We’re pleased to welcome Professor J. McKenzie Alexander as our new Head of Department.

After three years as our Head of Department, Professor Miklós Rédei will be taking a well-deserved sabbatical this year at the Munich Centre for Mathematical Philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University. We’re sorry to see Miklós go, but we’re also excited to welcome our new Head of Department, Professor Jason McKenzie Alexander.

Jason joined the Department as a Lecturer in 2001. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2005, to Reader in 2006 and he became Professor in 2013. Before joining the Department, Jason was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Department of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego (2000–2001). He also visited Carnegie Mellon University during the autumn of 2003. Whilst in the Department, Jason has taught philosophy of the social sciences at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and has led our Philosophy of the Social Sciences MSc programme.

Professor McKenzie specialises in evolutionary game theory and its application to the evolution of morality and social norms. In 2007 he published The Structural Evolution of Morality, in which he argued that much of the behaviour we view as “moral” exists because acting in that way benefits each of us to the greatest extent possible, given the socially structured nature of society. This argument, along with the research findings used to support his conclusions, are presented by Jason in this short video.

Alongside his interests in evolutionary game theory, Jason has worked on the foundations of decision theory. He also has broad interests in the philosophy of science and in the philosophy of the social sciences.

After having spent the past academic year on sabbatical, we’re pleased to welcome Jason back to LSE as our new Head of Department.