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Jessy Jordan, Ph.D., specializes in ethics and moral philosophy, especially in defending neo-Aristotelian natural normativity. He has published articles on Philippa Foot and Iris Murdoch, appearing in journals such as the Journal of Value Inquiry and the European Journal of Philosophy. His book, The Metaethics of Virtue Ethics: On Nature and Normativity (Bloomsbury 2026), is the first book-length account of the philosophical framework underpinning the neo-Aristotelian revival of virtue ethics by philosophers including Elizabeth Anscombe, P.T. Geach, Phillipa Foot, Alasdair MacIntyre, and Rosalind Hursthouse: an approach in metaethics known as natural normativity. Jordan’s book argues for a version of natural normativity that is as indebted to Kant as it is to Aristotle.
Jordan is the Director of the Mount’s common, integrated, and sequenced liberal arts Core curriculum, which has been hailed as “one of the best in the nation.” In addition to teaching in the Mount’s Core, he has taught a range of electives, including Aristotle After Kant, Metaethics, and Three Rival Moral Theorists: Aristotle, Hume, and Kant. When not doing philosophy or playing with his three children, he is most likely taking big falls on 5.11s.
The Metaethics of Virtue Ethics: On Nature and Normativity, Bloomsbury Publishing (January 2026).
“What Was Lost with the Rejection of Aristotelian Physics: On Motion and Moral Philosophy,” St. John’s College Annapolis, April 4, 2025
“On the Transcendental Structure of Iris Murdoch’s Philosophical Method,” European Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 30, Issue 1 (March 2022): 394-410.
“Have Neo-Aristotelians Abandoned Naturalism? On the Distinctively Human Form of Practical Reason,” The Journal of Value Inquiry, Vol. 54, Issue 2 (June 2020): 183-201.
“Natural Normativity and the Authority-of-Nature Challenge,” International Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 59, Issue 233 (March 2019): 23-36.
“Philippa Foot’s So-called Achilles’ Heel: On the Distinctiveness of Her Grammatical Naturalism,” American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 91, Issue 2, (Spring 2017): 251-271.
“Ethical Naturalism and the Justification of Claims about Human Form,” Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review. Vol. 55, No. 3 (2016): 467-492.
“Reconsidering Iris Murdoch’s Moral Realism,” The Journal of Value Inquiry, Vol. 48, Issue 3, (Sep. 2014): 371-385.
“Thick Ethical Concepts in the Philosophy and Literature of Iris Murdoch,” The Southern Journal of Philosophy. Vol. 51, Issue 3 (Sep. 2013): 402-417.
“The Ghost of Prometheus: A Critical Response to Nicholas C. Carr’s The Shallows,” Southwest Philosophy Review. Vol. 28, Number 1 (Jan. 2012): 93-101.
“The Indispensability of Tradition in the Philosophical Activity of Socrates.” Proceedings of the ACPA, Vol. 84 (2010): 223-237.
“Review: Exemplarist Moral Theory by Linda Trinkaus Zagzebski,” The Review of Metaphysics, Vol. 71, Issue 2, (Dec. 2017): 399-401.
“Review: A Philosophy to Live By: Engaging Iris Murdoch by Maria Antonaccio,” The Iris Murdoch Review, Vol. 1, No. 3 (2013).
“Review: Moral Emotions and Intuitions by Sabine Roeser,” Journal of Moral Philosophy. Vol. 10, Issue 2 (2013): 1-4.
Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization, “Boethius.” Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2012.
Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization, “Joachim of Fiore.” Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2012.