The editors of Philosopher’s Annual have announced its selection of one of Assistant Professor Zachary Barnett’s (NUS Department of Philosophy) research papers as one of the top 10 papers in its 40th edition.

Originally published in Philosophy & Public Affairs, one of the very top specialist ethics journals, Dr Barnett’s paper, "Why You Should Vote to Change the Outcome", argues against the “prevailing opinion...that voting to change the outcome is irrational, since although the payoffs of tipping an election can be quite large, the probability of doing so is extraordinarily small” by showing that “given certain basic assumptions, the rationality of voting can be proven to hold given two conditions,” which he says “are often satisfied in typical electoral circumstances.”

"The Philosophy Department at NUS has become arguably the strongest philosophy department in Asia, largely through our recent hiring of promising and talented young philosophers such as Dr. Barnett. Simply put, Dr. Barnett is one of the most interesting young philosophers around," said Associate Professor Qu Hsueh Ming, Head of NUS Philosophy.

"Why You Should Vote to Change the Outcome is an elegant and masterful showcase of the real-world impact that philosophy at its best can effect. The honour of having his paper selected in the Philosophers' Annual is a exceptional one, but also one that is well-deserved; Dr. Barnett also has no less than two papers selected as Oxford University Press' 'Best of Philosophy' series in recent years," he added.

Dr Barnett received his PhD in Philosophy from Brown University in 2018 and joined NUS about three years ago. He studies various topics in contemporary philosophy, including ethics, epistemology and decision theory.

The prestigious Philosopher’s Annual, helmed by Professor Patrick Grimm, Philosopher in Residence at the University of Michigan, with other leading philosophy academicians, has been published annually since 1978.

Every year it calls on prominent philosophers to nominate articles for consideration, which then undergo rounds of feedback, extensive reading and scrutiny before the top ten are selected.

For the full Philosopher’s Annual 2020 list click <here>