Peter Herissone-Kelly

Peter's teaching currently encompasses the philosophy of language, formal and informal logic, Plato, normative ethical theory, introductory applied ethics, and epistemology (theory of knowledge). His 2019 book, Kant on Maxims and Moral Motivation: A New Interpretation, is published by Springer.

Peter came to higher education comparatively late, starting his first degree at Bolton Institute of Higher Education (now Bolton University) at the age of 26, and following successful completion of an access course to make up for his lack of A-Levels. Having gained a First, he went on to take up a place on the B.Phil. in Philosophy at the University of Oxford, supported by a British Academy grant. The B.Phil. is a famously wide-ranging and tough two-year postgraduate degree, often regarded as the gold standard for those pursuing a career in analytic philosophy. Following his graduation from Oxford, and some part-time teaching at Cambridge, Peter worked for a number of years in the voluntary sector. He returned to academia in 2002, taking up a research assistantship at the University of Central Lancashire, before gaining a lectureship here in 2004. At the same time, he started a PhD with us on the theory of action underlying Kant's moral philosophy, which he was successfully awarded in 2008. During his time with us, Peter has produced widely cited work on the ethics of new and prospective reproductive technologies, along with papers on the theoretical foundations of bioethics, sex selection, genetic enhancement, and a number of other topics.