Larry Temkin

Who is Larry Temkin?

Larry Temkin is an American philosopher specializing in normative ethics and political philosophy. His research into equality, practical reason, and the nature of the good has been very influential. His work on the intransitivity of the all things considered better than relation is groundbreaking and challenges deeply held assumptions about value, practical reasoning, and the goodness of outcomes. His 1993 book Inequality was described by the Times Literary Supplement as “brilliant and fascinating,” and as offering the reader more than any other book on the same subject.

Temkin graduated number one with a BA-Honors Degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1975, and received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University in 1983 under the supervision of Derek Parfit. He also studied at Oxford University in 1978-79. He began his professional career at Rice University, moving to Rutgers University in 2000. He has held Visiting Fellowships at the Australian National University, the National Institutes of Health, All Souls College, Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, and the National Humanities Center. Temkin is a committed teacher who has won eight major teaching awards. In 2011-2012, he will be the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University in the University Center for Human Values.