Rate My Professor Christopher Macleod

Christopher Macleod is Professor of Politics and Philosophy at Lancaster University, holding a Personal Chair in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion within the School of Global Affairs. He serves as Deputy Head of School for the School of Global Affairs and Director of Internationalisation in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. He has previously acted as Interim Head of Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion. Macleod's academic journey began with an M.A. (Hons.) in Philosophy from the University of St Andrews in 2005, followed by an M.Phil. in Intellectual History and Political Thought from the University of Cambridge in 2006, an M.Sc. in Political Theory from the University of Edinburgh in 2007, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of St Andrews in 2011. During his doctoral studies, he was a Visiting Student at the University of Oxford in 2008. He joined Lancaster University as a Lecturer in Political Philosophy, advancing to Senior Lecturer before his promotion to Professor.

Macleod's research centers on the philosophy of John Stuart Mill, exploring the foundations Mill offers for his theories of practical and theoretical reason, as well as Mill's connections to the Kantian, post-Kantian, and Romantic traditions. His broader interests encompass the nature of naturalism, objectivity, and the suitability of theoretical and practical concepts. Key publications include the co-edited volume A Companion to Mill (Wiley-Blackwell, 2017) with Dale E. Miller; 'Truth, Discussion and Free Speech in On Liberty II' (Utilitas, 2021); 'Mill on the Primacy of Practical Reason' (Analysis, 2018); 'Mill's Antirealism' (Philosophical Quarterly, 2016); 'Mill on Autonomy' (in The Routledge Handbook of Autonomy, 2022); 'Mill on the Liberty of Thought and Discussion' (in The Oxford Handbook of Freedom of Speech, 2021); 'Mill on Freedom, Normativity, and Spontaneity' (in Freedom after Kant: From German Idealism to Ethics and the Self, 2023); 'Historicizing Naturalism: Mill and Comte' (in A Companion to Nineteenth Century Philosophy, 2019); 'Mill on History' (in A Companion to Mill, 2017); and 'Mill, Intuitions, and Normativity' (Utilitas, 2013). He authored the 'John Stuart Mill' entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2016 edition) and 'Genocide' in The Encyclopedia of Political Thought (Wiley-Blackwell, 2014).