Blain Neufeld
- Professor, Philosophy
- Graduate Admissions Chair, Philosophy
Education
- PhD (Philosophy), University of Michigan.
- MPhil (Politics), University of Oxford.
- BA (Political Science), University of Toronto.
Office Hours
By appointment.
Teaching Schedule
| Course Num | Title | Meets |
|---|---|---|
| PHILOS 241-201 | Introductory Ethics | No Meeting Pattern |
| PHILOS 355-201 | Political Philosophy | No Meeting Pattern |
| PHILOS 355G-201 | Political Philosophy | No Meeting Pattern |
Teaching Interests
- Political Philosophy.
- Ethics.
Research Interests
- Political Philosophy (including: theories of public reason; citizenship education; international justice; liberal feminism; conceptions of political freedom; theories of distributive justice).
- Ethics.
- More information about Prof. Neufeld's research is available at his PhilPapers page.
Related Activities
Online Work:
- Co-host at "New Books in Philosophy" (part of the New Books Network, the largest book-focused podcast network in the world) since January 2026.
- Interview with Professor Robert Talisse (Philosophy, Vanderbilt University) on Public Reason and Political Autonomy, for "New Books in Philosophy" at the New Books Network (2022).
- "Author-Meets-Critics" Session on Public Reason and Political Autonomy (hosted by the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Society, 2022).
Conference Organizing:
- MANCEPT (Manchester Centre for Political Theory): Co-convenor (with Gabriele Badano of the University of York) of workshops on "Theories of Public Reason" (2024, 2025, 2026).
- University of Virginia, School of Law: Co-organizer (with Micah Schwartzman, University of Virginia, and Lori Watson, Washington University in St. Louis) of the conference: John Rawls's Theory of Justice: 50 Years Later (December 2021).
Research Fellowships
- UWM: Research Fellow at the Center for 21st Century Studies (September 2026 – May 2027).
- University of Notre Dame: Visiting Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Religion (September 2024 – May 2025).
- UWM: Global Studies Research Fellow at The Center for International Education (September 2016 – May 2017).
- University of Toronto: Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Ethics (September 2014 – August 2015).
- UWM: Research Fellow at the Center for 21st Century Studies (September 2012 – May 2013).
- Spencer Foundation: Research Grant for the Initiative on Philosophy in Educational Policy and Practice (January – June 2011).
Biographical Sketch
Blain Neufeld grew up in London (the one in Ontario, Canada, not the original one in England). He studied at the Universities of Toronto (BA), Oxford (MPhil), and Michigan (PhD). He taught at Stanford University (in the "Introduction to the Humanities" program) and Trinity College Dublin (Department of Philosophy) before coming to UWM in 2008. He served as the Chair of the Department of Philosophy from 2018 to 2021.
When not teaching, reading or writing philosophy, Blain likes to spend time in his native Canada (where his wife and dog live), ski, read science-fiction and fantasy novels, and play obscure role-playing games.
Books
Neufeld, B. E. (2022) Public Reason and Political Autonomy: Realizing the Ideal of a Civic People. Routledge.
[Reviews: Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews; Philosophy.]
Selected Publications
Neufeld, B. E. (2026). Oil and Water: Why Schouten’s Political Liberal Anatomy Cannot Accommodate Luck Egalitarianism. Analysis, anaf117, https://doi.org/10.1093/analys/anaf117
Neufeld, B. E. (2024) Political Activism, Egalitarian Justice, and Public Reason. Journal of Social Philosophy. Special Issue: Rawls at 100, Theory at 50. R. Martin and D. Reidy, eds. 55: 299-316.
Neufeld, B. E. (2023) Rawlsian Political Liberalism and Democratic Education. The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education . Cambridge University Press.
Neufeld, B. E. (2020) Political Liberalism, Autonomy, and Education. The Palgrave Handbook of Citizenship and Education . Palgrave Macmillan.
Neufeld, B. E. (2019) Shared Intentions, Public Reason, and Political Autonomy. Canadian Journal of Philosophy , 49(6), 776-804.
Neufeld, B. E. (2019) Non-Domination and Political Liberal Citizenship Education. Philosophical Perspectives on Moral and Civic Education: Shaping Citizens , 135-155. Routledge.
Neufeld, B. E., & Watson, L. (2018) The Tyranny -- or the Democracy -- of the Ideal?. Cosmos + Taxis , 5(2), 47-61.
Neufeld, B. E. (2018) 'The Kids are Alright': Political Liberalism, Leisure Time, and Childhood. Philosophical Studies , 175(5), 1057-1070.
Neufeld, B. E. (2018) Just Leisure?. The LSE Forum for Philosophy .
Neufeld, B. E. (2017) Freedom, Money, and Justice as Fairness. Politics, Philosophy & Economics , 16(1), 70-92.
Neufeld, B. E. (2017) Why Public Reasoning Involves Ideal Theorizing. Political Utopias: Contemporary Debates , 73-93. New York: Oxford University Press.
Neufeld, B. E. (2015) Public Reason. The Cambridge Rawls Lexicon , 666-672. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Neufeld, B. E., & Schoelandt, C. V. (2014) Political Liberalism, Ethos Justice, and Gender Equality. Law and Philosophy , 33(1), 75-104.
Neufeld, B. E. (2013) Liberal Foreign Policy and the Ideal of Fair Social Cooperation. Journal of Social Philosophy , 44(3), 291-308.
Neufeld, B. E. (2013) Political Liberalism and Citizenship Education. Philosophy Compass , 8(9), 781-797.
Neufeld, B. E. (2010) Reciprocity and Liberal Legitimacy. Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy , 1-7.
Neufeld, B. E., & Davis, G. (2010) Civic Respect, Civic Education, and the Family. Educational Philosophy and Theory , 42(1), 94-111.
Neufeld, B. E. (2009) Coercion, the Basic Structure, and the Family. Journal of Social Philosophy , 40(1), 37-54.
Neufeld, B. E., & Davis, G. (2007) Political Liberalism, Civic Education, and Educational Choice. Social Theory and Practice , 33(1), 47-74.
Neufeld, B. E. (2005) Civic Respect, Political Liberalism, and Non-Liberal Societies. Politics, Philosophy & Economics , 4(3), 275-299.