# Ruth Chang

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{{short description|American philosopher}}
{{Infobox philosopher
| name             = Ruth Chang
| image            = Ruth Chang.jpg
| caption          = Chang at the [Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics](/source/Edmond_J._Safra_Center_for_Ethics) in 2016
| birth_place      = [Minneapolis](/source/Minneapolis), [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota), U.S.
| death_date       = 
| death_place      = 
| era              = [Contemporary philosophy](/source/Contemporary_philosophy)
| region           = [Western philosophy](/source/Western_philosophy)
| school_tradition = [Analytic philosophy](/source/Analytic_philosophy)
| main_interests   = [Normative ethics](/source/Normative_ethics), [metaethics](/source/metaethics), [action theory](/source/Action_theory_(philosophy)), [moral psychology](/source/moral_psychology)
| notable_ideas    = 
| institutions     = [Balliol College, Oxford](/source/Balliol_College%2C_Oxford)<br>[Rutgers University](/source/Rutgers_University)<br />[University College, Oxford](/source/University_College%2C_Oxford)
| signature        = 
|education=[Dartmouth College](/source/Dartmouth_College) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))<br />[Harvard University](/source/Harvard_Law_School) ([JD](/source/Juris_Doctor))<br />[Balliol College, Oxford](/source/Balliol_College%2C_Oxford) ([DPhil](/source/DPhil))|thesis_url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:74dd9fa8-ad30-4652-b212-1f63985a3aa7/files/mb3cea0ffba4b88d88fee9d12b98544ff|thesis_year=1997|thesis_title=Incomparability and practical reason}}

'''Ruth Chang''' is an American philosopher and legal scholar who serves as the [Professor and Chair of Jurisprudence](/source/Professor_of_Jurisprudence_(Oxford)) at the [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford),<ref name="law.ox.ac.uk" /> a Professorial Fellow of [University College, Oxford](/source/University_College%2C_Oxford), and a professor of philosophy. She was previously a professor at [Rutgers University](/source/Rutgers_University) from 1998 to 2019. She is known for her research on the incommensurability of values and on practical reason and normativity.<ref name="sep1" /><ref name="sep2" /> She is also widely known for her work on decision-making and is lecturer or consultant on choice at institutions ranging from video-gaming to pharmaceuticals, the [U.S. Navy](/source/U.S._Navy), [World Bank](/source/World_Bank), and [CIA](/source/CIA).<ref name="TBT8a" /><ref name="JZnc8" /><ref name="auto" /><ref name="6uREW" />

==Education and career==
Chang was born in [Minneapolis](/source/Minneapolis), [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota). She graduated from [Dartmouth College](/source/Dartmouth_College) in 1985 with a [Bachelor of Arts](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts), [''summa cum laude''](/source/Latin_honors), and from [Harvard Law School](/source/Harvard_Law_School) in 1988 with a [Juris Doctor](/source/Juris_Doctor), ''cum laude''. After four months of working at a [white-shoe law firm](/source/White-shoe_firm) in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), she left law to pursue graduate studies in philosophy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ruth Chang {{!}} Faculty of Law |url=https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-and-subject-groups/jurisprudence-oxford/ruth-chang |access-date=2026-02-16 |website=www.law.ox.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref>

At the beginning of her graduate work at Oxford in 1991, she was appointed a [junior research fellow](/source/junior_research_fellow) at [Balliol College, Oxford](/source/Balliol_College%2C_Oxford), during which she also held visiting appointments at the [UCLA](/source/UCLA) philosophy department and the [University of Chicago Law School](/source/University_of_Chicago_Law_School) as well as lectureships at [Magdalen College](/source/Magdalen_College%2C_Oxford) and [Worcester College, Oxford](/source/Worcester_College%2C_Oxford). She received a [Doctor of Philosophy](/source/Doctor_of_Philosophy) degree from Oxford in 1997. Prior to joining Oxford as the professor of jurisprudence in 2019, she was a professor of philosophy at [Rutgers University](/source/Rutgers_University) in the United States.

