1. science
2. social science
3. philosophy

HUN CHUNG
Curriculum Vitae
[Contact Information]
287 Richardson Rd.
Rochester, NY 14623
Phone: +1-607-339-3488
E-mail: [email protected]
EMPLOYMENT

Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Rochester Institute of Technology, 2014-

Postdoctoral Visiting Scholar, Sage School of Philosophy, Cornell University , 2012

Instructor, John S. Knight Institute for Writing in Disciplines, Cornell University, 2011

Teaching Assistant, Sage School of Philosophy, Cornell University, 2008-2010
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Intelligence Analyst, Combat Support Coordination Team 3, US Army/Republic of Korea Army,
(in part of fulfilling military obligation in South Korea), 2002-2004
EDUCATION

Ph.D. Student, Department of Political Science, University of Rochester
(Fields: Formal Theory, Political Philosophy, Comparative Politics) (Fall 2012 - )

Ph.D., Philosophy, Cornell University, (January, 2012)
(Dissertation: Unleashing the Leviathan – Against Common Interpretations and a Contemporary
Decision-Theoretic Reconstruction of Hobbes’s Moral and Political Philosohpy)
(Dissertation Committee: Nicholas Sturgeon (Chair), Richard Miller, Harold Hodes,
Derk Pereboom)

M.A., Philosophy, Cornell University, 2011

B.A, Summa Cum Laude, Philosophy, Seoul National University, 2006
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION

