David Axelsen
Profile
I am currently a Teaching Fellow in Moral and Political Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy. Before joining the department in this role, I worked as a teaching fellow at the department of Politics, University of Aarhus, Denmark. In this period, I taught contemporary political philosophy as well as more applied subjects such as equality, poverty, and development theory. I also wrote a lot of job applications, one of which landed me this job (nice).
I completed my PhD in Political Philosophy February 2014 at the University of Aarhus, where I was supervised by Dr Dr Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen. My thesis, entitled, “Global Redistributive Obligations in the Face of Severe Poverty” discussed (as the title indicates) moral obligations of justice towards foreigners – and especially, how these may change in circumstances of extreme and widespread poverty. Based on this, I have published two articles; “The State Made Me Do It: How Anti-cosmopolitanism is Created by the State” in The Journal of Political Philosophy and “Sufficiency as Freedom From Duress” also in The Journal of Political Philosophy (forthcoming). Besides this, I have published a short piece on health ethics in Ethical Perspectives called “Three Strikes Out: Objections to Shlomi Segall’s Luck Egalitarian Justice in Health,” which is not as good a title as I thought it was back then, really. I did my masters in political science and theory from University of Aarhus and Università degli studi di Milano.
Research interests
My current research interests are in global justice and redistributive obligations, distributive justice more generally, poverty and development, ideal and non-ideal theory, applied ethics, social equality (or relational egalitarianism), national identity and patriotism, normative methodology, and the importance of associations for justice.
Teaching
This term, I am teaching Principles of Political Economy: Philosophy & Politics (PH338-15) with Dr. Clare Heyward and Descartes and Mill (PH128-12) with Professor Matthew Soteriou. Next term, I will be teaching Business Ethics (PH360-15)/(PH360-12) and Contemporary Political Philosophy: Rawlsian Liberalism & Justice (PH344-15).
Former teaching (Aarhus University): Political Theory, Equality and Justice, Theories and Strategies of Development, and Poverty.
Selected Publications:
ARTICLES IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS:
- Axelsen, D. V. & L. Nielsen, “Sufficiency as Freedom From Duress,” The Journal of Political Philosophy (forthcoming).
- Axelsen, D. V., “The State Made Me Do It: How Anti-cosmopolitanism is Created by the State,” The Journal of Political Philosophy 2013, 21: 451–472
- Nielsen, L & David V. Axelsen, “Three Strikes Out: Objections to Shlomi Segall’s Luck Egalitarian Justice in Health,” Ethical Perspectives 2012, 19 (2), pp. 307-316.
BOOKS:
- Axelsen, D. V., Global Redistributive Obligations in the Face of Severe Poverty (PhD-thesis), Forlaget Politica (2014)
BOOK CHAPTERS:
- Axelsen, D.V., Det var staten, der fik mig til det! in Jensen, C. (ed.), Politologisk Årbog 2012-2013 (2013), Hans Reitzels Forlag.
- Axelsen, D.V. & Lasse Nielsen, Freedom From Duress: Sufficiency, Capabilities, and Positional Goods in Nielsen, L (PhD-thesis), Kapabiliteter, sundhed og retfærdighed, Forlaget Politica (2013).
Working papers:
- “I Would if I Could, but I Won’t: Realism and Global Obligations”
- “So What If You’re a Member? Against the Importance of Associations for Distributive Justice”
- “The Limit to Your Love: Can Patriots Be Cosmopolitans?” w. Professor Per Mouritsen
- “Examples in Political Philosophy” w. Dr. Rasmus Sommer Hansen
Office number: 2.54 (Massimo Renzo’s office)
Office hours: Wednesday 14-16
Office Telephone Number: 02476575286