Matthew Liao

Skip to main content NYU School of Global Public Health SEARCH GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH Search i COVID-19 Info All NYU ABOUT ADMISSIONS & AID EVENTS & NEWS FACULTY PROGRAMS RESEARCH & SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS ALUMNI S Matthew Liao S. Matthew S Matthew Liao Director of Center for Bioethics Arthur Zitrin Professor of Bioethics Professional overview Dr. Matthew Liao uses the tools of philosophy to study and examine the ramifications of novel biomedical innovations. A speaker at TEDxCERN, Dr. Liao discussed whether it is ethical for someone to erase certain aspects of their memories and how doing so might affect that individual's identity. He has also given a TED talk in New York and been featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, and other numerous media outlets. The author and editor of four books, Dr. Liao provides the academic community with a collection of human rights essays. In The Right to be Loved, he explores the philosophical foundations underpinning children's right to be loved, and proposes that we reconceptualize our policies concerning adoptions so that individuals who are not romantically linked can co-adopt a child together. Dr. Liao provides students with an education grounded in a broad conception of bioethics encompassing both medical and environmental ethics. He offers students the opportunity to explore the intersection of human rights practice with central domains of public health and regularly teaches normative theory and neuroethics. His courses address how the rightness or wrongness of an act is determined and ethical issues arising out of new medical technologies such as embryonic stem cell research, cloning, artificial reproduction, and genetic engineering; ethical issues raised by the development and use of neuroscientific technologies such as the ethics of erasing traumatic memories; the ethics of mood and cognitive enhancements; and moral and legal implications of "mind-reading" technologies for brain privacy. To learn more about Dr. Liao and his work, visit his website and blog. Education AB, Politics (Magna Cum Laude), Princeton University, Princeton, NJ DPhil, Philosophy, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Honors and awards Outstanding Academic Title, The Right to Be Loved, Choice Review (2016) TEDx Speaker at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland (2015) TEDx Speaker, New York, NY (2013) Humanities Grant Initiative, NYU (2011) Big Think Delphi Fellow (2011) Areas of research and study Bioethics Epistemology Metaphysics Moral Psychology Publications Publications A critique of some recent victim-centered theories of nonconsequentialism Liao, S. M., & Barry, C. Publication year 2020 Journal title Law and Philosophy Volume 39 Issue 5 Page(s) 503-526 10.1007/s10982-020-09376-5 Abstract Designing humans: A human rights approach Liao, S. M. Publication year 2019 Journal title Bioethics Volume 33 Issue 1 Page(s) 98-104 10.1111/bioe.12519 Abstract Current controversies in bioethics O’Neil, C., & Liao, S. M. Publication year 2017 Do mitochondrial replacement techniques affect qualitative or numerical identity? Matthew Liao, S. Publication year 2017 Journal title Bioethics Volume 31 Issue 1 Page(s) 20-26 10.1111/bioe.12308 Abstract Neuroscience and Ethics: Assessing Greene's Epistemic Debunking Argument Against Deontology Liao, S. M. Publication year 2017 Journal title Experimental Psychology Volume 64 Issue 2 Page(s) 82-92 10.1027/1618-3169/a000352 Abstract Précis for The Right to Be Loved Liao, S. M. Publication year 2017 Journal title Philosophy and Phenomenological Research Volume 94 Issue 3 Page(s) 738-742 10.1111/phpr.12398 The ethics of memory modification Liao, S. M. In The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Memory. Publication year 2017 Page(s) 373-382 10.4324/9781315687315 Are Intuitions Heuristics? Liao, S. M. In Moral brains. Publication year 2016 Biological Parenting as a Human Right Liao, S. M. Publication year 2016 Journal title Journal of Moral Philosophy Volume 13 Issue 6 Page(s) 652-668 10.1163/17455243-01306003 Abstract Health (care) and human rights: a fundamental conditions approach Liao, S. M. Publication year 2016 Journal title Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics Volume 37 Issue 4 Page(s) 259-274 10.1007/s11017-016-9373-9 Abstract Human Rights and Public Liao, S. M. In Oxford Handbook on Public Health Ethics. Publication year 2016 Moral brains: the neuroscience of morality Liao, S. M. Publication year 2016 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199357666.001.0001 Morality and Neuroscience: Past and Future Liao, S. M. In Moral brains. Publication year 2016 The Closeness Problem and the Doctrine of Double Effect: A Way Forward Liao, S. M. Publication year 2016 Journal title Criminal Law and Philosophy Volume 10 Issue 4 Page(s) 849-863 10.1007/s11572-014-9344-z Abstract The Grounds of Ancillary Care Duties Liao, S. M., & O’Neil, C. In Current Controversies in Bioethics. Publication year 2016 Human Rights as Fundamental Conditions for a Good Life Liao, S. M. In Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights,. Publication year 2015 Philosophical foundations of human rights Cruft, R., Renzo, M., & Liao, S. M. (First edition.). Publication year 2015 The Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights: An Overview Liao, S. M., Cruft, R., & Renzo, M. In Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights. Publication year 2015 The Right to be Loved Liao, S. M. Publication year 2015 Editorial Matthew Liao, S. Publication year 2013 Journal title Journal of Moral Philosophy Volume 10 Issue 1 Page(s) 1-2 10.1163/17455243-01001007 The right of children to be loved Liao, S. M. In What is Right for Children?. Publication year 2013 Page(s) 347-363 Human Engineering and Climate Change Liao, S. M., Sandberg, A., & Roache, R. Publication year 2012 Journal title Ethics, Policy and Environment Volume 15 Issue 2 Page(s) 206-221 10.1080/21550085.2012.685574 Abstract Intentions and moral permissibility: The case of acting permissibly with bad intentions Matthew Liao, S. Publication year 2012 Journal title Law and Philosophy Volume 31 Issue 6 Page(s) 703-724 10.1007/s10982-012-9134-5 Abstract Political and naturalistic conceptions of human rights: A false polemic? Liao, S. M., & Etinson, A. Publication year 2012 Journal title Journal of Moral Philosophy Volume 9 Issue 3 Page(s) 327-352 10.1163/17455243-00903008 Abstract Putting the trolley in order: Experimental philosophy and the loop case Liao, S. M., Wiegmann, A., Alexander, J., & Vong, G. Publication year 2012 Journal title Philosophical Psychology Volume 25 Issue 5 Page(s) 661-671 10.1080/09515089.2011.627536 Abstract Current page1 Go to page2 Go to page3 Contact matthew.liao@nyu.edu +1 (212) 998-3672 715 Broadway New York, NY 10003 The NYU School of Global Public Health Logo Phone: 212-992-6741 Fax: 212-995-4877 Email: gph@nyu.edu NYU School of Global Public Health School Administration 665 Broadway, 11th Floor New York, NY 10012 Admissions and Enrollment 726 Broadway, 7th Floor New York, NY 10003 Follow Us Twitter Facebook Youtube Instagram Donate to GPH Make a gift to the GPH Annual Fund Donate Now NYU Quicklinks Search Directory Campus Map Accessibility Portals Faculty Employers Unless otherwise noted, all content copyright New York University. All Rights Reserved.