Head shot of Allen Habib under an arch

Dr. Allen Habib

PhD
Pronouns: He/Him

Positions

Associate Professor

Faculty of Arts, Department of Philosophy

Head of the Certificate of Sustainability Studies

Faculty of Arts

Contact information

Email

anhabib@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

Google Scholar

PhilPeople

Phone number

Office: +1 (403) 220-6461

Location

Main campus: Social Science bldg 1248

For media enquiries, contact

mediarequests@ucalgary.ca

Background

Educational Background

PhD Philosophy, University of Arizona, 2006

M.A. Philosophy, University of Calgary, 1999

B.A. English Literature, Concordia University, 1993

B.A. Honours Philosophy , Concordia University, 1995

Curriculum Vitae (2025)

Biography

My areas of focus include ethics, political philosophy, and environmental philosophy, and my research explores various topics, including the nature of promises, both to oneself and others, and the complexities of intergenerational environmental justice. I have investigated the ethical dimensions of performance enhancement in sports and the philosophical challenges related to sustainability and resource allocation across generations. I am also interested in the values we place on biodiversity and the ethical considerations in geoengineering.

My selected works include (additional publications listed at PhilPapers):

  • "Promises" in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  • "Promises to the Self", Canadian Journal of Philosophy 39 (4), 537-558.
  • "Sharing the Earth: Sustainability and the Currency of Inter-Generational Environmental Justice", Environmental Values 22 (6): 751-764.
  • "Enhancement and Cheating: Implications for Policy in Sport" (with Justin Caouette) in Palgrave Handbook of Philosophy and Public Policy, pp. 523-533.
  • "Paying it Forward: Geoengineering and Compensation for the Further Future" (with Frank Jankunis) in Climate Justice and Geoengineering: Ethics and Policy in the Anthropocene, pp. 63-75.
  • "Future generations and resource shares" in Consequentialism and environmental ethics, pp. 136-147.
  • "Biodiversity and Values in Science", Ethics, Policy and Environment 18 (1): 30-33.
  • "Sosa on Circularity and Coherence" (with Keith Lehrer) in Ernest Sosa: And His Critics, pp. 106-111

I continue to explore these and other emerging areas within philosophy, and presently serve as the Head of the undergraduate embedded Certificate in Sustainability Studies.

Research

Areas of Research

Philosophy of Law, Environmental Philosophy, Value Theory

I work in applied ethics, on privacy and information; in environmental theory on sustainability; and in value theory, on promises and voluntary obligations

Participation in university strategic initiatives

Human dynamics in a changing world

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
PHIL 259 Sex, Love and Death
PHIL 345 Issues in Environmental Ethics
PHIL 259 Sex, Love and Death
PHIL 425 Philosophy of Law

Projects

Canadian Journal of Environmental Philosophy (CJEP)

Co-founder, and current Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journal of Environmental Philosophy, a scholarly review for environmental philosophy, broadly construed

Canadian Society for Environmental Philosophy

I presently serve on the steering committee for this society (2015-present).

Canadian Philosophical Association AGM Committee

I serve as the Area Editor for Normative Ethics of Canadian Philosophical Association AGM committee, as well as the Category Editor of ‘Promises’ Philosophy Papers.

Publications

  • Promises. Allen Habib. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2022)

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