b. 1937
Thomas E. Hill Jr. is a contemporary American moral philosopher best known for his work in Kantian ethics, moral psychology, and the ethics of self-respect. He has written extensively on autonomy, dignity, servility, and the limits of moral imagination, including questions about whether agents across social positions can genuinely understand the moral experiences of others. His work bridges deontological theory with applied concerns around gender, race, and oppression.
Authored 'Servility and Self-Respect' (1973), a landmark paper in the ethics of self-regard
Developed accounts of autonomous agency and dignity grounded in Kantian moral theory
Extended Kantian ethics to applied questions of race, gender, and social inequality
Explored limits of moral imagination and empathetic perspective-taking across social positions
Authored 'Autonomy and Self-Respect' and 'Respect, Pluralism, and Justice'