I’m Ole Martin Moen, a Norwegian philosopher who works on how to think straight about thorny issues in applied ethics. Such issues include drugs, violence, sexuality, animals, and radical biotechnologies. I’m a Research Fellow at University of Oslo and an Associate Professor (with tenure) at University of South-Eastern Norway.

Recent updates

•  My latest paper, “The Unabomber’s ethics”, is just out in Bioethics. You can hear an interview with me on the Philosophical Disquisitions podcast.

•  Aleksander Sørlie and I argue, in Dagbladet, that monogamy is immoral. We’re working on a response to critics and an English version of the paper.

•  Aksel Braanen Sterri and I defend our way of doing public philosophy in Morgenbladet.

• I discuss moral luck, the ethics of gifting, lookism, reasons for having children, and anger directed towards vegans at Verdibørsen. New episodes air every Saturday.

•  Two inmates invited me to Oslo Prison to record a discusson about the ethics of sex and intoxication.

Short bio

I finished a PhD in Philosophy at University of Oslo in 2013, with a dissertation on intrinsic value. I have since shifted my main focus from theoretical to applied ethics. I’m Principal Investigator of “What should not be bought and sold?”, $1 million project funded by the Research Council of Norway. I run a podcast, Moralistene, together with Aksel Braanen Sterri, and I regularly discuss ethical issues in both national and international media. In 2015 I co-founded Humanistskolen, a non-profit charter school in Oslo with 60 full-time students (age 13-16). This is the only secondary school in Norway that specializes in philosophy and critical thinking. I teach critical thinking and serve as chairman of the board. On the non-academic side, I’m a queer parent and an aspiring novelst. 

Here is my CV. You can contact me at o.m.moen@ifikk.uio.no or follow me on Facebook and Twitter.