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Robert J. Hartman

I am an assistant professor of philosophy at Ohio Northern University (2022-).

Previously, I was a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at Tulane University (2021-2022), a visiting research professor and faculty fellow at the Center for Ethics and Public Affairs in the Murphy Institute at Tulane University (2020-2021), a postdoctoral research fellow at Stockholm University, Sweden, (01/2019-08/2020), and a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, (02/2017-12/2018). I earned my PhD at St. Louis University in May 2016.

Email: roberthartman122@gmail.com


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RESEARCH

I research in agency and responsibility, normative ethics, and the philosophy of religion. I have published extensively on moral luck. My major project right now is to edit Improving Character, which will include 45 new essays that are concise, engaging, and jargon-free about moral virtue and growing in moral virtue.

BOOKS

In Defense of Moral Luck: Why Luck Often Affects Praiseworthiness and Blameworthiness (Routledge, 2017)

In this monograph, I defend the thesis that certain kinds of luck in results, circumstance, and character can partially determine the praise and blame a person deserves.

Book Description / Endorsements

The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Luck, edited with Ian M. Church (Routledge, 2019)

The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Luck: 1st Edition (Hardback) book cover

This interdisciplinary handbook explores the history of luck, the nature of luck, moral luck, epistemic luck, the psychology of luck, and future research on luck.

Book Description / Endorsements

Contributor List

PUBLIC PHILOSOPHY

Free Will in Heaven: Or, a Reason to Believe in Purgatory 

The Analytic Christian YouTube Channel (2024)

Watch Here

Free Will and the Moral Vice Explanation for Hell’s Finality

The Analytic Christian YouTube Channel (2023)

Watch Here

Free Will and Moral Luck

The Free Will Show Podcast (2022)

Listen Here

Moral Luck

Aeon (2017)

View Article

The New York Times discusses this article

ACADEMIC ARTICLES

Virtues that Mitigate the Deprivations of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Virtuous Responses to Suffering, Tragedy, and Evil (forthcoming)

Moral Luck and the Imperfect Duty to Spare Blame

Erkenntnis (forthcoming)

DOWNLOAD (Open access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

From Radical Evil to Constitutive Moral Luck in Kant’s Religion

Religious Studies (forthcoming)

DOWNLOAD (Open access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

A Christian Ethics of Blame: Or, God says, Vengeance is Mine

Religious Studies (forthcoming)

DOWNLOAD (Open access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Circumstantial and Constitutive Moral Luck in Kant’s Moral Philosophy

European Journal of Philosophy (2024)

DOWNLOAD (Open access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Free Will and Moral Luck

A Companion to Free Will (2023)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / PUBLISHER WEBSITE

Free Will and the Moral Vice Explanation for Hell’s Finality

Religious Studies (2023)

DOWNLOAD (Open access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

The Out of Character Objection to the Character Condition on Moral Responsibility, with Benjamin Matheson

Thought (2022)

DOWNLOAD (Open access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Gratitude to God for Our Own Moral Goodness

Faith and Philosophy (2022)

DOWNLOAD (Open access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Concomitant Ignorance Excuses from Moral Responsibility

Thought (2021)

DOWNLOAD (Open access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Heavenly Freedom and Two Models of Character Perfection

Faith and Philosophy (2021)

DOWNLOAD (Open access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Consequentialism and Virtue, with Joshua W. Bronson

The Handbook of Virtue and Virtue Ethics (2021)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / PUBLISHER WEBSITE

Indirectly Free Actions, Libertarianism, and Resultant Moral Luck

Erkenntnis (2020)

DOWNLOAD (Open access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Against the Character Solution to the Problem of Moral Luck

Australasian Journal of Philosophy (2020)

DOWNLOAD (Open Access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Moral Luck and the Unfairness of Morality (Awarded the Routledge, Taylor & Francis Prize by the APA)

Philosophical Studies (2019)

DOWNLOAD (Open Access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Kant Does Not Deny Resultant Moral Luck

Midwest Studies in Philosophy (2019)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Accepting Moral Luck

The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Luck (2019)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / PUBLISHER WEBSITE

Luck: An Introduction, with Ian M. Church 

The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Luck (2019)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / PUBLISHER WEBSITE

Constitutive Moral Luck and Strawson’s Argument for the Impossibility of Moral Responsibility 

Journal of the American Philosophical Association (2018)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Armstrong on Probabilistic Laws of Nature, with Jonathan D. Jacobs

