Brian Berkey

Brian Berkey
  • Assistant Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    664 Jon M. Huntsman Hall
    3730 Walnut Street
    Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Interests: business ethics, corporate and individual obligations of justice, moral demandingness, climate change ethics, ideal and non-ideal theory, collective obligations, methodology in ethics

Links: Personal Website, CV

Overview

Brian Berkey works in moral and political philosophy (including business ethics and environmental ethics), in particular on questions about the demandingness of morality, individual obligations of justice, ethical issues arising with regard to climate change, and the relationship between ideal and non-ideal theory. He is also interested in the notion of collective obligations and their relationship to individual obligations, as well as in methodological issues in ethics and political philosophy, including the appropriate role of appeals to intuitions. His work has appeared in Mind, Philosophical Studies, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Utilitas, Journal of Applied Philosophy, Social Theory and Practice, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, Philosophy and Public Issues, Ethics, Policy, & Environment, and Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.

Education

Ph.D in Philosophy, University of California-Berkeley

M.A. in Humanities and Social Thought, New York University

B.A. in Philosophy (with honors) and Politics, New York University, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

Academic Positions

Berggruen Fellow, Harvard University, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics (2018-19)

Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, Center for Ethics in Society (2013-15)

Lecturer, University of California-Berkeley, Department of Philosophy (2013)

Research Fellow, University of Melbourne, Social Justice Initiative (2012)

 

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Research

Brian is currently working on papers about the ethics of boycotts, corporate obligations of justice, and collective obligations and demandingness.

Teaching

Past Courses

  • LGST100 - Ethics and Social Responsibility

    This course explores business responsibility from rival theoretical and managerial perspectives. Its focus includes theories of ethics and their application to case studies in business. Topics include moral issues in advertising and sales; hiring and promotion; financial management; corporate pollution; product safety; and decision-making across borders and cultures.

  • LGST220 - International Business Ethics

    This course is a multidisciplinary, interactive study of business ethics within a global economy. A central aim of the course is to enable students to develop a framework to address ethical challenges as they arise within and across different countries. Alternative theories about acting ethically in global environments are presented, and critical current issues are introduced and analyzed. Examples include bribery, global sourcing, environmental sustainability, social reports, intellectual property, e-commerce, and dealing with conflicting standards and values across cultures. As part of this study, the course considers non-Western ethical traditions and practices as they relate to business.

  • LGST299 - Seminar in Law and Society

    A study of the nature, functions, and limits of law as an agency of societal policy. Each semester an area of substantive law is studied for the purpose of examining the relationship between legal norms developed and developing in the area and societal problems and needs.

  • LGST820 - International Business Ethics

    This course is a multidisciplinary, interactive study of business ethics within a global economy. A central aim of the course is to enable students to develop a framework to address ethical challenges as they arise within and across different countries. Alternative theories about acting ethically in global environments are presented, and critical current issues are introduced and analyzed. Examples include bribery, global sourcing, environmental sustainability, social reports, intellectual property, e-commerce, and dealing with conflicting standards and values across cultures. As part of this study, the course considers non-Western ethical traditions and practices as they relate to business.

Awards and Honors

In the News

Knowledge @ Wharton

Activity

Latest Research

Brian Berkey and Eric W. Orts (Forthcoming), Review of Ryan Burg, Business Ethics for a Material World: An Ecological Approach to Object Stewardship.
All Research

In the News

Food for Thought: Can Changing Our Diets Save the Planet?

Two new reports suggest that human beings must change their diets in order to save the planet. But getting people to change lifelong dietary habits is a difficult task that often goes against personal tastes and cultural traditions.

Knowledge @ Wharton - 2018/10/25
All News

Awards and Honors

Berggruen Fellowship, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University 2018
All Awards