Ethics; Political Philosophy; Formal Rational Choice Theory (Decision Theory, Game Theory,
and Social Choice Theory)
AREAS OF COMPETENCE
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Philosophy of Science & Social Science (Philosophy of Economics and Methodologies in Social
Sciences); History of Political Thought (Hobbes)
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PUBLICATIONS
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“Game Theory, Rational Choice Theory, and the Prisoner’s Dilemma: Some Clarifications”, The
Korean Journal of Philosophy of Science, Vol. 17, No. 3, November, 2014 (indexed in KCI)
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“Understanding Rationality in Hobbes and Hume”, Filozofia 69, No. 8, October, 2014 (indexed
in A&HCI)
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“A Critical Analysis of Michael Smith’s Ethical Internalism”, Journal of Ethics (Journal of
Korean Ethics Studies), Vol. 95, May, 2014 (Indexed in KCI)
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“Are Decent Non-Liberal Societies Really Non-Liberal? – A Critical Response to John Rawls’s
The Law of Peoples”, Chul Hak Sa Sang (Journal of Philosophical Ideas), Vol. 52, May, 2014
(Indexed in KCI)
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“R. M. Hare’s Reconstruction of G. E. Moore’s Open Question Argument”, Korean Journal of
Ethics, Vol. 4, May, 2014
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“경제학의 입장: 경제학적 도구들과 사고방식은 윤리학에 어떠한 도움을 줄 수 있는가?”
<처음 읽는 윤리학> (서울대 철학사상연구소, 출판사:동녘 2014)에 수록 (English Title:
“How Economics Can Help Ethical Theorists”) contained in Reading Ethics for the First Time,
SNU Institute of Philosophical Research, Dong-Nyuk Press 2014
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“Firth’s Ideal Observer Theory and Its Problems”, Chul Hak Sa Sang (Journal of Philosophical
Ideas), Vol. 48, May, 2013 (Indexed in KCI)
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“페어플레이의 의무에 대한 재조명과 Richard Arneson 에 대한 답변”(English Title:
Reconsidering the Principle of Fair-Play and a Reply to Richard Arneson), Philosophy, The
Korean Philosophical Association, Vol. 110, Feb 2012 (Indexed in KCI)
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“중첩적 합의와 공리주의” (English Title: Overlapping Consensus and Utilitarianism – A Reply
to Samuel Scheffler)”, Philosophy, The Korean Philosophical Association, Vol. 103, May 2010
(Indexed in KCI)
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“Can Classical Utilitarianism Participate in Overlapping Consensus? Why Not?”, Proceedings of
the XXII World Congress of Philosophy 10, pp. 53-60, 2008
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“Sandel’s Republicanism-its meaning and possible problems”, Philosophical Forum (Journal of
Department of Philosophy, Seoul National University), Vol.34, 2006
REVISE AND RESUBMIT PAPERS (available upon request)
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“Is Harry Frankfurt’s Doctrine of Sufficiency Sufficient?”
(revise and resubmit in Ethical Perspectives)
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“Directional Equilibria” (coauthored with John Duggan)
(revise and resubmit in Social Choice and Welfare)
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PAPERS UNDER REVIEW (available upon request)
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The Pigeon’s Curse: Why Communication Cannot Prevent War in Hobbes’s State of Nature
“A Game-Theoretic Solution to the Inconsistency Between Thrasymachus and Glaucon in Plato’s
Republic”
“Prospect Utilitarianism: A Defense of Utilitarianism from the Original Position”
“Hobbes’s State of Nature: A Modern Bayesian Game-Theoretic Analysis”
“Freeing Hobbes from Psychological Egoism”
PRESENTATIONS
“The Pigeon’s Curse: Why Communication Cannot Prevent War in Hobbes’s State of Nature”
- 2015 Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Meeting (Scheduled: Apr 16-19, 2015),
Section “Political Philosophy: Approaches and Themes”
- 2014, 2nd Year Paper Presentation, Department of Political Science, University of Rochester
“Prospect Utilitarianism: A Defense of Utilitarianism from the Original Position”
- 2015 Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Meeting (Scheduled: Apr 16-19, 2015),
Section “Contemporary Political Theory”
- 2015 Pacific Division Meeting, American Philosophical Association (Scheduled: Apr 1-5, 2015)
- 2014 Special Lecture, Organized by the Department of Philosophy and Brain Korea 21 Plus
(BK21+) at Kyung Hee University, South Korea
- 2014 Annual Conference for The Korean Society of Philosophy of Science
“A Bayesian Game-Theoretical Reconstruction of Hobbes’s State of Nature”
- 15th Annual Oxford Philosophy Graduate Conference, 2011
(Commentator: Professor Frank Arntzenius)
- MANCEPT Workshop in Political Theory, 2011
Panel on Formal Approaches to Political Theory, University of Manchester, UK
- Cornell University, Department of Philosophy Workshop, 2011
“Comments on Kurt Smith, “Was Hobbes an Idealist?””
- UNYWEMP (Upstate New York Workshop in Early Modern Philosophy), 2011
“A Decision Theoretic Representation of Hobbes’s Theory of the Good”
- Cornell University, Department of Philosophy Workshop, 2011
“Freeing Hobbes from the Preference-Satisfaction Theory of the Good”
- Cornell University, Department of Philosophy Workshop, 2010
“Can Classical Utilitarianism Participate in Overlapping Consensus? Why Not? – A Reply to Scheffler”
- The XXII World Congress of Philosophy, 10. Ethics Section, 2008
