Michael Huemer (/ˈhjuːmər/; born 27 December 1969) is a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder.^[1] He has defended ethical intuitionism, direct realism, libertarianism, veganism, the repugnant conclusion,^[2] and philosophical anarchism.

Quick Facts Born, Education ...

Michael Huemer
Born	(1969-12-27) December 27, 1969 (age 54)
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BA) Rutgers University (PhD)
Notable work	Ethical Intuitionism (2005) The Problem of Political Authority (2013)
Era	Contemporary philosophy
Region	Western philosophy American philosophy
School	Analytic philosophy Ethical intuitionism Libertarianism
Institutions	University of Colorado, Boulder
Main interests	Epistemology Ethics Meta Politics Meat consumption
Notable ideas	Phenomenal conservatism
Website	https://www.owl232.net/

Close

Huemer graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and earned his Ph.D. at Rutgers University in 1998 under the supervision of Peter D. Klein.^[3]

Huemer's book Ethical Intuitionism (2005) was reviewed in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews,^[4] Philosophy and Phenomenological Research^[5] and Mind.^[6]

Huemer is the author of The Problem of Political Authority (2013), which argues that the modern arguments for political authority fail and that society can function properly without state coercion.^[7]

Huemer is an advocate of ethical vegetarianism. In 2016, Huemer debated Bryan Caplan on the ethical treatment of animals, including insects.^[8] In 2018, Huemer commented: "In the overwhelming majority of actual cases, meat eaters do not have any reasons that could plausibly be claimed to justify the pain and suffering caused by their practice."^[9]

His Dialogues on Ethical Vegetarianism (2019) is a series of dialogues on the ethics of eating meat. Peter Singer, who wrote the foreword to book, commented that "In the future, when people ask me why I don't eat meat, I will tell them to read this book."^[10][11]