Debra Satz:
· Vernon R. and Lysbeth Warren Anderson Dean of the School of H&S, The Marta Sutton Weeks Professor of Ethics in Society and Professor, by courtesy, of Political ScienceStanford University · Public Policy
Active 1987–2024
About
Debra Satz is the Vernon R. and Lysbeth Warren Anderson Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, and holds the position of The Marta Sutton Weeks Professor of Ethics in Society as well as a courtesy appointment as Professor of Political Science. She earned her B.A. in Philosophy from City College of New York in 1978 and completed her PhD in Philosophy at MIT in 1988. Her research interests focus on Political and Moral Philosophy, and she is actively involved in exploring ethical issues within public policy. As a faculty member at Stanford, she contributes to the Public Policy Program and the Philosophy Department, engaging in teaching and research that address complex societal questions.
Research topics
- Sociology
- Political Science
- Social Science
- Computer Science
- Public relations
- Engineering
- Engineering ethics
- Law
- Psychology
- Philosophy
- Positive economics
- Mathematical analysis
- Epistemology
- Mathematics
- Economics
Selected publications
Philosophy & Public Affairs · 2024-01-01 · 1 citations
paratextOpen accessNature Machine Intelligence · 2024-11-26 · 14 citations
articleOpen accessWhat is wrong with inequality?
Oxford Open Economics · 2024 · 9 citations
1st authorCorresponding- Sociology
- Sociology
- Positive economics
Abstract This article lays out the reasons we have for objecting to certain differences between what individuals have and in how they relate to one another. Our aim is to show that there is a plurality of reasons to be concerned with such differences and not simply with the absolute amount that each individual has considered independently. Furthermore, we argue against a limited focus on income inequality. Other forms of inequality can also matter.
Democracy & “Noxious” Markets
Daedalus · 2023-01-01 · 3 citations
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingAbstract How should a new political economy conceive of the role of markets in a just society? Markets clearly play an important role in efficiently allocating labor and goods, disseminating information, enabling cooperation among people who disagree with one another about how to live, and allowing individuals ‘ choices about where to direct their talents and resources. But acknowledging that markets play an important role does not mean that this role is simple or conforms to the status quo in capitalist countries like the United States. In this essay, I draw on classical and modern ideas to defend a limited role for markets that is tempered by democratic concerns.
Philosophy & Public Affairs · 2023-10-01
paratextOpen accessWhat Is Wrong with the Commodification of Human Labor Power
2023-05-18 · 5 citations
book-chapter1st authorCorrespondingAbstract What is wrong with treating human labor power as a commodity? After noting several answers that have been given to this question, this chapter explores and elaborates on an idea first found in John Stuart Mill: that wage labor undermines some of the characteristics and capacities that political democracy depends on. Call this the argument from “democratic character.” When we allow the market to dictate the organization of work, significant sectors of the economy will degrade workers to little more than appendages to machines. A body of social science work now suggests that work with little room for discretion and complexity erodes human cognition and affect.
Why College? An Education for Freedom
2022-01-01
otherSenior authorWhat is wrong with inequality?
2022-08-30 · 4 citations
report1st authorCorrespondingThis article lays out the reasons we have for objecting to certain differences between what individuals have and in how they relate to one another. Our aim is to show that there is a plurality of reasons to be concerned with such differences and not simply with the absolute amount that each individual has considered independently. Furthermore, we argue against a limited focus on income inequality. Other forms of inequality can also matter.
In Defense of A Mandatory Public Service Requirement
Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement · 2022-04-04 · 4 citations
article1st authorCorrespondingAbstract This paper defends mandatory national service as a response to democratic decay. Because democracy cannot be maintained by laws and incentives alone, citizens must care about the quality and attitudes of their society's members. In an age of increasing segregation and conflict on the basis of class and race, national service can bring citizens from different walks of life together to interact cooperatively on social problems. It offers a form of ‘forced solidarity’. The final sections of the paper consider objections to this proposal.
Ethics and society review: Ethics reflection as a precondition to research funding
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2021 · 66 citations
- Political Science
- Sociology
- Engineering ethics
Researchers in areas as diverse as computer science and political science must increasingly navigate the possible risks of their research to society. However, the history of medical experiments on vulnerable individuals influenced many research ethics reviews to focus exclusively on risks to human subjects rather than risks to human society. We describe an Ethics and Society Review board (ESR), which fills this moral gap by facilitating ethical and societal reflection as a requirement to access grant funding: Researchers cannot receive grant funding from participating programs until the researchers complete the ESR process for their proposal. Researchers author an initial statement describing their proposed research's risks to society, subgroups within society, and globally and commit to mitigation strategies for these risks. An interdisciplinary faculty panel iterates with the researchers to refine these risks and mitigation strategies. We describe a mixed-method evaluation of the ESR over 1 y, in partnership with a large artificial intelligence grant program at our university. Surveys and interviews of researchers who interacted with the ESR found 100% (95% CI: 87 to 100%) were willing to continue submitting future projects to the ESR, and 58% (95% CI: 37 to 77%) felt that it had influenced the design of their research project. The ESR panel most commonly identified issues of harms to minority groups, inclusion of diverse stakeholders in the research plan, dual use, and representation in datasets. These principles, paired with possible mitigation strategies, offer scaffolding for future research designs.
Frequent coauthors
- 15 shared
Daniel M. Hausman
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- 14 shared
Michael McPherson
- 6 shared
John Ferejohn
- 3 shared
Henry T. Greely
Stanford University
- 3 shared
Quinn Waeiss
Stanford University
- 3 shared
Mildred K. Cho
Stanford University
- 3 shared
Margaret Levi
Stanford University
- 3 shared
Rob Reich
Awards & honors
- Zale Lecture and Award
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