Paul Morrow
Philosophy
My work addresses normative questions related to war and mass
atrocity. Find brief summaries of key publications & links to selected
papers below, or see my current C.V.
Books
Seeing Atrocities: Ethics for Visual Encounters with Intolerable Harms
Forthcoming with Oxford University Press
Identifies five distinguishing features of visual encounters with atrocities. Defends specific norms for seeing, sharing, or exhibiting such harms.
Museums and Mass Violence, co-edited with Amy Sodaro & Leora Kahn
Forthcoming with Routledge
Assesses the ethics and aesthetics of exhibiting mass violence in museum spaces. Brings together contributions by designers, curators, and museum scholars working in six continents.
Unconscionable Crimes: How Norms Explain and Constrain Mass Atrocities
MIT Press, September 2020
Presents the first general theory of the influence of norms on genocide and mass atrocity. Employs testimonial and documentary sources from the Fortunoff Archive, the Wiener Library, USHMM, and elsewhere.
Listen to my podcast with New Books in Philosophy host Robert Talisse
Read my interview with political scientist Alexandra Budabin
Selected Articles and Book Chapters
Holocaust Education and Human Rights Advocacy on TikTok
Jewish Film and New Media Studies, 2024
Distinguishes several kinds of Holocaust-related content on TikTok and asks what effective education and advocacy about mass violence might look like on this platform.
The Meaning of Mass Atrocity Beyond Our Moral Fate
Analyse & Kritik, 2020
Asks what the historical record of mass atrocities can tell us about the prospects for durable moral progress in human societies. Focuses particular attention on philosopher Allen Buchanan's recent monograph, Our Moral Fate.
Naturalizing the Centennial: History, Memory, and the Limits of Human Lifespans
Memory Studies, 2020
Provides a naturalistic account of centennials based on upper limits to human lifespans. Shows how these limits explain centennials' key functions as standards of greatness, mirrors of progress, and spurs to renovation. Considers how centennial practices might change in a future age of extended longevity. View Abstract
Identity-Directed Norm Transformations and Moral Progress
Journal of Value Inquiry, 2019
Analyzes the relationship between identity-instituting and identity-vindicating norm transformations. Draws on archival sources to show that such transformations can provide both evidence of, and mechanisms for, moral progress. Get Paper
Contingent Pacifism
Routledge Handbook of Pacifism and Nonviolence, 2018
Defends a contingent pacifist position towards personal participation in war. Critiques the account of individual decision-making about prospective military service offered in L.A. Paul's Transformative Experience, and provides an alternative analysis of the moral and epistemic conditions for this choice. View Abstract
A Theory of Atrocity Propaganda
Humanity, 2018
Develops a novel theory of atrocity propaganda rooted in C.L. Stevenson's notion of persuasive definition. Explains how accusations of engaging in atrocity propagandizing can themselves serve propagandistic purposes, and outlines strategies for defusing this threat. Get Paper
Are Holocaust Museums Unique?
Philosophy, 2016
Argues that Holocaust museums are comparable to other kinds of museums in their selection of exhibits, strategies for educating patrons, and reliance on professional/artifactual networks. View Abstract
The Thesis of Norm Transformation in the Theory of Mass Atrocity
Genocide Studies and Prevention, 2015
Clarifies and defends claim that changes in norms are central the explanation and prevention of genocide and other mass atrocities. Considers the evaluative implications of this thesis. Get Paper
Mass Atrocity and Manipulation of Social Norms
Social Theory and Practice, 2014
Assesses means by which manipulation of social norms may help encourage, or alternatively deter, individual participation in mass atrocity. Provides detailed discussion of the historical case of Nazi language rules. Get Paper
Research