PhD, Cornell University (advised by Terence Irwin)
Jacob Klein
Professor of Philosophy; Chair, Department of Philosophy
Education
Interests
I am interested in ancient ethics and moral psychology generally, but especially as they relate to questions about the objectivity of norms and value. My main interest is in Plato, but I have taken a long detour through Stoic (i.e. Socratic) ethics and moral psychology.
I have recently co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Hellenistic Philosophy with Nathan Powers (SUNY Albany). I am currently completing a book manuscript on The Ethics of the Older Stoics. I plan to return to Plato on the other side of these projects.
Research
- The Oxford Handbook of Hellenistic Philosophy (edited with Nathan Powers, Oxford University Press, 2025)
- "Apprehension and Assent: Cicero's Transmission of Stoic Epistemology," in Works of Philosophy and Their Reception (De Gruyter)
- "" in Kant and Stoic Ethics, forthcoming from Cambridge University Press
- "" forthcoming in a volume on The Philosophy of Chrysippus for the Symposium Hellenisticum series (Cambridge University Press)
- "" (with Nathan Powers), in The Oxford Handbook of Hellenistic Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2025)
- "" in The Oxford Handbook of Hellenistic Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2025)
- "," in The Routledge Handbook of Autonomy, ed. Ben Colburn (Routledge, 2022).
- "" Archiv f眉r Geschichte der Philosophie, 103 (2021), 221鈥51.
- "," in The Routledge Handbook of Hellenistic Philosophy, ed. Kelly Arenson (Routledge, 2020)
- "The Stoic Argument from 辞颈办别颈么蝉颈蝉," Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 50 (2016), 143-200.
- "Making Sense of Stoic Indifferents," Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy, 49 (2015), 227-81.
- "Of Archery and Virtue: Ancient and Modern Conceptions of Value," Philosophers' Imprint Vol. 14, No. 19, June 2014
- "Stoic Eudaimonism and the Natural Law Tradition," in Reason, Religion and Natural Law: Plato to Spinoza, ed. Jonathan Jacobs (Oxford University Press, 2012)
- "Stoic Thinkers," in Key Ethical Thinkers, ed. Tom Angier (Bloomsbury, 2012)
- (Cambridge, 2022), Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2025.01.21
- , Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 2017.05.29
- (Harvard, 2014), Phoenix Vol. 69, No. 3/4
- (Cambridge 2014), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 2015.04.13
- (Cambridge, 2013), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, 2014.09.34
- (Continuum, 2011), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews,2012.06.02
- (Walter de Gruyter, 2009), Journal of the History of Philosophy, January, 2011
Recent Courses
- PHIL 4130/6130: Stoic Ethics and Moral Psychology (Yale)
- PHIL 501: The Moral Psychology of Plato's Republic (University of Michigan)
- PHIL 429: Ethical Analysis (University of Michigan)
- PHIL 417: Plato's Republic
- PHIL 417: Noncognitivism in Ethics
- PHIL 417: Ancient Ethical Theory
- PHIL 417: Ancient Stoicism
- PHIL 381: Skepticism Ancient and Modern
- PHIL 343: Contemporary Metaethics
- PHIL 335: Contemporary Epistemology
- PHIL 301: Ancient Philosophy
- PHIL 101: Introduction to Philosophical Problems
- CORE 151: Legacies of the Ancient World
Distinctions
- Visiting Associate Professor, Yale University (Spring 2026)
- Visiting Nelson Endowed Professor, University of Michigan, Fall 2022
- Fulbright Award to Germany, 2012-13
- Charlotte Newcombe Dissertation Fellowship, 2008-09
- Norman Malcolm Fellowship (Cornell, King's College London), 2006-07
