DetailsI am a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at Balliol College at the University of Oxford. I am also involved as a research associate at two of Oxford's exciting new research centres in ethics: the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, and the Future of Humanity Institute. I couldn't be more happy with my colleagues in these centres: they are simply excellent. My days are kept full of inspiration on interesting ethical ideas, several of which are gradually turning into publishable pieces of work.My academic background is somewhat eclectic. It began at the University of Melbourne, where I studied for a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts, with majors in philosophy, computer science and mathematics. I am very happy to have such a strong foundation in critical reasoning and evaluation. I find it invaluable in performing serious work in ethics. |
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| I feel strongly about the welfare of others, and have always had
an interest in ethics, so when I had the chance to do research here
in Oxford with some great moral philosophers, I took it happily. I
came over in 2003 to study for the BPhil and DPhil and was generously
supported by scholarships from Balliol
College and Christ
Church. I am still interested in several other areas of philosophy,
but I see my future in ethics. To me, the most promising moral theories are forms of consequentialism, a very influential moral tradition that includes utilitarianism. In my BPhil thesis, I looked at consequentialism from an unusual angle, asking not 'What should I do?', but 'How should I decide what to do?'. I believe that this shift in focus is very important to understanding the practical implications of consequentialism and in showing that many of these are not as strange as they first appear. In my DPhil thesis, I expanded this idea to include questions of motivation and character, and I am currently turning this work into a monograph. My supervisors were John Broome and Derek Parfit. Alongside my interests in ethical theory, I am also deeply concerned with the state of the world, and am doing what I can to improve it. I think that the most serious single issue today is world poverty and despite the dire circumstances of many people in the developing world, we can each do a lot to help. The pivotal moment for me was when I realized that money was so much more efficiently spent on fighting poverty that over my lifetime I could donate enough to save 500,000 years worth of healthy life while still maintaining a nice quality of life. Looked at in that way, the choice was obvious and so I have started giving away the required portion of my income and have founded Giving What We Can to unite others looking to use their salaries to really make a difference in the world. I can be contacted by post: Toby Ord Balliol College Oxford OX1 3BJ UK or by email: toby @ amirrorclear.net For further information on my research, see the rest of my academic site. If you wish to find out about my non-academic interests, visit my personal site. |