Jessica Flanigan

I am the Richard L Morrill Chair of Ethics and Democratic Values and Professor of Leadership Studies and Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law at the University of Richmond. I teach applied ethics and critical thinking classes. 

My research addresses the ethics of public policy, medicine, and business. I am the author of Pharmaceutical Freedom (OUP 2017) and Why It's Ok to Have Bad Spelling and Grammar (Routledge, 2025). I am a co-author of Debating Sex Work (OUP 2019) and Libertarianism: The Basics (Routledge, forthcoming). I am currently writing The Ethics of Expecting (OUP, under contract), which is about the ethics of pregnancy and fertility policy. 

My other research is published in journals such as Philosophical Studies, The Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Leadership, The Journal of Moral Philosophy, The Journal of Business Ethics, and the Journal of Political Philosophy. I am currently writing essays and articles about animal ethics, chronic pain, and household labor. I'm also co-editing a volume about the philosophy of Taylor Swift (OUP, under contract). 

As an engaged scholar, I frequently work with industry leaders and policy experts. I am the editor-in-chief of Public Affairs Quarterly and an associate editor at several applied ethics journals. I also write philosophy for the public. 

If you are not a student at UR, you can use the meeting and email links on this page to contact me. I am always happy to discuss recent research in applied ethics, and I an also comment on current events, answer your questions about the publication process, or we can talk about pedagogy and course design.