richmond

Jessica Flanigan is the Richard L. Morrill Chair in Ethics and Democratic Values at the University of Richmond, where she teaches Leadership Ethics, Ethical Decision Making in Healthcare, and Critical Thinking. Her research addresses the ethics of public policy, medicine, and business. Her academic work has appeared in journals such as the Journal of Moral Philosophy, the Journal of Political Philosophy, and Philosophical Studies, including the paper "Wealth Without Limits: In Defense of Billionaires." She has also written for Reason, Slate, and the Washington Post. She has published extensively in leadership, medical ethics, normative ethics, and political philosophy. Her books include “Pharmaceutical Freedom: Why Patients Have a Right to Self-Medicate,” “Debating Sex Work,” and an upcoming book about the philosophy behind Taylor Swift’s music. She gave the University of Richmond’s “Last Lecture” in 2017 when she was also the faculty member of the year. She won the Distinguished Educator Award in 2020, and several other teaching awards. She has a Ph.D. from Princeton, an M.A. from Washington University, and a B.A. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

* Ingrid Robeyns, Chair in Ethics of Institutions at Utrecht University's Ethics Institute; Author of "Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth"

Ingrid Robeyns works on issues in contemporary political philosophy and applied ethics and holds the Chair in Ethics of Institutions at the Ethics Institute of Utrecht University. In recent years, she taught the ethics of institutions, the ethics of capitalism, the capability approach, climate ethics, and public philosophy. Her latest book is “Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth," and her other book is “Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice: The Capability Approach Re-examined.” From 2017 to 2022, she was the head of the Fair Limits Project, investigating the plausibility of limitarianism in economic and ecological resources, which was funded by a European Research Council Consolidators Grant. Robeyns has achieved multiple awards, including the VICI Grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, the Emma Goldman Award from the FLAX Foundation for her work on inequality, and was elected as a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. She holds an M.Sc. in Economics and an M.A. in Philosophy, and received her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge.

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