Toby Ord

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Philosophy
University of Oxford


Welcome to my academic site. Here, I have drawn together some materials regarding my research for those who have asked and others who may find it useful.

My research interests include both theoretical and practical ethics, with a focus on questions concerning the big picture. I am currently investigating the topic of moral uncertainty: the study of how to act when we are unsure of the relevant moral considerations. This is a much neglected area of theoretical ethics with many strong practical implications. I am also exploring a number of questions regarding global poverty, such as the extent of our personal responsibilities and how we should prioritise within aid spending. Finally, I have an ongoing interest in questions about future technologies and global catastrophic risks.

On a more practical front, my interest in global poverty is far from merely academic. I am deeply concerned about what may well be the most important moral issue of our day. I have therefore founded an organization called Giving What We Can to bring together those who are similarly concerned about extreme poverty and help us to give more efficiently and effectively.

Below are pages on my research topics and other useful resources. You can always navigate back towards this page by clicking on the image to the left.

Some Resources:

• brief academic details • full academic cv • a list of my papers • unpolished ideas

Research Topics:

• ethics      • consequentialism      • moral uncertainty      • world poverty      • risks of human extinction      • the moral status of the embryo      • biases in decision making      • the prisoner's dilemma • other topics      • degrees of truth and falsity      • quantity without numbers      • hypercomputation      • algorithmic randomness

For my personal site, see the rest of a mirror clear.