Thomas Ferretti

I’m a Fellow in Philosophy at the London School of Economics (Curriculum Vitae).

My expertise is in applied ethics, with an emphasis on the ethics of public policy, business, and artificial intelligence (AI). Besides research and teaching, I collaborate on occasion with public and private institutions as a consultant.

Originally from Canada, I studied at the University of Montreal, where I developed a passion for ethics and political philosophy. I later completed a Ph.D. in philosophy (2016) at the University of Louvain, in Belgium, with a dissertation on theories of justice and the distributive impact of worker cooperatives. After holding a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto (2016-17) I joined the London School of Economics (2017-present).

My research aims to combine rigorous ethical reasoning with interdisciplinary knowledge in social sciences and economics to think clearly about the principles that should govern our institutions. By clarifying ethical concepts such as justice and fairness, ethics can also facilitate discussions and reasonable compromises between people with different and conflicting values. Ultimately, my goal is to inform real-world efforts towards a fairer society.

I’ve published on a variety of topics including the measurement of freedom, distributive justice and inequality, comparative social regimes, workplace democracy, the protection of basic rights (e.g. privacy) in policy and business, and the collaboration of public and private actors in the governance of AI.

I currently lead a research project developing ethical guidelines for emerging technologies in business.

Recent publications have appeared in journals such as Moral Philosophy and Politics, the Erasmus Journal of Philosophy and Economics, the Journal of Social Philosophy, the Tocqueville Review, and the LSE Business Review.

At the LSE, I’ve been teaching lectures on the ethics of business, finance, and AI, as well as seminars on the ethics of public policy and economic methodology.

I’m an enthusiastic teacher committed to diverse, inclusive, and research-based education. I strive to provide the best learning environment for students of all backgrounds and learning styles. I also supervise graduate dissertations which is an opportunity to have engaging discussions and support students’ creativity.

I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and my commitment to teaching excellence and innovation is evidenced by a Post-Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (2019) and the LSE Excellence in Education Award (2020).

Upcoming public interventions as well as recent awards and teaching reviews can be found in the news section.