Mark Schroeder is a contemporary American analytic philosopher and professor at the University of Southern California, specializing in metaethics, normative theory, and the philosophy of reasons. He is best known for his influential defense of Humeanism about reasons and his systematic engagement with expressivism and noncognitivist metaethical programs. His work examines the foundations of normativity, including the nature of wrongness, reasons for action, and the semantics of evaluative discourse.
Developed an influential Humean theory of reasons in 'Slaves of the Passions' (2007), grounding reasons in desires and the promotion of what agents are for
Provided a systematic semantic critique of expressivism in 'Being For' (2008), engaging the Frege-Geach problem
Authored 'Noncognitivism in Ethics' (2010), a rigorous survey and critique of noncognitivist metaethical positions
Contributed to debates on the relationship between wrongness, reasons, and consequentialist moral theory
Advanced work on the structure of normative reasons and their role in grounding moral obligations