Professor Luke Russell
Luke Russell completed a BA (Hons) and a PhD in philosophy at the University of Sydney. His PhD, awarded in 2002, was on normativity in epistemology and ethics. He briefly taught at Macquarie University, before being appointed at the University of Sydney, where he now teaches ethics and critical thinking. In addition to undergraduate philosophy classes, Luke has extensive experience teaching philosophy in high schools and at the University of Sydney Business School.
Luke's main area of research is moral philosophy. He has focused on questions concerning evil, virtue and vice, and forgiveness. Luke has also written on aesthetic virtue, and the nature of moral and epistemic normativity.
Current Teaching:
- PHIL2623 Moral Psychology
- PHIL2642 Critical Thinking
- PHIL4106 Research Topics in Moral Psychology
- OLET2148 Thinking Critically
| Project title | Research student |
|---|---|
| Self and the general point of view: Hume’s sympathy | Luwen LIANG |
Selected publications
(Oxford University Press, 2023)
(Oxford University Press, 2022)
(Oxford University Press, 2020)
(Oxford University Press, 2014)
Publications
Books
- Russell, L. (2023). Real Forgiveness. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2022). Evil: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Russell, L. (2020). Being Evil: A Philosophical Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [More Information]
Book Chapters
- Russell, L. (2024). Can a Corporation be Evil? In Penny Crofts (Eds.), Evil Corporations: Law, Culpability and Regulation, (pp. 31-46). London: Routledge. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2023). Punishment Forbearance Accounts of Forgiveness. In Glen Pettigrove and Robert Enright (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Forgiveness. New York: Routledge. [More Information]
- Latham, A., Miller, K., Russell, L., Norton, J. (2022). Forgiveness: From Conceptual Pluralism to Conceptual Ethics. Forgiveness Confronts Race, Relationships, and the Social: The Philosophy of Forgiveness Volume V. Delaware: Vernon Press.
Journals
- Russell, L. (2024). Punishment and Forgiveness. The Philosopher, 112(1), 44-50.
- Russell, L. (2023). Atrocity, Evil, and Forgiveness. Critical Muslim, 47, 65-79.
- Russell, L. (2023). Book review; After Injury: A Historical Anatomy of Forgiveness, Resentment, and Apology by Ashraf Rushdy. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 20, 149-153. [More Information]
Magazine / Newspaper Articles
- Russell, L. (2014). Does evil exist and, if so, are some people just plain evil? The Conversation. [More Information]
2024
- Russell, L. (2024). Can a Corporation be Evil? In Penny Crofts (Eds.), Evil Corporations: Law, Culpability and Regulation, (pp. 31-46). London: Routledge. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2024). Punishment and Forgiveness. The Philosopher, 112(1), 44-50.
2023
- Russell, L. (2023). Atrocity, Evil, and Forgiveness. Critical Muslim, 47, 65-79.
- Russell, L. (2023). Book review; After Injury: A Historical Anatomy of Forgiveness, Resentment, and Apology by Ashraf Rushdy. Journal of Moral Philosophy, 20, 149-153. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2023). Punishment Forbearance Accounts of Forgiveness. In Glen Pettigrove and Robert Enright (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Forgiveness. New York: Routledge. [More Information]
2022
- Russell, L. (2022). Evil: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Latham, A., Miller, K., Russell, L., Norton, J. (2022). Forgiveness: From Conceptual Pluralism to Conceptual Ethics. Forgiveness Confronts Race, Relationships, and the Social: The Philosophy of Forgiveness Volume V. Delaware: Vernon Press.
- Russell, L. (2022). Good and Evil in Recent Discussion. Zeitschrift fUr Ethik und Moralphilosophie, 5, 77-82. [More Information]
2020
- Russell, L. (2020). Being Evil: A Philosophical Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2020). The who, the what, and the how of forgiveness. Philosophy Compass, 15(3), 1-9. [More Information]
2019
- Russell, L. (2019). Defining Evil Actions: Different Approaches. In Thomas Nys, Stephen de Wijze (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Evil, (pp. 245-255). Abingdon: Routledge. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2019). Evil and the Unforgivable. In Shlomit Harrosh, Roger Crisp (Eds.), Moral Evil in Practical Ethics, (pp. 201-224). New York: Routledge. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2019). Messy Forgiveness: A Reply to Fricker. Australasian Philosophical Review, 3(3), 274-287. [More Information]
2016
- Russell, L. (2016). Forgiving While Punishing. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 94(4), 704-718. [More Information]
2014
- Russell, L. (2014). Does evil exist and, if so, are some people just plain evil? The Conversation. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2014). Evil: A Philosophical Investigation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [More Information]
2012
- Russell, L. (2012). Evil and Incomprehensibility. Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 36(1), 62-73. [More Information]
2011
- Russell, L. (2011). Tryhards, Fashion Victims, and Effortless Cool. In Jessica Wolfendale, Jeanette Kennett (Eds.), Fashion: Philosophy for Everyone: Thinking with Style, (pp. 37-49). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. [More Information]
2009
- Russell, L. (2009). Dispositional Accounts of Evil Personhood. Philosophical Studies, Online first, 1-20. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2009). Evil, Monsters and Dualism. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 13(1), 45-58. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2009). He Did It Because He Was Evil. American Philosophical Quarterly, 46(3), 267-282.
2007
- Russell, L. (2007). Evil-revivalism versus evil-skepticism. Journal of Value Inquiry, 40(1), 89-105. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2007). Is Evil Action Qualitatively Distinct from Ordinary Wrongdoing? Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 85(4), 659-677. [More Information]
- Russell, L. (2007). What Even Consequentialists Should Say About the Virtues. Utilitas, 19(4), 466-486.
2006
- Russell, L. (2006). See the World: McDowell and the Normative Trilemma. Dialogue, 45, 69-88. [More Information]
Selected grants
2021
- Forgiveness and Institutional Punishment,Russell L., Miller K., School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry (SOPHI) Research Pitch Session Award - $5,000
2018
- Thinking Critically OLE, Russell L.,Ford G., Hinton T., Walton K., Colyvan M., West C., Smith N., Miller K., DVC Education Small Education Grant - $11,953
In the media
"Punishment and (Real) Forgiveness": Luke Russell in conversation with Daniel Nellor for The Philosopher
“What can Taylor Swift teach us about forgiveness?”, article on ABC Religion and Ethics, 13/2/24
Discussion on evil with Waleed Aly and Scott Stephens on ABC radio, The Minefield 22/2/24
Interviewed in “Pop Star, Philosopher, Poet: Taylor Swift is Shaking Up How We Think”, Jordan Baker, The Sydney Morning Herald, 8/2/24
Interview with Josh Szeps on ABC Radio National, “What is Real Forgiveness?” 26/10/23
Interview on Being Evil with Ricardo Lopes, The Dissenter, 3/8/21
Interview with Robert Talisse on Being Evil, on New Books Network 1/4/21
“Rethinking Evil” panel discussion on ABC radio hosted by Natasha Mitchell 2/1/2020
“What is Forgiveness?” IFFS Stockholm podcast 26/9/19
“Forgive or Punish”, episode in Ethics Matters TV show, ABC 2018
“On Evil” interviewed by Tim Dean, The Philosophers Zone, ABC radio 15/7/18
“Is Evil Real”, The Critique, 25/8/15
“Does Evil Exist: A Philosophical Investigation”, article on ABC Listen 13/7/15
“The Complexity of Evil” interview on The Philosophers Zone, ABC radio 12/7/15
