I’m a Professor of Philosophy at Seattle Pacific University. My primary research interests are in the relationship between virtues and reasons for actions, and also the ways in which the virtues structure practical reasoning and practical identities. I have also done work in empirical approaches to moral psychology and moral debunking arguments. I also teach a wide range of courses in value theory, including ethical theory, social ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics, as well as symbolic logic and UCOR 3000. I am also coach of the SPU ethics bowl team.
Current Courses: Spring 2022
PHI 3651
Contemporary Ethical Theory
UCOR 3000
Faith, Philosophy, and Science
Recent Publications
Saunders, Leland F. (2021) “Virtues as Reasons Structures,” Philosophical Studies 178 (9): 2785-2804): DOI: 10.1007/s11098-020-01584-y
Stichter, Matt and Leland Saunders (2019) “Positive psychology and virtue: Values in action,” The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14(1); 1-5.
Saunders, Leland F. (2018) “The Necessity of Moral Reasoning,” The Journal of Value Inquiry 52(1) pp. 37-57. DOI 10.1007/s10790-017-9601-1
Saunders, Leland F. (2016) “Reason and Emotion, Not Reason or Emotion in Moral Judgment,” Philosophical Explorations, 19 (3); 252-267.
Leland F. Saunders 