S. Deon Wu

Photo Taken on a Bus in Ecuador

About

I work on topics in moral and political philosophy. My general research interests lie in reasons and normativity, and in terms of the history of moral philosophy, I specialise in the works of the ethical intuitionists, in particular, British ethical theorists from Sidgwick to Ewing. I completed my PhD in philosophy at the University of Reading under the supervision of  Brad Hooker and Philip Stratton-Lake. I received my MRes in Philosophy from University of Reading, MA in Teaching from Tufts University and BA from New York University (NYU). Prior to coming to the UK, I was for several years a high school English literature teacher at private secondary schools in Guangzhou and Shanghai. I have taught the history of ethics, contemporary social and political philosophy, normative and applied ethics, meaning in life, and a module on W.D. Ross's The Right and the Good. I am currently teaching the module Speech Attacks: Bullshit, Lies, and Propaganda.

News

• BSET Southampton 2025

Keynotes: Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen (Aarhus) and Hether Widdows (Warwick)

• Ratio Annual Conference 2025

Intuitions and Reasons: in Memory of Philip Stratton-Lake

https://philevents.org/event/show/130334

• BSET Edinburgh 2024

Keynotes: Maria Alvarez (KCL) and Jonathan Webber (Cardiff) 

• 2023 Annual Uehiro Lectures: 

(Rescheduled for March 4th, 6th & 8th of 2024)

Tom Hurka 

 Knowledge and Achievement: Their Value, Nature and Public Policy role

• BSET Reading 2023

Keynote: Helen Frowe (Stockholm)

• viva voce (June 13th, 2022)

Examiners: Charlotte Newey (Reading) and Roger Crisp (Oxford)

• Ratio Conference 2021

 Rules to Live By: In Honour of Brad Hooker

https://philevents.org/event/show/86210

• Co-organised 2019 REAPP Conference 

 http://reappconference2019.weebly.com/ 

• Co-organised 2018 REAPP Conference

https://philevents.org/event/show/61394 

Publications

• Wu, S. Deon (2022) 'Fairness as Comparative Desert' Ratio https://doi.org/10.1111/rati.12358 

Teaching

• Lecturer 'Speech Attacks: Bullshit, Lies, & Propaganda' (Reading, 2025)

• Lecturer 'The Meaning of Life' (University of Reading, 2024)

• Lecturer 'The Right and the Good' (University of Reading, 2024)

• Lecturer 'Oppression, Inequality, and the Enemies of Democracy' (University of Reading, 2024)

• Lecturer 'History of Ethics' (King's College London, 2023)

• Associate Lecturer 'Happy, Good, and Meaningful Lives' (University of Reading, 2023)

• Associate Lecturer 'Morality of Abortion' (University of Reading, 2022)

• Invited Lecturer 'Perspectives in the Humanities ' (University of Reading, 2020)

• Teaching Assistant, ‘Reason and Argument’ (University of Reading, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2022-2023) 

• Teaching Assistant, ‘Meaning of Life’ (University of Reading, 2016-17 and 2019-20)