Loyola University Chicago

Department of Philosophy

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Drew Thompson awarded Schmitt fellowship

From Drew:

I received my BA in philosophy from the University of Missouri-Kansas City after spending two years as a trumpet performance major in the Conservatory of Music and Dance.

My work focuses on political philosophy and international ethics. In particular, I focus on the relationship between ideal and non-ideal theory, looking at how real-world constraints should influence our moral judgments. I do this in the context of the ethics of international migration and human rights.

My dissertation, directed by Professor David Ingram, is about the way Jürgen Habermas’s discourse ethics can mediate the conflict between those in favor of open borders and those in favor of closed borders. I argue that discourse ethics can (a) show there are theoretical and empirical constraints to the openness of borders but (b) challenge several arguments in favor of closed borders.

I’ve been very fortunate to have David Ingram as my dissertation advisor and mentor. He’s quickly read the hundreds of pages I’ve sent him and always has something positive to say. (He’s even read my work while he was on vacation!). His breadth of philosophical knowledge and interest in his students’ research makes him an ideal advisor. Plus, he became a Kansas City Royal’s enthusiast in 2015, either watching playoff games with me or texting late into the night about the games.

Drew and his wife, Sarah, are the proud parents of Monique and Anthony.