Owen Flanagan

Owen Flanagan, born in 1949, is a prominent American philosopher and neurobiologist. He holds emeritus positions as James B. Duke University Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Neurobiology at Duke University. Flanagan's extensive research spans areas such as the philosophy of mind, consciousness, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of social science, ethics, contemporary ethical theory, moral psychology, and cross-cultural philosophy. He is known for his realistic yet optimistic approach to the problem of consciousness, advocating for a "natural method" that combines subjective reports with findings from psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience. Flanagan also applies this empirical approach to ethics, arguing for the relevance of psychological realism to moral theory, as demonstrated in his influential book *Varieties of Moral Personality: Ethics and Psychological Realism* (1991). His more recent work, including *The Geography of Morals* (2016) and *How to Do Things with Emotions: Anger and Shame Across Cultures* (2021), explores cross-cultural ethics and the philosophy of emotions through an anthropological lens. Flanagan has held prestigious fellowships, including a Rockefeller Fellowship at the National Humanities Center and a Berggruen Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He has also been actively involved in interdisciplinary initiatives, such as the "Ethics in Action" initiative with the Vatican and ongoing work on science, ethics, happiness, and well-being.