dr. Alfred Archer

Bio

I completed my PhD at the University of Edinburgh and worked at the University of Bristol before coming to Tilburg University in 2015. 

My main research interests are in moral philosophy, moral psychology and social philosophy. I am currently researching the role that admiration plays in our lives, particularly in relation to morality, culture and politics.  My work in this are has been aided by an NWO Veni grant (2017-2021 to study the Nature and Value of Admiration and a grant from the Moral Beacons Project at Wake Forrest University on Identifying Morally Exceptional People (2016-2017). I am especially interested at the moment on ethical and political issues relating to fame and celebrity. 

I also have active research interests in applied ethics (especially bioethics), aesthetics (especially aesthetic normativity), political philosophy and the philosophy of sport. 

Expertise

- moral philosophy

- moral psychology

- social philosophy

- applied ethics

- political philosophy

- philosophy of sport

Courses

• Ethics (Fall)
• The Intelligence of Emotions

Recent publications

1. Ethics of Parasocial Relationships

   Archer, A., & Robb, C. (Accepted/In press). Ethics of Parasocial Relationships. In The Ethics of Relationships: Broadening the Scope Oxford University Press.

2. How Public Statues Wrong: Affective Artifacts and Affective Injustice

   Archer, A. (2024). How Public Statues Wrong: Affective Artifacts and Affective Injustice. Topoi.

3. Influencers as Role Models

   Archer, A., & Robb, C. (Accepted/In press). Influencers as Role Models. Celebrity Studies.

4. It was a Different Time - Judging Historical Figures by Today's Moral…

   Archer, A., & Matheson, B. (2024). It was a Different Time: Judging Historical Figures by Today's Moral Standards. Journal of Applied Philosophy. Advance online publication.

5. It was a Different Time: Judging Historical Figures by Today’s Moral …

   Archer, A., & Matheson, B. (2024). It was a Different Time: Judging Historical Figures by Today’s Moral Standards. Journal of Applied Philosophy. Advance online publication.