Dr. Jessica Flanigan
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Profile
Dr. Jessica Flanigan is the Richard L. Morrill Chair in Ethics and Democratic Values at the University of Richmond, where she teaches Leadership Ethics, Ethical Decision Making in Healthcare, and Critical Thinking. Her research addresses the ethics of public policy, medicine, and business. In Pharmaceutical Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2017), she defends rights of self-medication. In Debating Sex Work (Oxford University Press, 2019), she defends the decriminalization of sex work.
Flanigan has also published in journals such as Philosophical Studies, The Journal of Business Ethics, Leadership, The Journal of Moral Philosophy, and the Journal of Political Philosophy. She is currently writing a book about the ethics of pregnancy and a book about language and ethics. She is a proponent of effective altruism.
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Awards
Distinguished Scholarship Award, University of Richmond, 2024
Distinguished Educator Award, University of Richmond, 2020
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Awards
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Selected Publications
Books
Flanigan, Jessica, and Christopher Freiman, Libertarianism: The Basics (New York: Routledge, 2025).
Flanigan, Jessica, Why It's Okay to Have Bad Spelling and Grammar (New York: Routledge, 2025).
Flanigan, Jessica, and Lori Watson, Debating Sex Work (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019).
Flanigan, Jessica, Pharmaceutical Freedom: Why Patients Have a Right to Self-Medicate (New York: Oxford University Press, 2017).
Journal ArticlesFlanigan, Jessica, and Christopher Freiman. "Putting Wilt Chamberlain Back in the Game: Why Liberalism Is Not Compatible with Distributive Egalitarianism." The Independent Review 29, no. 2 (fall 2024): 227-245.
Brennan, Jason, Jessica Flanigan, and Christopher Freiman. "Public Reason Illiberalism and Ideology." Australasian Journal of Philosophy (online August 2024). https://doi.org/10.1080/00048402.2024.2379259.
Flanigan, Jessica, and Christopher Freiman. "Wealth Without Limits: In Defense of Billionaires." Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 25 (Nov. 23, 2022): 755-775. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-022-10327-3.
Flanigan, Jessica. "Social Equality and the Stateless Society." Ethics, Politics & Society 5, no. 2 (2022): 1-26. https://doi.org/10.21814/eps.5.2.133.
Flanigan, Jessica. "Revisiting Pharmaceutical Freedom." HEC Forum 34 (2022): 291–305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10730-022-09483-x
Flanigan, Jessica, and Alec Greven. “Speech and Campus Inclusivity.” Public Affairs Quarterly 35, no. 3 (July 2021): 178-203. https://doi.org/10.2307/48628247.
Flanigan, Jessica, Ben Bramble, and Charles Weijer. “The Ethics of Human Challenge Trials: COVID-19 and Beyond.” Cato Unbound: A Journal of Debate (March 2021). https://www.cato-unbound.org/issues/march-2021/ethics-human-challenge-trials-covid-19-beyond/
Blumenthal-Barby, Jennifer, Sean Aas, Dan Brudney, Jessica Flanigan, S. Matthew Liao, Alex London, Wayne Sumner, and Julian Savulescu. “The Place of Philosophy in Bioethics Today.” American Journal of Bioethics Online First (June 30, 2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2021.1940355.
Book ChaptersFlanigan, Jessica. "Ehren Watada and Selective Conscientious Objection." In Case Studies in Political Leadership, edited by George R. Goethals and Scott. T. Allison. Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025: 105-111.
Brennan, Jason, Jessica Flanigan, and Christopher Freiman. “Evading and Aiding: The Moral Case Against Paying Taxes.” In Extreme Philosophy, edited by Stephen Hetherington. New York: Routledge, 2024: 267-282.
Flanigan, Jessica. "The Risks of Prohibition during Pandemics." In Pandemic Ethics: From COVID-19 to Disease X, edited by Julian Savulescu and Dominic Wilkinson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, April 2023.
Flanigan, Jessica. “Leaderless Work and Workplace Participation.” In Debating Leaderless Management: Can Employees Do Without Leaders? Palgrave Debates in Business and Management, edited by Frederik Hertel, Anders Ortenblad, and Kenneth Molbjerg Jorgensen. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022.
Flanigan, Jessica. "Anarchism and Redistribution." In Wealth and Power: Philosophical Perspectives, Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy, edited by Michael Bennett, Huub Brouwer, and Rutger Claasen. Routledge, 2022.
Flanigan, Jessica. "Public Health and Health Care Policy." In The Routledge Companion to Libertarianism, edited by Matt Zwolinski and Benjamin Ferguson. London and New York: Routledge, 2022.
Flanigan, Jessica. "Deception and Sexual Harassment." In Palgrave Handbook of Sexual Ethics, edited by David Boonin. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022.
Flannigan, Jessica. "The Case for Decriminalizing Sex Work." In The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Sex and Sexuality, edited by Brian D. Earp, Clare Chambers, and Lori Watson. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2022.
Flanigan, Jessica. “Ethical Failure and Leadership: Treatment and Selection.” In Debating Bad Leadership: Reasons and Remedies, edited by Anders Örtenblad, 87-102. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.
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In the News
The Island Where People Go to Cheat Death (The New Republic)
Wed., Oct. 29, 2025Make America Fertile Again: The Strange Bedfellows of the New Baby Boom Agenda (Reason Magazine)
Mon., Sep. 22, 2025Is America in a New Gilded Age? Wealth, Power, and Democracy (CBS Reports)
Sat., Jun. 28, 2025The first US hub for experimental medical treatments is coming (MIT Technology Review)
Wed., May. 14, 2025Are the rich different from you and me? Are we better off without them? (Harvard Gazette)
Fri., Oct. 18, 2024Billionaires aren't all bad, taxing them more may backfire (Business Insider)
Wed., Sep. 25, 2024How rich is too rich? (Think: Sustainability Podcast)
Wed., Aug. 14, 2024Who will be the world's first trillionaire? The ethics of being ultra-wealthy (Scripps Newsline)
Tue., Apr. 23, 2024Know thyself — all too well: Why Taylor Swift's songs are philosophy (The Conversation)
Wed., Apr. 17, 2024Does Taylor Swift deserve her billion dollar fortune? (Open to Debate podcast)
Fri., Mar. 15, 2024Does Taylor Swift deserve to be a billionaire? (Fast Company)
Wed., Mar. 6, 2024Libertarianism (Practicing Health Equity podcast)
Tue., Dec. 5, 2023The Curious Case of Male Birth Control (Value Judgments podcast)
Sat., Nov. 4, 2023Valuable student exercises (Econlib blog post)
Wed., Oct. 25, 2023Ron DeSantis announces intentions to sanction Iran in Florida (Reason Magazine)
Wed., Oct. 11, 2023When dying patients want unproven drugs (The New Yorker)
Mon., Jun. 19, 2023Philosophers on Taylor Swift (DailyNous)
Fri., Apr. 7, 2023 - Links