Gordon Davis
Moral philosophy; Kant; Social and political philosophy; Metaethics; Comparative history of ethics
- B.A. (McGill), B. Phil (Oxford), M. Ed. (Toronto), B. Ed. (Toronto), Ph.D. (Oxford)
- Email Gordon Davis
Associate Professor
Biography
Gordon Davis’s research includes both historical work on ethical, political and metaphysical themes in the works of Hume, Kant and their contemporaries, and investigations into the applicability of methods of argument developed by these philosophers – as well as neo-Humean and neo-Kantian variations – to contemporary debates in ethics and metaethics. One of Gordon’s current projects explores the prospects for a theoretical synthesis of key elements within the three main traditions of contemporary ethical theory (consequentialism, Kantian deontology and virtue ethics). He also has a strong interest in applied ethics – especially issues surrounding biotechnology and obligations to future generations.
Courses Winter 2026
- PHIL 2020: Issues in Practical Philosophy
- PHIL 2101: History of Ethics
- PHIL 2002: 18th Century Philosophy
Research Interests
- Moral and political philosophy
- Metaethics
- History of modern philosophy (esp. Hume, Kant and Kantian philosophy)
- History of Ethics
- Comparative Philosophy
Selected Publications
鈥淟ibert茅 ontologique, lib茅ration 茅thique: Sartre et le bouddhisme Mahayana鈥, a chapter co-authored with P. Hoyeck & N. Ramlakhan, in G. Davis, S. Hinzelin & P-A. Hoyeck (eds), 脡thique et Impersonnalit茅: Ontologies occidentales et bouddhistes du sujet
鈥淟es vertus du consequentialisme et le consequentialisme de la vertu chez Hume, 脿 travers le prisme bouddhique鈥, a chapter co-authored with Charles Goodman, in G. Davis, S. Hinzelin & P-A. Hoyeck (eds), 脡thique et Impersonnalit茅: Ontologies occidentales et bouddhistes du sujet
鈥淟umi茅re naturelle et luminosit茅 axiologique chez Descartes et Vasubandhu鈥, in G. Davis, S. Hinzelin & P-A. Hoyeck (eds), 脡thique et Impersonnalit茅: Ontologies occidentales et bouddhistes du sujet
“Why would a Buddha lie? Varieties of Buddhist Consequentialism鈥, in M. Hemmingsen (ed), Ethical Theory in Global Perspective (SUNY, forthcoming)
G. Davis & S. Hinzelin (eds), Le souci sans soi : deux traditions philosophiques en dialogue (2022)
鈥淪elf-sceptical ethics and Selfless Morality: A Historical and Cross-Cultural Overview,鈥 in G. Davis (ed.), Ethics without Self, Dharma without Atman: Western & Buddhist Philosophical Traditions in Dialogue (Springer 2018).
鈥淭he Atipada Problem in Buddhist Meta-Ethics,鈥 Journal of Buddhist Ethics 2018.
鈥淢oral Realism and Anti-Realism outside the West: A Meta-Ethical Turn in Buddhist Ethics鈥, Comparative Philosophy, volume 4 (2): 24-53.
鈥淭he Normativity of Inclusion and Exclusion: Should Multiculturalism Encompass Religious Identities?鈥 in Multiculturalism and Religious Identity (ed. L. Beaman & S. Sikka, McGill-Queen鈥檚 University Press). 2014.
鈥淐onceptions and Intuitions of the Highest Good in Buddhist Philosophy: A Meta-Ethical Analysis.鈥 in Comparative Philosophy and J.L. Shaw (ed. P. Bilimoria & M. Hemmingsen, for Sophia Studies in Cross-Cultural Philosophy of Cultures and Traditions, Springer). 2015.
“Buddhist, Western and Hybrid Perspectives on Liberty Rights and Economic Rights”, in Value and Values: Economics and Justice in an Age of Global Interdependence (ed. R. Ames & P. Hershock, University of Hawaii Press). 2015.
“Traces of Consequentialism and Non-Consequentialism in Bodhisattva Ethics”, Philosophy East and West, volume 64 (1): 275-305.
“Civic Respect, Civic Education and the Family” (with B.E. Neufeld), Educational Philosophy and Theory, special issue on “Toleration, Respect and Recognition”, Volume 42 (1): 94-111.
“Political Liberalism, Civic Education and Educational Choice” (with B.E. Neufeld), Social Theory and Practice 33(1): 47-74.
“Philosophical Psychology and Economic Psychology in David Hume and Adam Smith”, History of Political Economy 35(2): 269-304.