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Associate Professor in Political Theory
Room: 4.02, 29/30 Tavistock Square
Email: e.mcternan@ucl.ac.uk

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Biography

I am an Associate Professor in Political Philosophy at the Department of Political Science/School of Public Policy, UCL, and the co-host of the department’s podcast, ÐÂÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±½á¹ûUncovering Politics. I am an Area Editor at Ergo and Associate Editor of Politics, Philosophy, & Economics. I have held visiting positions in Philosophy, ANU and at ICREA, Pompeu Fabra University.Ìý

My monograph, On Taking Offence (OUP, 2023), offers a novel analysis and a political and moral defence, of this neglected and much maligned social emotion. I have also published in Mind; Philosophy & Public Affairs; The Journal of Political Philosophy; Political Studies; and The Journal of Moral Philosophy; amongst other venues. I won the 2021 Early Career Prize of the Britain and Ireland Association for Political Thought. My research has been supported by a Leverhulme Research Fellowship, and funding awards from the Templeton Trust, the Society for Applied Philosophy, and the British Academy.Ìý

I have taught a range of topics across ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of science. Currently, I run courses on the ethics and politics of social science, on political philosophy, and, from next year, on the philosophy and ethics of emotions. Last year I was nominated for a student choice award for inspiring teaching. I have supervised four PhD students to completion, all currently in academic careers, and ran the MA in Legal and Political Theory for six years.

Research

I’m a political philosopher of the social world. My research explores the ethics and politics of our interactions; our social norms and social emotions; and equality and the nature of injustice and hierarchy. I’ve written about these themes on topics including microaggressions, the emotion of offence, civic education, freedom of association and heckling, the value of encounters, the ethics of humour, and theories of egalitarianism. Sometimes, I also write about bioethics, especially where it intersects with social injustices and on fertility treatment.

Currently I am working on two projects:Ìý
(1) Freedom, the Value of Association, and Spaces of Association. Addressing the value and nature of our associations promises to illuminate contemporary issues from the ethics of sexual advances, to no platforming protests and the design of hospitals. You can read its first publications, ‘’ and ‘’ or read about my new collaborative project with Professor Ben Colburn and Dr Jane Clossick: ‘’.
(2) A new monograph on social equality, hierarchy, and the significance of social norms and everyday interactions. As a short slogan, my argument is, ‘more Goffman, less Kant’ and you can see a small part of this work defending the significance of microaggressions in structures of social inequality: and .Ìý
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Publications

Books

• McTernan, E. (2023)Ìý. Oxford University Press.

Journal articles

• McTernan, E and Simpson, R. (2023) ''. Mind.Ìýfzad049Ìý
• McTernan, E. (2023) ''. Analysis, 83 (2), 329–34.Ìý
• McTernan,ÌýE. (2023) ‘’, Journal of Medical Ethics,Ìý49, pp.Ìý288–291.
• McTernan, E. (2021) ‘’, Philosophy & Public Affairs, 49(2), pp. 179–208.
• Barry, C. and McTernan, E. (2021) ‘’,ÌýJournal of Moral Philosophy,Ìý19, pp.Ìý229–253
• McTernan, E. (2019) ‘’,ÌýEthical Theory andÌýMoral Practice,Ìý22, pp. 27–40.
• McTernan, E. (2018) ‘’,ÌýJournal of Political Philosophy, 26(3), pp.Ìý261–281.
• McTernan, E. (2018) ‘’,ÌýBioethics, 32, pp.Ìý481– 488.
• McTernan, E. (2016) ‘’,ÌýPolitical Studies, 64(3), pp. 748–764.
• McTernan, E. (2015) ‘’,ÌýJournal of Applied Philosophy, 32, pp . 227–240.
• McTernan, E. (2014) ‘’,ÌýJournal of Political Philosophy, 22(1), pp.Ìý84–104.
• McTernan, E. (2013) ‘’,ÌýPolitics, Philosophy & Economics,Ìý12(1), pp. 93–111.

Book chapters

• McTernan, E. (2022)Ìý‘’,Ìýin M. Vargas, and J.ÌýM. Doris (eds.),ÌýThe Oxford Handbook of Moral Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• McTernan, E. (2018) ‘’,Ìýin D. Birks and T. Douglas (eds.) ÌýTreatment for Crime: Philosophical Essays on Neurointerventions in Criminal Justice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Other articles

• McTernan, E. (2022) ‘’,ÌýBlog: Journal of Medical Ethics.
• McTernan, E. (2020) ‘’,ÌýInstitute of Art and Ideas.
• McTernan, E., O’Neill, M., Schemmel, C. and Schuppert, F. (2016) ‘’,ÌýJuncture, 23, pp.Ìý138–144.
• McTernan, E. (2016) ‘’,ÌýJuncture, 22, pp. 298–303.
• McTernan, E. (2015) ‘’, Forum for European Philosophy Blog.

Teaching

I teach the postgraduate modules ‘Meanings of Liberty’ and ‘Contemporary Political Philosophy II’, and theÌýundergraduate module ‘Philosophy, Values, and the Social Sciences’.

I am currently supervisingÌýPhD students working on social equality and dementia, and on republicanism. MyÌýsupervision interests are: equality (particularly relational/social egalitarianism andÌýdistributive justice);Ìýresponsibility;Ìýpolitical emotions;Ìýsocial norms andÌýsocial practices;Ìýcivic virtue andÌýcitizenship;Ìýfreedom of association;Ìýpolitical theory andÌýarchitecture;Ìýand fertility treatments.

Podcast appearances (external)

New Books Network -
The Prindle Institute For Ethics -