The American Philosophical Association (APA) and the Phi Beta Kappa Society (PBK) are pleased to announce that Dr. Cristina Lafont, Harold H. and Virginia Anderson Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University, and Dr. Alex Guerrero, Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University, have won the 2022 Dr. Martin R. Lebowitz and Eve Lewellis Lebowitz Prize for Philosophical Achievement and Contribution. Awarded annually by PBK in conjunction with the APA, this prize recognizes outstanding achievement in the field of philosophy. Each winner will be awarded an honorarium.
The Lebowitz Prize was established in 2012 by a generous bequest from Eve Lewellis Lebowitz in honor of her late husband, Martin R. Lebowitz, a distinguished philosophical critic. Lebowitz Prize winners must be two philosophers who hold contrasting views on a chosen topic of current interest in philosophy. They present their views and engage in a dialogue at an annual Lebowitz symposium, held during an APA divisional meeting.
Cristina Lafont, Ph.D., received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Frankfurt, Germany. Dr. Lafont has taught philosophy at Northwestern University since 1995. Her current research focuses on normative questions in political philosophy concerning democracy and citizen participation, global governance, human rights, religion, and politics. Her most recent book is Democracy without Shortcuts (Oxford University Press, 2020), and she has also published numerous articles in contemporary moral and political philosophy.
Alexander Guerrero, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from New York University. Dr. Guerrero has taught philosophy at Rutgers University since 2016. His current research focuses on a variety of topics in moral, legal, and political philosophy, and epistemology. His forthcoming book, Lottocracy: A New Kind of Democracy (under contract with Oxford University Press) argues that lotteries should be used to select political officials rather than elections. Dr. Guerrero is a member of the APA committee on the status and future of the profession.
Professors Lafont and Guerrero’s topic for the 2022 Lebowitz Prize is “Democracy: What’s Wrong? What Should We Do?” They will present their work in April 2023 at the APA Pacific Division meeting in San Francisco, CA. Nominations/applications for the 2023 Lebowitz Prize will open in early fall 2022; the deadline is November 30, 2022. Please click here for more information.
