Lee-Ann Chae

Welcome.  I am an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Temple University. I work in ethics and in social and political philosophy, and focus on the question of whether it's possible for us to live together without war and large-scale violence. My work challenges the view that violence is a necessary response to aggression, and treats conflict as something that can be productive, rather than as something we must always avoid or fear.

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I am interested in understanding how we might resist the moral allure of violence by examining:

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     how hope and trust orient us towards a peaceful future;

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     how preparing to use defensive violence contributes to violent outcomes; and

    

     why we must use nonviolent means, if we seek a peaceful world as our end.

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I completed my Ph.D. in Philosophy at UCLA, under the supervision of A.J. Julius, and earned my J.D. from the University of Southern California School of Law. From 2016-2018, I was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Legal Studies and Business Ethics Department at the Wharton School, at the University of Pennsylvania.

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I also run a conference and lecture series, Challenging War, that brings together philosophers, political theorists, and others working on questions of war and peace.