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TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Rochester Institute of Technology (as Visiting Assistant Professor)
 PHIL 405 “Philosophy of the Social Sciences” Spring 2015 (scheduled)
 PHIL 103 “Critical Thinking”, Spring 2015 (scheduled)
 PHIL 102 “Introduction to Moral Issues”, Fall 2014
 PHIL 202 “Foundations of Moral Philosophy”, Fall 2014
Cornell University (as Instructor)
 PHIL 1100 “Contemporary Moral Issues” (Freshman Writing Seminar), Fall 2011, Taught from
the Knight Institute at Cornell University
(Full responsibility for course design, instruction, and grading.)
Cornell University (as Teaching Assistant)
 PHIL 2860 “Science and Human Nature” (for Richard Boyd), Spring 2010. (Responsible for
leading one weekly discussion section, grading papers and exams.)
 PHIL 3810 “Philosophy of Science” (for Richard Boyd), Fall 2009.
(Responsible for setting up quizzes and grading exams. Substitute lecturer when instructor was
away)
 PHIL 1100 “Introduction to Philosophy” (for Nicholas Sturgeon), Spring 2009. (Responsible for
leading one weekly discussion section and grading papers and exams.)
 PHIL 3460 “Modern Political Philosophy” (for Richard Miller), Fall 2008. (Responsible for
grading papers)
Seoul National University (as Teaching Assistant)
 “Practical Ethics” (for Kyung-Sig Hwang at Seoul National University)
(Substitute lecturer when instructor was away)
GRADUATE COURSE WORK (* = audit)
MORAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY
 Consequentialism and its Critics (Nicholas Sturgeon)*
 Ethics and Value Theory (Nicholas Sturgeon)
 Contemporary Moral Philosophy (Nicholas Sturgeon)
 Modern Political Philosophy (Richard Miller)
 Global Justice (Richard Miller)
 Topics in Political Obligation (Erin Taylor)
 Graduate Seminar in Ethical Theory (Kyung-Sig Hwang: Seoul National University Philosophy
Department)
 Distributive Justice (Jim Johnson: University of Rochester Political Science Department)
HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY
 Modern Rationalism (Andrew Chignell)
 Topics in Ancient Philosophy (Plato’s Republic) (Tad Brennan)
 20th Century Analytic Philosophy (Alex Klein)
 Origins of Analytic Philosophy (Matti Eklund)
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CONTEMPORARY ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY
 Metaphysics (Karen Bennett and Richard Boyd)
 Philosophy of Perception (Nicholas Silins)
 Graduate Seminar in Theory of Knowledge (Kihyeon Kim: Seoul National University Philosophy
Department)
 Graduate Seminar in Philosophy of Logic (Jinho Kang: Seoul National University Philosophy
Department)
LOGIC
 Deductive Logic (proof based) (Wylie Breckenridge)
ECONOMICS, MATHEMATICS and METHODOLOGY
 Decision Theory I (proof based) (Larry Blume : Cornell Economics Department and Joe Halpern:
Cornell Computer Science Department)
 Game Theory (Larry Blume: Cornell Economics Department)
 Intermediate Microeconomics (Independent Study with Harold Hodes)
 Honors Introduction to Analysis I (proof based) (Richard Vale: Cornell Mathematics
Department)*
 Foundations of Mathematics (Set Theory) (proof based) (Harold Hodes)*
 Multidimensional Calculus (Dept. of Mathematics, U of R)
 Linear Algebra (Dept. of Mathematics, U of R)*
 Functions of Real Variable 1 (proof based) (Dept. of Mathematics, U of R)
 Mathematical Modeling (proof based) (John Duggan: Dept. of Poli Sci/Econ, U of R)
 Probability and Inference (Kevin Clarke Dept. of Political Science, U of R)
 Positive Political Theory (proof based) (John Duggan: Dept. of Poli Sci/Econ, U of R)
 Linear Models (Michael Peress: Dept. of Political Science, U of R)
 Game Theory (proof based) (Mark Fey: Dept. of Political Science, U of R)
 Scope of Political Science (Philosophy of Social Science) (Jim Johnson: Dept. of Political
Science, U of R )
 Political Economy I (Social Choice, Elections and Bargaining) (proof based) (John Duggan:
Dept. of Poli Sci/Econ, U of R)
 Mathematical Economics I (proof based) (Hari Govindan: Dept. of Economics, U of R)*
 Axiomatic Theories of Fair Allocation (proof based) (William Thomson: Dept. of Econ, U of R)*
POLITICAL SCIENCE
 Comparative Parties and Elections (Bonnie Meguid: Dept. of Political Science, U of R)
 Democratic Processes (Bingham Powell: Dept. of Political Science, U of R)
 Comparative Politics Field Seminar (Bingham Powell & Gretchen Helmke: Dept. of Political
Science, U of R)
 Formal Models in International Conflict (Mark Fey: Dept. of Political Science, U of R)
PEDAGOGY
 Teaching Writing (Tracy Carrick: Cornell Knight Institute)
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HONORS, AWARDS, and EXPERIENCE
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Research Assistant for John Duggan (Summer 2013)
Sage School Fellowship (2007 and 2010)
Cornell Discussion Club Assistant (2007)
Secretary, The Korean Society of Ethics (2006-2007)
Doctoral Fellowship Award from The Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS) (2006)
The Fulbright Graduate Study Award (2006) – Declined
The Myungkyung Prize (Best BA Thesis in the Department of Philosophy, Seoul National
University) (2006)
Research Assistant of The Korea Independent Commission Against Corruption (2006)
Research Assistant, The Korea Research Foundation (2006)
Top Distinction Scholarship Award (Awarded by the President of SNU) (2005)
Superior Academic Performance Scholarship Award, SNU (2005)
ARMY Commendation Medal, US Army/ROK Army (2004)
SNU Development Fund Scholarship (2002)
REFEREE SERVICE
Referee for Philosophy of the Social Sciences (indexed in SSCI);
LANGUAGES

