David Sobel works primarily in ethics. Much of his research has focused on understanding what makes something valuable. Recently he has also explored how demanding our moral obligations can be, problems for some libertarian conceptions of our natural rights, as well as the best understanding of what makes something good for us.

His main teaching interests are in ethics and political philosophy. In recent years he has increasingly focused his undergraduate classes on issues concerning economic inequality, mass incarceration, and gun control. His graduate teaching tends to address questions of what makes things valuable or good for a person and, especially, the role of the agent’s attitudes and concerns in determining what is valuable or good for her.

"A Robust Hybrid Theory of Well-Being" (co-authored with Steven Wall)

• Video, from Rice.edu

"The Case for Stance Dependent Reasons"

• Audio. See Journal of Ethics & Philosophy, 15.2 for original article.

Ph.D., The University of Michigan