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Todd Mei

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Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Kent

Dr Mei is currently undertaking research in two areas: the philosophy of economics and the relation between continental and analytic philosophy.

His approach to the philosophy of economics involves the application of phenomenology and hermeneutics (Heidegger and Ricoeur) to questions of value, exchange, use and ethics. Most of his focus tends to be on the nature of land as a distinct factor of production, the generation of ground rent, and the ethical-political implications of rent as an unearned value and source of taxation. Economists of interest to Dr Mei’s research include the classical economists, Henry George, Philip Mirowski, Amartya Sen and Nicolaus Tideman. He has a philosophy book on land and economics, entitled Land and the Given Economy, forthcoming with Northwestern University Press (January 2017).

With respect to the relation between continental and analytic philosophy, Dr Mei attempts to understand how each tradition approaches the problem of truth in relation to convictions. Analytic philosophy tends to treat conviction as a quasi-rational kind of belief whereas the continental tradition often sees conviction as a foundational belief warranting a special type of treatment.

Experience

  • –present
    Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Kent
  • 2012–2015
    Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Dundee

Education

  • 2008 
    University of Kent, PhD
  • 1994 
    University of California, Berkeley, BA

Publications

  • 2017
    Land and the Given Economy, Northwestern University Press
  • 2015
    Heidegger in the Machine: The Difference between Techne and Mechane, Continental Philosophy Review
  • 2014
    The Relevance of an Existential Conception of Nature, Cosmos and History
  • 2014
    Are Reasons Enough? Sen and Ricoeur on the Idea of Impartiality, Dialogue
  • 2009
    Heidegger, Work, and Being, Bloomsbury
  • 2009
    The Pre-eminence of Use: Reinterpreting the Relation between Use and Exchange in Aristotle’s Economic Thinking, Journal of the History of Philosophy

Professional Memberships

  • Vice President, Society for Ricoeur Studies