Korean (Native), English (Fluent)
REFERENCES

Nicholas Sturgeon ([email protected]) Susan Linn Sage Professor of Philosophy, Cornell
University

Richard Miller ([email protected]) Wyn and William Y. Hutchinson Professor of Philosophy,
Cornell University

Harold Hodes ([email protected]) Associate Professor of Philosophy, Cornell University

Derk Pereboom ([email protected]) Professor of Philosophy, Cornell University

Richard Boyd ([email protected]) Susan Linn Sage Professor of Philosophy, Cornell University

James Johnson ([email protected]), Professor of Political Science, University of
Rochester

John Roemer ([email protected]) Elizabeth S. and A. Varick Professor of Political Science
and Economics, Yale University

Michael Sandel ([email protected]) Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of
Government, Harvard University
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Dissertation Abstract
UNLEASHING THE LEVIATHAN
Against Common Interpretations and a Contemporary Decision Theoretic Reconstruction of Hobbes’s
Moral and Political Philosophy
Dissertation Committee:
Nicholas Sturgeon (Chair), Richard Miller, Harold Hodes, Derk Pereboom
My dissertation consists of two parts. In Part I (titled, “Unleashing the Leviathan”) , I present reasons to
reject three popular interpretations of Hobbes’ ethical views. In Part II (titled, “Reinvigorating the
Leviathan”), I reconstruct Hobbes’ theory of the good as well as his analysis of the state of nature using
formal decision theory and game theory.
Part I “Unleashing the Leviathan” consists of chapters from 1 to 3.
In chapter 1, I free Hobbes from the preference-satisfaction theory of the good. The preference-satisfaction
theory of the good claims that what is good for each individual is simply to satisfy his or her current
preferences or desires. I argue that Hobbes could not have consistently accepted this theory, since his entire
approach rests on the assumption that self-preservation is objectively each and every individual’s greatest
good.
In chapter 2, I argue that Hobbes couldn’t have consistently accepted the Humean thesis that all rationality is
instrumental. This is because he thought that an agent’s self-preservation was an intrinsic aim of his/her
rationality, in no way contingent on the agent’s preferences and desires.
In chapter 3, I free Hobbes from psychological egoism – the thesis that all human beings are motivated
solely by their own self-interest. I argue that not only was Hobbes not committed to psychological egoism in
any of its plausible formulations, but also that psychological egoism is not even needed for Hobbes’s
political philosophy.
In Part II “Reinvigorating the Leviathan” consists of chapters from 4 to 6.
In chapter 4, I reinterpret Hobbes’s theory of the good as a version of what is, now, known as an idealadvisor theory of the good. An ideal-advisor theory of the good maintains that what is really good for a given
individual is to satisfy the type of preferences that his/her fully-rational self would form on behalf of his/her
actual self.
In chapter 5, I provide a formal representation of Hobbes's theory of the good in terms of contemporary
utility theory.
In Chapter 6, I argue against several attempts to understand Hobbes’s state of nature as a Prisoner’s Dilemma.
As an alternative, I provide three game-theoretic models that utilize the tools of modern Bayesian gametheory. Not only do these three Bayesian game-theoretic models respect what is actually written in Hobbes's
original text, but they also show how universal conflict can inevitably emerge as the unique equilibrium due
to uncertainty, without assuming psychological egoism.
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Graduate Coursework Taken from Second PhD Program in Political Science
at the University of Rochester
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