James Otteson
- John T. Ryan Jr. Professor of Business Ethics; Honors Program Faculty Director; Concurrent Professor of Political Science
- Business Ethics and Society
Biography
James R. Otteson received his BA from the Program of Liberal Studies at the University of Notre Dame and his PhD in philosophy from the University of Chicago. He specializes in business ethics, political economy, the history of economic thought, and eighteenth-century moral philosophy. He has taught previously at Wake Forest University, New York University, Yeshiva University, Georgetown University, and the University of Alabama. His books include Adam Smith’s Marketplace of Life (Cambridge, 2002), Actual Ethics (Cambridge, 2006), Adam Smith (Bloomsbury, 2013), The End of Socialism (Cambridge, 2014), The Essential Adam Smith (Fraser Institute, 2018), and Honorable Business: A Framework for Business in a Just and Humane Society (Oxford, 2019). His most recent books are The Essential David Hume (Fraser, 2021), Seven Deadly Economic Sins (Cambridge, 2021), and Should Wealth Be Redistributed? A Debate (with Steven McMullen; Routledge, 2023).
Related News & Stories
Lectures
Jim Otteson reflects on an “unplanned journey” in University Chair Lecture
Professor James Otteson delivered a deeply personal and thought-provoking talk as part of Mendoza’s University Chair Lecture Series.
Mendoza
Mendoza’s Business Honors Program fosters principled community
The Business Honor's Program at Mendoza was founded on three pillars: academic achievement, servant leadership and fostering the quintessential Notre Dame family.
The Observer
Features
The Adam Smith Professor
James Otteson helps Mendoza students find their moral purpose as leaders.