Chang was a [Nicolas Berggruen](/source/Nicolas_Berggruen) Fellow at the [Stanford University](/source/Stanford_University) [Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences](/source/Center_for_Advanced_Study_in_the_Behavioral_Sciences).<ref name="CjJA0" /> and has received a number of fellowship awards including at the [National Humanities Center](/source/National_Humanities_Center),<ref name="nhc" /> the [Harvard University Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics](/source/Edmond_J._Safra_Center_for_Ethics) at the [Kennedy School of Government](/source/Kennedy_School_of_Government),<ref name="harvard" /> the Princeton University Center for Human Values,<ref name="mvAJI" /> and the [American Council of Learned Societies](/source/American_Council_of_Learned_Societies).<ref name="CKR" /> She was a Scot's Centenary Fellow in Scotland, which involved a lecture tour around Scotland.<ref name="Dq3mh" /> Her work has been recognized by a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Award and an American Philosophical Association Op-ed Prize.<ref name="AOw8G" /> She was elected a Fellow of the [American Academy of Arts and Sciences](/source/American_Academy_of_Arts_and_Sciences) in April 2021.<ref name="whkAQ" />
left|thumb|Chang at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics

==Philosophical work==
Chang's principal research interests lie in normative ethics, metaethics, action theory and moral psychology. Her work focuses on practical conflict, the nature of reasons and values and their relations, and rational agency. She is known for arguing that the structure of value is not what is commonly assumed: like space and time, which is not structured as we think it is, the normative and evaluative realm is not structured as we think it is. In particular, she is known for arguing that two items which are neither better nor worse than one another and yet not equally good may nevertheless be comparable: they may be 'on a par'.<ref name="newapps" /><ref name="sep1" /> If correct, her view has wide-ranging implications for axiology, normative theory, decision theory, economic choice theory, and rationality. Her work also develops a view of rational agency, 'hybrid voluntarism', according to which rational agents are not merely discoverers of reasons but creators of them through the activity of commitment.<ref name="ca" /> She has also written on value pluralism and social choice. She has given various public lectures on decision-making, love, and commitment.

Chang is the author of ''Making Comparisons Count,'' and the editor of the first volume on the topic of incommensurability of values in the Anglo-American world, ''Incommensurability, Incomparability, and Practical Reason'',<ref name="z6Wrn" /> and has authored articles and book chapters.

Ruth Chang is also widely known for her work on 'hard choices' and decision-making, and her research has been the subject of radio, newspaper, and magazine articles.<ref name="DKPgK" />

==Selected works==
* ''Incommensurability, Incomparability and Practical Reason'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997) {{ISBN|978-0674447561}}
* ''Making Comparisons Count'' (New York: Routledge, 2001), Studies in Ethics, series editor, [Robert Nozick](/source/Robert_Nozick). {{ISBN|978-0815337829}}
* "The Possibility of Parity" 112 ''Ethics'' July 2002, pp.&nbsp;659–88.
* "All Things Considered" 18 ''Philosophical Perspectives'', December 2004, pp.&nbsp;1–22
* "Voluntarist Reasons and the Sources of Normativity", ''Reasons for Action'' eds., Sobel and Wall, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009), pp.&nbsp;243–71
* "Commitments, Reasons, and the Will", in Shafer-Landau, ed., ''Oxford Studies in Metaethics'', vol. 8, 2013
* "Grounding Practical Normativity: Going Hybrid", ''Philosophical Studies'', 2013

