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
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 43 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)
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
- 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
- The field of philosophy.
- How to read philosophy.
- How to write philosophy.
- How to avoid plagiarism.
- Why you’re not allowed to use your laptop.
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
- Ohio Northern University Faculty Page
- Ohio Northern University Philosophy Department
- Tulane University Philosophy Department
- Murphy Institute Center for Ethics and Public Affairs
- Stockholm Philosophy Department
- Lund-Gothenburg Responsibility Project
- St. Louis University Philosophy Department