I’m an Assistant Professor of Philosophy (with tenure) at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and a Senior Scholar at the Millennium Project: Global Futures Research and Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. From 2013 till 2018 I worked at the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University. I hold a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Georgetown University (2012) and graduate degrees in History of Philosophy (on Spinoza) and Medical Ethics from the University of Paris, in my hometown and native city. I am currently working on a book project on the philosophy of Futures Studies focused on the role of narrative arguments in scenarios and lay visions of socio-techno-ecological futures. In this project, my approach draws on argumentation theory, American pragmatism, moral and political philosophy, anticipatory technology ethics, and intercultural/cosmopolitan philosophy (inclusive of non-Euro-American philosophical traditions).
Areas of Specialization:
Philosophy of Futures Studies: Ethics, political philosophy, and epistemology of methods and practices (e.g., scenario building, computer modeling, visioning, letters from the future) designed to anticipate socio-techno-ecological futures and to stimulate anticipatory moral imagination)
Applied ethics and political philosophy with a focus on:
anticipatory technology ethics (methodological improvements to this approach and application to different issues such as data sovereignty and e-justice)
ethics and philosophy of psychology
public health ethics and bioethics
food and agricultural ethics
Areas of Competence:
American pragmatism
Argumentation theory
Epistemology
History of modern philosophy (Spinoza and Radical Enlightenment)
History of psychology
Philosophical methodology and metaphilosophy from an intercultural/cosmopolitan philosophy perspective (China, India, Persianate world)
Besides my academic work, I’m dedicated to mind-body practices (qigong, tai chi, meditation), enjoy designing and caring for over fifty bonsai trees, appreciate Chinese and Persian arts, and love cooking delicious French recipes. I live with my wife Anastassia (a potter (you can see her beautiful work here), sustainable landscape designer, and gardening supervisor at De Viermarken social farm) and our gentle Siberian cat named Bhima.
Representative publications:
Anneke Sools, and Yashar Saghai. Forthcoming, “A visual-narrative creative writing approach for stimulating anticipatory moral imagination in everyday life.” In Beyond Words: Interdisciplinary Intersections of Creative Writing and Wellbeing, edited by Caty Flynn and Ursula Hurley, Routledge.
Leon Rossmaier, Yashar Saghai, and Philip Brey. 2023. "Commercial mHealth Apps and the Providers’ Responsibility for Hope." Digital Society 2, 39: https://doi.org/10.1007/s44206-023-00071-1
Gross, Jonathan, Tine Davids, Anneke Sools, and Yashar Saghai. 2023. “Covid-19 and the Politics of Hope: A Comparative Analysis of Greek and Ecuadorian Letters from a Desired Post-Pandemic Future." Futures: . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2023.103115
Andrade, Stefan B., Anneke Sools, and Yashar Saghai. 2022. "Writing styles and modes of engagement with the future." Futures: 102986.
Wieczorek, Michał, Fiachra O’Brolchain, Yashar Saghai, and Bert Gordijn. 2022. "The ethics of self-tracking. A comprehensive review of the literature." Ethics & Behavior: 1-33.
Saghai, Yashar. 2021. "Subversive future seeks like-minded model: On the mismatch between visions of food sovereignty futures and quantified scenarios of global food futures." Ethics and International Affairs: 51-67.
van Dijk, Michiel, Tom Morley, Marie Luise Rau, and Yashar Saghai. 2021. "A meta-analysis of global food demand and population at risk of hunger projections for the period 2010-2050." Nature Food 2(494–501). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00322-9.
Saghai, Yashar. 2018. "Theorizing justice in health research contexts." In Beyond Consent: Seeking Justice in Research, edited by J. Kahn, A. Mastroianni, and J. Sugarman. Second edition, pp. 187-207. Oxford University Press: New York, NY.
Lipton, Michael, and Yashar Saghai. 2017. "Farmland-access ethics, land reform, and food ethics." Global Food Security 12: 59-66.
Aloosh, Mehdi and Yashar Saghai. 2016. "Birth control policies in Iran: A public health and ethics perspective." Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 70: 529-533. doi:10.1136/jech-2015-205572.
Saghai, Yashar. 2013. "Salvaging the concept of nudge." Journal of Medical Ethics 39(8): 487-493. Doi:10.1136/medethics-2012-100727. Editor's pick; featured article with replies from multiple scholar; selected #1 among the most highly-cited papers that contributed to the Journal's Impact Factor of 1.764 (2015 Journal Citation Reports® Science Edition (Thomson Reuters, 2016).
Saghai, Yashar. 2012. The Ethics of Public Health Nudges. Doctoral dissertation, Philosophy Department, Georgetown University.
Powers, Madison, Ruth Faden, and Yashar Saghai. 2012. "Liberty, Mill, and the framework of public health ethics." Public Health Ethics 5 (1): 6-15. DOI:10.1093/phe/phs002.
Beauchamp, Tom, and Yashar Saghai. 2012. "The historical foundations of the research-practice distinction in bioethics." Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics 33 (1): 45-56. DOI 10.1007/s11017-011-9207-8.
To download my CV (2021), please click here.
Email: y.saghai@utwente.nl