==References==
<references>

<ref name="law.ox.ac.uk">{{cite web | url=https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/news/2017-10-12-ruth-chang-appointed-professor-jurisprudence | title=Ruth Chang appointed Professor of Jurisprudence | date=12 October 2017 | publisher=Faculty of Law, [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford) | location=UK | access-date=3 February 2019 | archive-date=6 February 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190206040340/https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/news/2017-10-12-ruth-chang-appointed-professor-jurisprudence | url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="sep1">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Hsieh|first=Nien-hê|title=Incommensurable Values|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/value-incommensurable/|encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|publisher=Stanford|access-date=16 January 2013|archive-date=17 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117195417/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/value-incommensurable/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="sep2">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Schroeder|first=Mark|title=Value Theory|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/value-theory/|encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|publisher=Stanford|access-date=16 January 2013|archive-date=17 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117211009/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/value-theory/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sc-fam-1007-ruth-chang-20141007-story.html|title=A philosopher's guide to decision-making: First, trust yourself|website=Chicagotribune.com|date=7 October 2014 |access-date=3 February 2019|archive-date=4 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204014348/https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sc-fam-1007-ruth-chang-20141007-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="nhc">{{cite web|title=National Humanities Center 2009-10 Fellows and Their Projects|url=http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/newsrel2009/prfells200910b.htm|publisher=National Humanities Center|access-date=2013-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090921043253/http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/newsrel2009/prfells200910b.htm|archive-date=2009-09-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="harvard">{{cite web|title=Faculty Fellows|url=http://www.ethics.harvard.edu/people/fellows-and-scholars?show=&letter=&layout=displayResults&current_mode=1&drp_display=1&drp_year=2003|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130403100849/http://www.ethics.harvard.edu/people/fellows-and-scholars?show=&letter=&layout=displayResults&current_mode=1&drp_display=1&drp_year=2003|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 April 2013|publisher=Harvard University|access-date=17 January 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="CKR">ACLS archives for Charles Ryskamp Fellowships, 2002-3</ref>
<ref name="newapps">{{cite web|last=Protevi|first=John|authorlink=John Protevi|title=New APPS Interview: Ruth Chang|url=http://www.newappsblog.com/2012/03/new-apps-interview-ruth-chang.html#more|website=NewAppsblog.com|access-date=17 January 2013|archive-date=11 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311194526/http://www.newappsblog.com/2012/03/new-apps-interview-ruth-chang.html#more|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="ca">{{cite web|last=Muehlhauser|first=Luke|title=CPBD 021: Ruth Chang – What is Morality?|url=http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=6873|publisher=Common Sense Atheism|access-date=17 January 2013|archive-date=16 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216102452/http://commonsenseatheism.com/?p=6873|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="TBT8a">{{cite web|url=https://en.rti.org.tw/radio/programMessageView/id/10741|title=Programs - Decisions, decisions...|website=RTI Radio Taiwan International|access-date=3 February 2019|archive-date=4 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204014643/https://en.rti.org.tw/radio/programMessageView/id/10741|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="JZnc8">{{cite web|url=https://en.rti.org.tw/radio/programMessageView/id/10961|title=Programs - How to Make Hard Choices|website=RTI Radio Taiwan International|access-date=3 February 2019|archive-date=4 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204014638/https://en.rti.org.tw/radio/programMessageView/id/10961|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="6uREW">{{cite web|url=http://www.radiokaffeehaus.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110020605/http://www.radiokaffeehaus.com/|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 November 2014|title=Radio Coffeehouse - Home|date=10 November 2014|access-date=3 February 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="CjJA0">{{cite web|url=https://casbs.stanford.edu/news/casbs-announces-class-2016-17|title=CASBS Announces Class of 2016-17 - Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences|website=Casbs.stanford.edu|date=20 May 2016 |access-date=3 February 2019|archive-date=11 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190311065551/https://casbs.stanford.edu/news/casbs-announces-class-2016-17|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="mvAJI">{{cite web|url=https://uchv.princeton.edu/node/13671|title=Previous Laurance S. Rockefeller Visiting Fellows - University Center for Human Values|website=Uchv.princeton.edu|access-date=3 February 2019|archive-date=22 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022012309/https://uchv.princeton.edu/node/13671|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Dq3mh">{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsphil.org.uk/centenary-fellowship/|title=Centenary Fellowship – Scots Philosophical Association|website=Scotsphil.org.uk|access-date=3 February 2019|archive-date=24 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724154139/http://www.scotsphil.org.uk/centenary-fellowship/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="AOw8G">{{cite web|url=https://www.apaonline.org/page/oped/|title=Public Philosophy Op-Ed Contest - The American Philosophical Association|website=Apaonline.org|access-date=3 February 2019|archive-date=19 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619180818/https://www.apaonline.org/page/oped|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="whkAQ">{{cite web|url=https://www.amacad.org/new-members-2021|title=AAAS New Members Elected in 2021|website=American Academy of Arts and Sciences}}</ref>
<ref name="z6Wrn">{{cite journal| last=Arpaly| first=Nomy| title=Incommensurability, Incomparability, and Practical Reason|journal=[Mind](/source/Mind_(journal)) | date=October 2000| volume=109| series=New Series| issue=436| pages=864–866}}</ref>
<ref name="DKPgK">See fn. 5.</ref>

</references>

==External links==
* {{TED speaker}}
* [http://www.ruthchang.net/ Ruth Chang website]
* [http://www.philosophy.rutgers.edu/people/faculty/589-ruth-chang Ruth Chang home page] at Rutgers

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Ruth}}
Category:Living people
Category:1963 births
Category:People from Minneapolis
Category:Philosophers from Minnesota
Category:Dartmouth College alumni
Category:Harvard Law School alumni
Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
Category:Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford
Category:Rutgers University faculty
Category:American women philosophers
Category:21st-century American philosophers
Category:American ethicists
Category:Moral psychologists
Category:Fellows of University College, Oxford
Category:Professors of Jurisprudence (University of Oxford)
Category:American expatriates in England
Category:21st-century American women academics
Category:21st-century American academics
Category:21st-century American women writers
Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Category:People associated with Magdalen College, Oxford
Category:People associated with Worcester College, Oxford
Category:University of Chicago people
Category:University of California, Los Angeles people
Category:Australian National University people
Category:New York University people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ruth Chang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Chang) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Chang?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.