Henry S. Richardson earned graduate degrees in law and in public policy at Harvard before getting his Ph.D. there (under John Rawls) in 1986.
Dr. Richardson’s work centers on practical reasoning in all of its many guises: in the reasoning of individuals about their aims, in the democratic reasoning of citizens about public policy, and in our moral reasoning. Dr. Richardson’s initial work concerned the nature of individual reasoning.
His book, Practical Reasoning About Final Ends (Cambridge University Press, 1994), shows how it is possible for individuals to deliberate rationally about ends, even final or ultimate ends, establishing new ones through a process of reasoning.
Dr. Richardson's research spans five broad areas of expertise: practical reasoning, democratic theory, medical research ethics, human development, and ethical theory.