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hello there.

I am assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Michigan. From Jan 2020-Dec 2021, I am also a research fellow in the Dianoia Institute of Philosophy at Australian Catholic University, in Melbourne, where I (would have spent) the months of June-July (were it not for COVID-19).

For the academic year 2021-22, I am on research leave as an Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics/Carr Center for Human Rights Policy Joint Fellow-in-Residence at  Harvard University, and an American Council of Learned Societies fellow. During this leave I'm working on finishing my book (Rewriting Rights; more info here!) 
​​My research explores questions like:
  • how uncertainty about whether others are consenting, unjustly attacking, or promising ever affects (and if so, when) whether making a mistake would violate their rights,
  • how social norms can solve moral coordination problems, 
  • ​what the offensiveness of racial epithets and slurs can teach us about the semantics and pragmatics of language,
  • whether there are problems with basing inferences about individuals on statistics about their demographic groups,
  • whether algorithmic risk prediction tools can appropriately be used in service of policing, pre-trial detention decisions, or sentencing,
  • and whether moral considerations affect how much or what kind of evidence is needed to justify beliefs.
For more details, check out my research page.

Recent/Upcoming Talks

  • Sept 7-10 -- MANCEPT Workshop - The Social Approach to Rights  (Keynote, State of the Art: Nature and Function of Rights)
  • Oct 28 -- Queen's University (philosophy colloquium) - TBD
  • Dec 3 -- Syracuse University (philosophy colloquium) - Predictive Hotspot Policing and the Fair Distribution of Risk
  • Jan 5-8 -- Eastern APA - Epistemic Risks and Objective Rights (Invited Symposium on Epistemic Constraints in Moral Theory  with Holly Smith and Chelsea Rosenthal)
  • Feb 3-5 -- PPE 2022 - Predictive Hotspot Policing and the Fair Distribution of Risk (Panel on The politics and epistemology of algorithms and data in criminal justice, with Marcello DiBello and Chad Lee Stronach)
  • Feb 23-26 -- Central APA - Are We Entitled to Be Believed?  (Invited Panel on Moral Encroachment, with Jaime Fritz and Amy Floweree)
  • May 20 -- UC Davis Colloquium - TBD

past

Before coming to Michigan, I was an assistant professor in the Department of Politics and University Center for Human Values, and associated faculty in the Department of Philosophy, at Princeton University.  Before that, (from Sept 2017-July 2019), I was a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Philosophy at Australian National University. My work there focused on the moral significance of risk, as part of an Australian Research Council (ARC) project with Seth Lazar, Lara Buchak, Alan Hajek, Philip Pettit, Frank Jackson, and Katie Steele.

Before that, ​I completed my Ph.D. in political philosophy at the University of Southern California (2017), working primarily with Jonathan Quong, Robin Jeshion, and Mark Schroeder.  

other

​In my spare time I paint. I've started a series of portraits of philosophers, painting various famous philosophers in style that highlights themes central to the philosopher's work. You can see those paintings here. ​

name change

As of August 2021, I am using 'Jorgensen' as a surname, though my activity prior to that date appears under the name 'Renée Jorgensen Bolinger'. 

When citing work, please simply use the surname under which it was published ( helpful guide here). When referring to me, please use 'Renée Jorgensen'

links

Google Scholar
ORCID
PhilPeople
Academia.edu

contact

rjorgen@umich.edu
​Pronouns: she/her/they