Philosophical Papers (2017)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Counterfactuals of Freedom and the Luck Objection to Libertarianism

Journal of Philosophical Research (2017)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Against Luck-Free Moral Responsibility

Philosophical Studies (2016)

DOWNLOAD (preprint) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Utilitarian Moral Virtue, Admiration, and Luck

Philosophia (2015)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

How to Apply Molinism to the Theological Problem of Moral Luck

Faith and Philosophy (2014)

DOWNLOAD (Open Access) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Involuntary Belief and the Command to Have Faith

International Journal for Philosophy of Religion (2011)

JOURNAL WEBSITE

BOOK REVIEWS

Manipulated Agents: A Window into Moral Responsibility, by Alfred R. Mele

Journal of Moral Philosophy (2020)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming, by Agnes Callard

Philosophical Quarterly (2019)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

Responsible Belief: A Theory in Ethics and Epistemology, by Rik Peels

Ethics (2018)

DOWNLOAD (Preprint) / JOURNAL WEBSITE

TEACHING

I have broad teaching interests in free will and moral responsibility, normative ethics, social and political philosophy, philosophy of law, professional ethics, moral psychology, philosophy of religion, metaphysics, epistemology, and logic as well as in the history of philosophy.

Classes Taught

  • Philosophy of Law
  • Political Philosophy
  • Becoming a Better Person
  • Ethics, Justice, and Law
  • Professional Ethics
  • Practical Ethics (honors)
  • Ethics Bowl
  • Ethics
  • Philosophy of Religion
  • Logic and Critical Thinking
  • Introduction to Philosophy
  • Christian Worldview
  • Philosophy and Theology in CS Lewis’s Narnia Series

Student Comments

  • “This was my first experience in a philosophy class, and it has genuinely been one of my favorite classes I have ever taken. I was always interested in the readings and the topics we discussed, and the discussions we had in class were entertaining and engaging. I have already planned to take another philosophy course next semester. Thank you so much for being such a thoughtful, committed professor and for making this such an amazing class.”(Social and Political, Fall 2021)
  • “The fact that my classmates and I feel comfortable enough to raise objections, offer counter arguments, and engage in substantial debate over important fundamental and social arguments is not common in most of my classes; I appreciate the work Professor Hartman does to facilitate these conversations. Overall, I would recommend anyone to take this course or any of Professor Hartman’s classes.” (Social and Political, Fall 2021)
  • “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your class and your energetic teaching style. It made each class a joy to participate in, and yours quickly became my favorite. I also thank you so much for helping me realize philosophy as a great minor to add on … it’s a passion I hadn’t discovered.”(Social and Political, Fall 2021)
  • “Professor Hartman is so passionate about the material and clearly loves his students!” (Ethics, Fall 2021)
  • “Professor Hartman teaches with uplifting enthusiasm and constantly inspires students to form stronger and better ways of perceiving the world.” (Ethics, Fall 2021)
  • “My ability to listen to the opinions of others and to work off of that to form my own, based off the information I already have, has greatly improved.”(Ethics, Fall 2021)
  • “Professor Hartman is super organized and makes the material very easy to follow, even when the reading left me completely confused the night before.” (Ethics, Fall 2021)
  • “I really loved this course. Professor Hartman laid out the projects, tests, and papers exceptionally clearly, and he taught class in a very efficient and organized but engaging manner.”(Ethics, Fall 2021)
  • “The discussions are very interesting and allowed for easy participation as they drew me in. I am now interested in a subject I never thought I would be, and will definitely be looking forward to taking more philosophy classes at Tulane.” (Ethics, Fall 2021)

Student Resources

Philosophy Students Ask Valuable Questions

  • Does God exist?
  • Do we have free will?
  • What makes actions right and wrong?
  • What is the good life?
  • What makes life meaningful?
  • How do the mind and body relate?
  • What does it mean to be the same person over time?
  • What distinguishes mere true belief from knowledge?
  • *Disclaimer* The opinions expressed in these videos and podcasts do not necessarily reflect my own.

More Benefits of Studying Philosophy

  • The value of the humanities.
  • Philosophy majors earn well.
  • Philosophy majors find employment.
  • What you can do with philosophy.
  • Philosophy majors outperform all other majors on the GRE and score excellently on the LSAT and GMAT.

Affiliation Links

Scholarly Links