Some Recent Invited Talks
- "Stoicism Ancient and Modern," Sir Thomas More Lecture Series, Yale Political Union, April 2026
- "The Stoic Theory of Motivation," Yale University Working Group in Ancient Philosophy, April 2026
- "The Stoics on Original Sins (with a Russian Prelude)," Brown University, April 2026
- "The Stoic Theory of Motivation," University of Toronto Ancient and Medieval Philosophy Seminar, March 2025
- "Epictetus on Freedom and Free Action," Stanford University Ethics and Politics Ancient and Modern Research Workshop, February 2025
- "The Stoic Theory of Motivation," Fudan University Shanghai, June 2024
- "Stoic Freedom," Renmin University of China, June 2024
- "Prol锚psis, Hupol锚psis, 贬辞谤尘锚: The Stoic Theory of Motivation," Conference on Stoic Ethics, Renmin University of China, June 2024
- "Epictetus on Freedom and Free Action," Conference on Later Stoicism, Yale University, April 2024
- "Knowledge and Opinion in Early Stoicism," Conference on Ancient Metaphysics and Epistemology, Stanford University, February 2024
- "The Stoic Theory of Motivation," Syracuse University Workshop in Ancient Philosophy, September 2023
- 鈥淭he Stoic Theory of Motivation,鈥 Assos Academy of Philosophy (Assos, Turkey), July 2023
- 鈥淭he Stoics and Kant on Moral Motivation,鈥 University of New South Wales, May 2023
- 鈥淥riginal Sins: The Early Stoics on Moral Mistakes and Middle Duties,鈥 University of Notre Dame Australia, May 2023
- "Original Sins: The Early Stoics on Moral Mistakes and Middle Duties,鈥 University of Michigan, January 2023
- 鈥淎 Stoic and Socratic Theory of Motivation,鈥 University of Michigan, December 2022
- 鈥淥riginal Sins: Chrysippus on Command and Prohibition,鈥 Notre Dame Workshop in Ancient Philosophy,鈥 November 2022
- 鈥淐hrysippus on Command and Prohibition,鈥 Fourteenth Symposium Hellenisticum, Fondation Hardt, Geneva, July 2022
- 鈥淢oral Motivation in Epictetus and the Older Stoics,鈥 University of Pittsburgh, April, 2022
- 鈥淎ccording to All the Virtues: the Older Stoics on Epistemic and Moral Perfection,鈥 University of Pittsburg, January, 2020
- 鈥淪toicism and the Ethics of Equality,鈥 Wesleyan University, May 2019
- 鈥淭he Structure of Stoic Impulse,鈥 Balliol College, Oxford, March 2019
- 鈥淥riginal Sins: the Stoics on Mistakes and Moral Progress,鈥 Syracuse University SPAWN Conference, August, 2018 (comments by Brad Inwood)
- Original Sins: the Stoics on Mistakes and Moral Progress,鈥 Oxford University Workshop in Ancient Philosophy, June 2018
- 鈥淥riginal Sins: the Stoics on Mistakes and Moral Progress,鈥 University of St Andrews Workshop in Ancient Philosophy, May 2018
- 鈥滵esire and Impulse in Epictetus and the Older Stoics,鈥 University of Tennessee Knoxville, April 2018
- 鈥滵esire and Impulse in Epictetus and the Older Stoics,鈥 University of Pennsylvania, November 2017
- 鈥淥n the Guise of the Good (and the Bad) in Stoicism,鈥 University of Toronto, March 2017 (comments by James Allen)
- 鈥Orexis, Ekklisis, and the Guise of the Good in Stoicism,鈥 Ludwig Maximilian University Workshop in Ancient Philosophy, November, 2016
- 鈥Orexis and 贬辞谤尘锚 in Epictetus and the Older Stoics,鈥 Cornell University Conference on Stoicism, September 2015 (comments by Larkin Philpot)
- 鈥Orexis and 贬辞谤尘锚 in Epictetus and the Older Stoics,鈥 Northwestern University Conference in Ancient Philosophy, June 2014 (comments by John Wynne)
- 鈥淲hat is Stoic Selection?鈥 Hebrew University Conference in Ancient Moral Psychology, July 2013
- "Two Accounts of Stoic 辞颈办别颈么蝉颈蝉" (comments by Martha Nussbaum) APA Central Division Meeting, Symposium on Stoic ethics, Feb 2010