Writing
Writing
Published
‘Should the Justification of Protest Depend on Its Cause?’ Res Publica Forthcoming (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11158-025-09722-1.
Abstract: It seems natural to think that protest for an unjust cause is unjustified. But citizens of a liberal democracy will inevitably disagree over which causes of protest are just. Accordingly, a theory that makes the justification of protest depend on its cause may seem somehow incompatible with the circumstances of democratic politics. For these reasons, it is unclear how theories of the justification of political protest should approach their subject. In this paper, I examine both sides of the problem. I begin with a basic ethical argument to support the intuition that the justification of protest should depend on its cause. I then consider the objection that such theories are politically untenable, and so useless. Finally, I argue that the objection fails: even if people disagree about the justice of a protest’s cause, they may be able to agree on the criteria by which we should evaluate the protest. I conclude that there is nothing in principle wrong with theories that make the justification of protest depend on its cause.
‘Democracy, Disobedience, and Accountability’. Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy 30, no. 2 (2025). https://doi.org/10.26556/jesp.v30i2.4414.
Abstract: Many authors raise a democratic worry about the use of force and violence in protest. Protestors who rely on force or violence, the thought goes, do not attempt to win majority support for their position but instead attempt to directly bring about a political outcome by making the alternative more costly. Thus, the use of force and violence in protest may seem tantamount to forcing one’s views on others. This paper provides an alternative rationale for force and violence by presenting a theory of protest as a form of holding others accountable. When we hold others accountable interpersonally, we often use burdensome treatment to communicate with them about their conduct, but we do not try to force them to behave as we wish. In the same way, I argue, protestors may use force and violence to make a moral appeal to their audience without acting undemocratically.
‘Civil Disobedience: Seeking Justice by Breaking the Law’. 1000-Word Philosophy, 2025. https://1000wordphilosophy.com/2025/04/10/civil-disobedience/.
Description: A short introductory essay on the philosophy of civil disobedience.
In Progress
A paper on the role of moral sanctions in theories of blame.
A paper on interpreting protest as a form of holding others accountable.
A paper assessing campus protest as an attempt to hold others accountable.
A paper applying Bernard Williams's notion of integrity to civil disobedience.